Irregular Verbs in Spanish

Spanish, like English, has both regular and irregular verbs. Regular Spanish verbs follow predictable patterns in their conjugations based on stems and endings, while irregular verbs deviate from these norms. Understanding these irregularities is crucial for mastering Spanish verb conjugation. This article will explore the intricacies of irregular verbs in Spanish, starting with a recap of regular verbs for context.

 

Regular Spanish Verbs and Their Conjugations

Before diving into irregular verbs, it’s crucial to understand the regular verbs in Spanish. They follow specific patterns depending on their endings: -ar, -er, -ir. Here’s a table showing the present tense conjugation of regular Spanish verbs:

Person/Number	Subject Pronouns	-ar	-er	-ir
First Person Singular	yo (I)	-o	-o	-o
Second Person Singular	tú (you informal)	-as	-es	-es
Third Person Singular	él/ella/usted (he/she)	-a	-e	-e
First Person Plural	nosotros(as) (we)	-amos	-emos	-imos
Second Person Plural	Ustedes (you formal)	-an	-en	-en
Third Person Plural	ellos/ellas (they)	-an	-en	-en

The Most Common Irregular Spanish Verbs

Irregular verbs in Spanish deviate from these patterns. Below are some of the most common irregular verbs in Spanish, along with their conjugations in present, past (preterite), and future tenses.

1. Ser – to be

“Ser” is used for permanent states or inherent characteristics.

Person/Number	Subject Pronouns	Present Tense	Past Tense	Future Tense
First Person Singular	yo (I)	soy	fui	seré
Second Person Singular	tú (you informal)	eres	fuiste	serás
Third Person Singular	él/ella/usted (he/she)	es	fue	será
First Person Plural	nosotros(as) (we)	somos	fuimos	seremos
Second Person Plural	Ustedes (you formal)	son	fueron	serán
Third Person Plural	ellos/ellas (they)	son	fueron	serán

2. Haber – to have

“Haber” serves as an auxiliary verb and to express existence.

Person/Number	Subject Pronouns	Present Tense	Past Tense	Future Tense
First Person Singular	yo (I)	he	hube	habré
Second Person Singular	tú (you informal)	has	hubiste	habrás
Third Person Singular	él/ella/usted (he/she)	ha	hubo	habrá
First Person Plural	nosotros(as) (we)	hemos	hubimos	habremos
Second Person Plural	Ustedes (you formal)	han	hubieron	habrán
Third Person Plural	ellos/ellas (they)	han	hubieron	habrán

3. Estar – to be

“Estar” is used for temporary states or conditions.

Person/Number	Subject Pronouns	Present Tense	Past Tense	Future Tense
First Person Singular	yo (I)	estoy	estuve	estaré
Second Person Singular	tú (you informal)	estás	estuviste	estarás
Third Person Singular	él/ella/usted (he/she)	está	estuvo	estará
First Person Plural	nosotros(as) (we)	estamos	estuvimos	estaremos
Second Person Plural	Ustedes (you formal)	están	estuvieron	estarán
Third Person Plural	ellos/ellas (they)	están	estuvieron	estarán

4. Pensar – “To think”

“Pensar” means “to think” and is used for making plans, holding beliefs, and intending to do something. It’s an irregular, stem-changing verb.

Person/Number	Subject Pronouns	Present Tense	Past Tense	Future Tense
First Person Singular	yo (I)	pienso	pensé	pensaré
Second Person Singular	tú (you informal)	piensas	pensaste	pensarás
Third Person Singular	él/ella/usted (he/she/you formal)	piensa	pensó	pensará
First Person Plural	nosotros(as) (we)	pensamos	pensamos	pensaremos
Second Person Plural	ustedes (you formal)	piensan	pensaron	pensarán
Third Person Plural	ellos/ellas (they)	piensan	pensaron	pensarán

5. Tener – “To have”

“Tener” predominantly means “to have.” It can also imply “to be” in certain contexts, such as “tener calor” (to be hot). When paired with “que,” it signifies an obligation, as in “Tienes que hacerlo” (You have to do it). The verb’s conjugations are irregular in each tense.

Person/Number	Subject Pronouns	Present Tense	Past Tense	Future Tense
First Person Singular	yo (I)	tengo	tuve	tendré
Second Person Singular	tú (you informal)	tienes	tuviste	tendrá
Third Person Singular	él/ella/usted (he/she/you formal)	tiene	tuvo	tendrá
First Person Plural	nosotros(as) (we)	tenemos	tuvimos	tendremos
Second Person Plural	ustedes (you formal)	tienen	tuvieron	tendrán
Third Person Plural	ellos/ellas (they)	tienen	tuvieron	tendrán

Stem-changing Spanish Irregular Verbs

Stem-changing Spanish irregular verbs are those where vowels in the stem are altered in the process of conjugation. This change often occurs to verbs ending in -ar, -er, and -ir, primarily in the present tense. The stem change typically affects all pronouns except the “nosotros” form, which follows regular conjugation rules. There are five types of stem-changing verbs in the simple present tense:

“e” changes to “ie”

The “e” in the stem is replaced with “ie.” This is the most common type of stem change. For example, the verb “venir” (to come) is conjugated as follows:

