Home Advice 50+ Common Spanish Irregular Verbs: A Beginner’s Guide

50+ Common Spanish Irregular Verbs: A Beginner’s Guide

by Melody Li
Windmills in Campo de Criptana, Spain

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by Spanish irregular verbs, we’ve got bad and good news for you. 

The bad news: Irregular verbs in Spanish are impossible to ignore. Almost all of the 12 most common verbs in Spanish have irregular conjugations, and they’re sure to come up in daily conversations. 

The good news: Irregular verbs in Spanish aren’t nearly as difficult as they seem. To the untrained eye, it might seem as if there’s no rhyme or reason for their irregularities. But even irregular verbs follow some patterns, which you’ll be able to pick up quickly with a bit of practice.

In this guide, we’ll uncover the mysterious patterns of irregular verbs, give you tips on conjugating them, and provide a list of the 50 most common irregular verbs in Spanish.

What are irregular verbs in Spanish? 

Most verbs in Spanish follow a basic pattern for conjugation. These verbs are known as regular verbs since they all abide by the same rules. For instance, all regular Spanish -ar, -er, and -ir verbs in the present tense observe the conjugation patterns below:

hablar (to talk)leer (to read)vivir (to live)
yo
I
habloleovivo

you (informal)
hablasleesvives
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
hablaleevive
nosotros
we
hablamosleemosvivimos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
habláisleéisvivís
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
hablanleenviven

Then, there are Spanish verbs that don’t follow the regular conjugation rules. These verbs are irregular. 

But irregular verbs aren’t unique to Spanish. In fact, you can probably think of a few words in English that stick out to you as rulebreakers. To further illustrate the difference between regular and irregular verbs, let’s take a look at a few examples in English. 

In English, there are many grammatical patterns that verbs follow. For instance: 

  • adding “-ed” to the end of a verb changes it to the simple past tense (Ex.: I laughed at the movie.)
  • adding “-ing” to the end of a verb changes it to the present progressive tense (Ex.: I’m working on a new project.) 

But many verbs in English don’t play by the rules. We see this happen often with common verbs in the simple past tense: 

  • I eat = I ate 
  • I swim = I swam
  • I drive = I drove 

These outliers are irregular verbs. Whether they’re in English or Spanish, verbs that don’t stick to the regular conjugation pattern are irregular verbs. 

Why are there irregular verbs in Spanish? 

While some irregular verbs in Spanish can be traced back to Latin grammar, no one purposely designs irregular verbs or plans for language irregularities. Scientists and linguists believe languages evolve with the speakers that use them, but earlier versions of the language—including their irregularities—often persist in commonly used words. The more a word is used by people, the less likely it is to change. 

Over time, irregularities in languages develop and persist for a variety of reasons

  • Speed: Speakers often shorten the most commonly used words to make them quicker to pronounce. 
  • Sound: In order to preserve a specific pronunciation in a very phonetic language like Spanish, the spelling may need to change. You might find that irregular verbs sound better and are easier to pronounce than they would be if they were conjugated regularly. 
  • Frequency: Highly used irregular verbs are more likely to remain irregular, whereas less common irregular verbs slowly adopt regular patterns or fade away. 

How to conjugate Spanish irregular verbs

While most verbs in Spanish are regular, irregular verbs are actually the most commonly used words in conversations and daily life. So if you want to communicate effectively in Spanish, it’s essential to not only recognize which Spanish verbs are irregular, but also know what their irregularities are. 

Luckily, learning to conjugate irregular verbs in Spanish isn’t as scary as it sounds. Because irregular verbs are so prevalent in everyday conversations, learners often pick them up simply through exposure. With time and practice, you’ll be able to conjugate and use irregular verbs in Spanish without missing a beat. 

And while irregular verbs are known for being irregular, you’ll find that they still follow some sort of conjugation pattern if you look closely! For example, many irregular verbs will have spelling changes but still follow regular verb endings. And no matter how weird an irregular verb is, you can expect that the nosotros (first-person plural) form will always follow the regular conjugation and end in -mos. Knowing how to look for these shortcuts will make irregular verb conjugation much easier. 

Top 10 most common irregular verbs in Spanish

Before diving into the different types of Spanish irregular verbs, let’s first look at the most important ones to learn. The following irregular verbs come up in basic conversations and are essential to know if you want to get by in Spanish

Here’s a list of 10 of the most frequently used irregular verbs and their conjugated forms in the present and simple past (preterite) tenses.

