Spanish irregular verbs

In this lesson we will consider Spanish irregular verbs: irregular subgroups of –ER and –IR verbs, verbs with stem change and exceptional irregular verbs that must be only memorized.

IR – to go, TENER – to have, QUERER – to want/to love, HACER – to do and other irregular verbs and their common characteristics.

Spanish Irregular verb subgroups

• Subgroups –CER and -CIR:

-CER is a subgroup of –ER group, and –CIR is a subgroup of –IR group. Verbs ending in –CER or –CIR end in –ZCO in conjugation with the pronoun YO:

Conocer – to know, Yo conozco – I know

Aparecer – to appear, Yo aparezco – I appear

Parecer –to look like, Yo parezco – I know

Ofrecer – to offer, Yo ofrezco – I offer

Seducir – to seduce, Yo seduzco – I seduce

Producir – to produce, Yo produzco – I produce

Reducir – to reduce, Yo reduzco – I reduce

With all other pronouns they have ordinary form, e.g. tú conoces, él conoce, nosotros conocemos and so on.

• Subgroups –NER and –NIR:

-NER is a subrgoup of –ER verbs, and –NIR is a subgroup of –IR group. Verbs with these infinitive endings will end in –GO in conjugation with the pronoun YO:

Tener – to have, Yo tengo – I have

Venir – to come, Yo vengo – I come

Poner – to put, Yo pongo – I put

Suponer – to suppose, Yo supongo – I suppose

Proponer – to propose, Yo propongo – I propose

Verbs with stem change

There are plenty of irregular verbs that have a change in stem in present tense. These changes are: E – IE, U – UE, O – UE, E-I. They are applied for all pronouns apart from nosotros and vosotros.

Tener – to have. This verb has -NER, so the conjugation with YO will be “TENGO” instead of tieno, and E-IE change in stem (apart from Nosotros and Vosotros as it was said before).

Yo tengo	I have (own form with yo)
Tú tienes	You have
Él, ella, usted tiene	He, she, you have
Nosotros tenemos	We have
Vosotros tenéis	You have
Ellos, ustedes tienen	They, you have

Querer – to want/to love. This verb has E-IE change in stem.

Yo quiero	I want
Tú quieres	You want
Él, ella, usted quiere	He, she, you want
Nosotros queremos	We want
Vosotros queréis	You want
Ellos, ustedes quieren	They, you want

Other irregular verbs with stems in present tense:

	Change	Stem
Dormir- to sleep	o-ue	Duerm-
Jugar – to play	u-ue	Jueg-
Entender– to understand	e-ie	Entiend-
Costar – to cost	o-ue	Cuest-
Pensar – to think	e-ie	Piens-
Encontrar – to find	o-ue	Encuentr-
Pedir – to ask for	e-i	Pid-
Perder – to lose	e-ie	Pierd-
Cerrar – to close	e-ei	Cierr-
Volver – to return	o-ue	Vuelv-
Recordar – to remember	o-ue	Recuerd-

Exceptional irregular verbs

First of all – the verb IR – to go. This verb has own forms of conjugation with all pronouns that must be memorized.

Ir – to go

Yo voy	I go
Tú vas	You go
Él, ella, usted va	He, she goes, you go
Nosotros vamos	We go
Vosotros váis	You go
Ellos, ustedes van	They, you go

Hacer – to do. This verb has the only irregular form “Yo hago”.

Yo hago	I do
Tú haces	You do
Él, ella, usted hace	He, she does, you do
Nosotros hacemos	We do
Vosotros hacéis	You do
Ellos hacen	They do

Decir – to say. Despite the fact that this verb has –CIR, this one is fully exceptional:

Yo digo	I say
Tú dices	You say
Él, ella, usted dice	He, she says, you say
Nosotros decimos	We say
Vosotros decís	You say
Ellos dicen	They say

Saber – to know (something)

Yo sé – I know. This is the only irregular form.

Dar – to give

Yo doy – I give. The only irregular form.

Ver – to see

Yo veo – I see. The only irregular form.

Oír – to hear

Yo oigo, tu oyes, el oye, nosotros oímos, vosotros oís, ellos oyen.

Salir – to leave

Yo salgo – I leave. The only irregular form

Caer – to fall

Yo caigo – I fall. The only irregular form

Traer – to bring

Yo traigo – I bring. The only irregular form

Oler – to smell

Yo huelo, tú hueles, él huele, nosotros olemos, vosotros oléis, ellos huelen

Build sentences with these words and irregular verbs that you learned in this lesson:

la canción – song la oficina – office el dinero – money el camión – truck el corazón – heart

la pared – wall el amor – love la voz – voice la copa – glass el juego – game

el emprendedor – entrepreneur el directór – director la cámara – camera el trabajador – employee

Conjugate these verbs in present tense with all pronouns:

conducir – to drive establecer – to establish reconocer – to recognize

traducir – to translate nacer – to be born crecer – to grow