Person/Number	Subject Pronouns	Present Tense	Past Tense	Future Tense
First person singular	yo (I)	vengo – I come	vine – I came	vendré – I will come
Second person singular	tú (you informal)	vienes – you come	viniste – you came	vendrás – you will come
Third person singular	él/ella/usted (he/she/you formal)	viene – he/she/you come	vino – he/she/you came	vendrá – he/she/you will come
First person plural	nosotros(as) (we)	venimos – we come	vinimos – we came	vendremos – we will come
Second person plural	ustedes (you formal)	vienen – you come	vinieron – you came	vendrán – you will come
Third person plural	ellos/ellas (they)	vienen – they come	vinieron – they came	vendrán – they will come

“o” to “ue”

The “o” in the stem is replaced with “ue.” For instance, the verb “poder” (to be able) is conjugated as follows:

Person/Number	Subject Pronouns	Present Tense	Past Tense	Future Tense
First person singular	yo (I)	puedo – I can	pude – I was able	podré – I will be able to
Second person singular	tú (you informal)	puedes – you can	pudiste – you were able	podrás – you will be able to
Third person singular	él/ella/usted (he/she/you formal)	puede – he/she/you can	pudo – he/she/you was able	podrá – he/she/

“e” to “i”

This change applies to -ir verbs. For instance, the verb “medir” (to measure) follows this pattern.

Person/Number	Subject Pronouns	Present Tense	Past Tense	Future Tense
First person singular	yo (I)	mido – I measure	medí – I measured	mediré – I will measure
Second person singular	tú (you informal)	mides – you measure	mediste – you measured	medirás – you will measure
Third person singular	él/ella/usted (he/she/you formal)	mide – he/she/you measures/measure	midió – he/she/you measured	medirá – he/she/you will measure
First person plural	nosotros(as) (we)	medimos – we measure	medimos – we measured	mediremos – we will measure
Second person plural	ustedes (you formal)	miden – you (plural) measure	midieron – you (plural) measured	medirán – you (plural) will measure
Third person plural	ellos/ellas (they)	miden – they measure	midieron – they measured	medirán – they will measure

“i” to “ie”

This change occurs in verbs like “adquirir” (to buy/acquire) and “inquirir” (to inquire/question). The “i” in the stem changes to “ie” in all forms except “nosotros”.

Person/Number	Subject Pronouns	Present Tense	Past Tense	Future Tense
First Person Singular	yo (I)	inquiero – I inquire	inquirí – I inquired	inquiriré – I will inquire
Second Person Singular	tú (you informal)	inquieres – you inquire	inquiriste – you inquired	inquirirás – you will inquire
Third Person Singular	él/ella/usted (he/she/you formal)	inquiere – he/she/you inquires/inquire	inquirió – he/she/you inquired	inquirirá – he/she/you will inquire
First Person Plural	nosotros(as) (we)	inquirimos – we inquire	inquirimos – we inquired	inquiriremos – we will inquire
Second Person Plural	ustedes (you formal)	inquieren – you (plural) inquire	inquirieron – you (plural) inquired	inquirirán – you (plural) will inquire
Third Person Plural	ellos/ellas (they)	inquieren – they inquire	inquirieron – they inquired	inquirirán – they will inquire

“u” to “ue” 

A notable example is the verb “jugar” (to play), which changes from “u” to “ue” in most of its forms, except for the first person plural (nosotros). Below is a table illustrating the conjugation of “jugar”:

Person/Number	Subject Pronouns	Present Tense	Past Tense	Future Tense
First Person Singular	yo (I)	juego – I play	jugué – I played	jugaré – I will play
Second Person Singular	tú (you informal)	juegas – you play	jugaste – you played	jugarás – you will play
Third Person Singular	él/ella/usted (he/she/you formal)	juega – he/she/you plays/play	jugó – he/she/you played	jugará – he/she/you will play
First Person Plural	nosotros(as) (we)	jugamos – we play	jugamos – we played	jugaremos – we will play
Second Person Plural	ustedes (you formal)	juegan – you (plural) play	jugaron – you (plural) played	jugarán – you (plural) will play
Third Person Plural	ellos/ellas (they)	juegan – they play	jugaron – they played	jugarán – they will play

Irregular “Yo” Form Spanish Verbs

Many irregular Spanish verbs exhibit unique patterns in their “yo” forms, particularly in the present tense conjugation. These verbs deviate from the standard endings expected for their respective verb types (-ar, -er, -ir) in the first-person singular (yo) form. An illustrative example is the verb “dar” (to give). As an -ar verb, a regular conjugation would end in “-o” for the “yo” form. However, “dar” changes to “doy” for the “yo” form, while its other present tense forms align with the standard -ar verb conjugation pattern.

Person/Number	Subject Pronouns	Present Tense	Past Tense	Future Tense
First Person Singular	yo (I)	doy – I give	di – I gave	daré – I will give
Second Person Singular	tú (you informal)	das – you give	diste – you gave	darás – you will give
Third Person Singular	él/ella/usted (he/she/you formal)	da – he/she/you gives/give	dio – he/she/you gave	dará – he/she/you will give
First Person Plural	nosotros(as) (we)	damos – we give	dimos – we gave	daremos – we will give
Second Person Plural	ustedes (you formal)	dan – you (plural) give	dieron – you (plural) gave	darán – you (plural) will give
Third Person Plural	ellos/ellas (they)	dan – they give	dieron – they gave	darán – they will give

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