1. ser: to be (permanent quality)

PresentPreterite 
yo
I
soyfui

you (informal)
eresfuiste
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
esfue
nosotros
we
somosfuimos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
soisfuisteis
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
sonfueron

2. estar: to be (emotion, location, temporary state) 

PresentPreterite 
yo
I
estoyestuve

you (informal)
estásestuviste
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
estáestuvo
nosotros
we
estamosestuvimos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
estáisestuvisteis
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
estánestuvieron

3. tener: to have

PresentPreterite 
yo
I
tengotuve

you (informal)
tienestuviste
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
tienetuvo
nosotros
we
tenemostuvimos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
tenéistuvisteis
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
tienentuvieron

4. haber: to have (auxiliary verb)

PresentPreterite 
yo
I
hehube

you (informal)
hashubiste
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
hahubo
nosotros
we
hemoshubimos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
habéishubisteis
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
hanhubieron

5. hacer: to do, to make 

PresentPreterite 
yo
I
hagohice

you (informal)
haceshiciste
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
hacehizo
nosotros
we
hacemoshicimos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
hacéishicisteis
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
hacenhicieron

6. ir: to go 

PresentPreterite 
yo
I
voyfui

you (informal)
vasfuiste
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
vafue
nosotros
we
vamosfuimos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
vaisfuisteis
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
vanfueron

7. saber: to know

PresentPreterite 
yo
I
supe

you (informal)
sabessupiste
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
sabesupo
nosotros
we
sabemossupimos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
sabéissupisteis
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
sabensupieron

8. dar: to give

PresentPreterite 
yo
I
doydi

you (informal)
dasdiste
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
dadio
nosotros
we
damosdimos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
daisdisteis
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
dandieron

9. decir: to say, to tell

PresentPreterite 
yo
I
digodije

you (informal)
dicesdijiste
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
dicedijo
nosotros
we
decimosdijimos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
decísdijisteis
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
dicendijeron

10. poder: to be able to, to can

PresentPreterite 
yo
I
puedopude

you (informal)
puedespudiste
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
puedepudo
nosotros
we
podemospudimos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
podéispudisteis
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
puedenpudieron

Spanish irregular verbs by category: Stem-changing verbs

As we mentioned previously, even the most irregular verbs in Spanish have some regular patterns to them. To make them easier to learn, we’ve categorized the irregular verbs in Spanish into groups.

The first and most common group of Spanish irregular verbs are stem-changing verbs. A stem change refers to when the irregular changes occur in the stem of the verb (the prefer- in preferir) while the verb ending (the -ir in preferir) follows the regular conjugation pattern. 

Let’s look at preferir (to prefer) as an example. To conjugate a regular -ir verb in the yo form, you’d simply replace the -ir ending with -o

So if you didn’t know preferir was an irregular verb, you’d probably expect it to look like this: 

  • Incorrect: Yo prefero el color rosado

But, preferir is actually an irregular verb with an e → ie stem change. So, the e turns into ie, and the correct form is: 

  • Correct: Yo prefiero el color rosado

Spanish stem-changing verbs from e → ie

The first common stem change in irregular verbs is the e to ie stem change. Here is a list of the most prevalently used Spanish irregular verbs with this type of stem change. 

We’ve provided the conjugated present tense forms for the first verb in the list and bolded the stem change. The rest of the verbs follow the same pattern and should be easy to figure out. Note that stem changes do not occur in the nosotros (first-person plural) and vosotros/as (second-person plural) forms. 

If you want to double-check your conjugation, you can look up the verb in a reliable Spanish dictionary, such as SpanishDict

See what the e → ie stem change looks like with cerrar

Present
yo
I
cierro

you (informal)
cierras
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
cierra
nosotros
we
cerramos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
cerráis
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
cierran
  1. cerrar: to close 
  2. empezar: to begin
  3. entender: to understand
  4. mentir: to lie 
  5. negar: to deny
  6. pensar: to think 
  7. perder: to lose
  8. recomendar: to recommend 
  9. sentir: to feel
  10. sugerir: to suggest

Spanish stem-changing verbs from o → ue

Another type of stem change in irregular verbs is the o to ue stem change. 

Below is a list of the most frequently used o → ue stem-changing verbs. We’ve only highlighted the stem change in the first verb, but the rest of the list follows the same pattern. 

See what the  o → ue stem change looks like with contar:

Present
yo
I
cuento

you (informal)
cuentas
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
cuenta
nosotros
we
contamos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
contáis
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
cuentan
  1. contar: to count, to tell  
  2. costar: to cost
  3. doler: to hurt
  4. dormir: to sleep
  5. encontrar: to find
  6. llover: to rain
  7. morder: to bite
  8. morir: to die
  9. recordar: to remember
  10. volver: to return from somewhere

Spanish stem-changing verbs from e → i

The third and last category of stem-changing verbs are verbs with the e to i stem change. Here is a list of the most frequently used Spanish irregular verbs with this type of stem change. Again, we’ve bolded the stem change as it occurs in the first verb of the list.  

See what the e → i stem change looks like with competir

Present
yo
I
compito

you (informal)
compites
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
compite
nosotros
we
competimos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
competís
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
compiten
  1. competir: to compete 
  2. conseguir: to get, to obtain
  3. corregir: to correct
  4. despedir: to dismiss, to say goodbye 
  5. elegir: to choose
  6. medir: to measure
  7. repetir: to repeat
  8. seguir: to follow, to continue
  9. servir: to serve
  10. pedir: to ask for, to order

Other stem-changing verbs

This final group of stem-changing verbs consists of verbs that don’t quite fit into any of the above categories. While they may stand out as outliers, they’re still frequently used and good to know for everyday conversations. 

31. jugar: to play (u → ue) 

Present
yo
I
juego

you (informal)
juegas
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
juega
nosotros
we
jugamos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
jugáis
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
juegan

32. oler: to smell (o → hue) 

Present
yo
I
huelo

you (informal)
hueles
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
huele
nosotros
we
olemos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
oléis
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
huelen

33. inquirir: to inquire (i → ie) 

Present
yo
I
inquiero

you (informal)
inquieres
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
inquiere
nosotros
we
inquirimos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
inquirís
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
inquieren

Spanish irregular verbs by category: Changes in the yo form

Other than stem-changing verbs, another type of Spanish irregular verbs are those with irregular yo (first-person singular) forms. These verbs are irregular only in the yo form, and the rest of the forms are either regular or have a stem change. 

Below is a list of common irregular yo verbs and their present tense conjugations. In addition to the following verbs, scroll back to our list of top 10 most common irregular verbs and see if you can spot which verbs have an irregular yo form in the present tense! (Hint: There are seven.) 

34. conocer: to know

Present
yo
I
conozco

you (informal)
conoces
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
conoce
nosotros
we
conocemos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
conocéis
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
conocen

35. poner: to put

Present
yo
I
pongo

you (informal)
pones
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
pone
nosotros
we
ponemos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
ponéis
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
ponen

36. salir: to leave

Present
yo
I
salgo

you (informal)
sales
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
sale
nosotros
we
salimos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
salís
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
salen

37. traer: to bring

Present
yo
I
traigo

you (informal)
traes
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
trae
nosotros
we
traemos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
traéis
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
traen

38. ver: to see

Present
yo
I
veo

you (informal)
ves
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
ve
nosotros
we
vemos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
veis
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
ven

39. venir: to come

Present
yo
I
vengo

you (informal)
vienes
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
viene
nosotros
we
venimos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
venís
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
vienen

40. oír: to hear

Present
yo
I
oigo

you (informal)
oyes
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
oye
nosotros
we
oímos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
oís
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
oyen

41. caber: to fit

Present
yo
I
quepo

you (informal)
cabes
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
cabe
nosotros
we
cabemos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
cabéis
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
caben

42. caer: to fall

Present
yo
I
caigo

you (informal)
caes
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
cae
nosotros
we
caemos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
caéis
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
caen

43. valer: to be worth

Present
yo
I
valgo

you (informal)
vales
él, ella, usted
he, she, you (formal)
vale
nosotros
we
valemos
vosotros, vosotras
you all (informal, Spain only)
valéis
ellos, ellas, ustedes
they, you all (formal)
valen

The best way to learn Spanish verbs

With more than 250 irregular verbs in the Spanish language, how long would it take for you to make and memorize a conjugation table for each verb? 

Thankfully, there’s a faster and better way to learn Spanish than rote memorization. Rosetta Stone’s award-winning immersion method helps you learn a new language intuitively through lessons with real-world examples and practical topics. Instead of flipping through flashcards, you’ll be reading and speaking conversational Spanish from the very first lesson. 

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