If you’re just starting to dip your toes into Spanish, it’s a good idea to start with a small goal—like expressing your thoughts in complete sentences. And no sentence is complete without a verb, which is why it’s critical to learn the most common Spanish verbs.
In Spanish, verbs are classified by their endings:
- -AR verbs, e.g., trabajar and hablar
- -ER verbs, e.g., comer and leer
- -IR verbs, e.g., vivir and dormir
Though -IR verbs are not as common as -AR and -ER verbs in Spanish, the chances of an -IR verb making its way into conversations are still high.
You’re probably asking: How would I know what goes on in Spanish conversations without participating in them? With Rosetta Stone Spanish, you can! Every lesson helps you learn useful phrases and practice saying complete sentences that you’ll actually use in the real world.
Before that, we’ll give you a preview of all the verbs you can learn with Rosetta Stone. Let’s walk through the 25 most common Spanish -IR verbs and how to conjugate them!
Spanish conjugation basics
When you see a verb in Spanish that ends in -AR, -ER, or -IR, they are in their infinitive form. But if you want to express that these actions are done by different subjects (you, he, they, etc.) or in different tenses (present, past, future, etc.), the verbs need to be conjugated.
That might sound complicated, but don’t tense up! Conjugation is simply the process of changing a verb to reflect the subject and verb tense.
In fact, you already know how to conjugate verbs in English. For example, English verbs in the past tense have “-ed” endings, like “shopped” or “played,” and verbs in the present progressive tense have “-ing” endings, like “shopping” or “playing.”
The same concept applies to Spanish: Spanish verbs have different endings for different tenses.
How to conjugate Spanish -IR verbs
There are 18 different verb tenses in Spanish, but for beginners, learning how to conjugate verbs in these three tenses is enough to get you started:
- Present: express actions happening now or regularly (“I bike to school.”)
- Preterite: express actions that have been completed in the past (“I biked to school this morning.”)
- Future: express actions that will happen in the future (“I will bike to school later.”)
-IR verb conjugation in the present tense
To conjugate -IR verbs in the present tense, remove the “-ir” ending and add the following endings:
| Subject pronoun | Present tense |
| yo I | –o |
| tú you (informal) | -es |
| él, ella, usted he, she, you (formal) | -e |
| nosotros, nosotras we | -imos |
| vosotros, vosotras you all (informal, Spain only) | –ís |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes they, you all (formal) | -en |
Here is how the verb escribir (to write) looks in the present tense:
| yo escribo | I write | nosotros escribimos | we write |
| tú escribes | you (informal) write | vosotros escribís | you all write |
| él/ella/usted escribe | he/she writes you (formal) write | ellos/ellas/ustedes escriben | they write you all (formal) write |
-IR verb conjugation in the preterite tense
To conjugate -IR verbs in the preterite tense, remove the “-ir” ending and add the following endings:
| Subject pronoun | Preterite tense |
| yo I | -í |
| tú you (informal) | -iste |
| él, ella, usted he, she, you (formal) | -ió |
| nosotros, nosotras we | -imos |
| vosotros, vosotras you all (informal, Spain only) | -isteis |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes they, you all (formal) | -ieron |
This is what the verb escribir (to write) looks like in the preterite tense:
| yo escribí | I wrote | nosotros escribimos | we wrote |
| tú escribiste | you (informal) wrote | vosotros escribisteis | you all wrote |
| él/ella/usted escribió | he/she wrote you (formal) wrote | ellos/ellas/ustedes escribieron | they wrote you all (formal) wrote |
-IR verb conjugation in the future tense
Conjugating verbs in the future tense is a bit different from the previous two tenses. Instead of removing the “-ir” ending, simply add the following endings to the entire infinitive form:
| Subject pronoun | Future tense |
| yo I | -é |
| tú you (informal) | -ás |
| él, ella, usted he, she, you (formal) | -á |
| nosotros, nosotras we | -emos |
| vosotros, vosotras you all (informal, Spain only) | -éis |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes they, you all (formal) | -án |
For example, here is what the verb escribir (to write) looks like in the future tense:
| yo escribiré | I will write | nosotros escribiremos | we will write |
| tú escribirás | you (informal) will write | vosotros escribiréis | you all will write |
| él/ella/usted escribía | he/she will write you (formal) will write | ellos/ellas/ustedes escribirán | they will write you all (formal) will write |
15 common regular -IR verbs in Spanish
Regular -IR verbs will always follow the conjugation patterns outlined above. Here is a list of -IR verbs that are good to know for everyday conversations.
- abrir = to open
- añadir = to add
- compartir = to share
- decidir = to decide
- describir = to describe
- discutir = to discuss
- dividir = to divide
- escribir = to write
- existir = to exist
- ocurrir = to occur
- partir = to leave
- permitir = to permit
- recibir = to receive
- sufrir = to suffer
- vivir = to live
10 most common irregular -IR verbs in Spanish
On the other hand, irregular -IR verbs don’t follow the same conjugation rules. Irregular verbs might take more time and effort to learn, but shouldn’t be overlooked as they are actually more common than regular verbs. Here is a list of 10 of the most important irregular -IR verbs that you will use.
We’ve also provided the conjugation of these common irregular verbs in the present tense. To see how to conjugate irregular verbs in other tenses, you can look them up in a reliable conjugation dictionary like SpanishDictionary.
1. ir = to go
| yo voy | nosotros vamos |
| tú vas | vosotros vais |
| él/ella/usted va | ellos/ellas/ustedes van |
Example sentences:
- ¡Vamos a la playa! = Let’s go to the beach!
- ¿Vas al médico cuando estás enfermo? = Do you go to the doctor when you’re sick?
2. oír = to hear
| yo oigo | nosotros oímos |
| tú oyes | vosotros oís |
| él/ella/usted oye | ellos/ellas/ustedes oyen |
Example sentences:
- Los niños aprenden palabras que oyen en su entorno. = Children pick up words they hear in their environment.
- ¿Por qué no oímos lo que el grupo tiene para decir? = Why don’t we hear what the group has to say?
3. seguir = to follow
| yo sigo | nosotros seguimos |
| tú sigues | vosotros seguís |
| él/ella/usted sigue | ellos/ellas/ustedes siguen |
Example sentences:
- No sigo tu lógica. = I don’t follow your logic.
- Mi perro me sigue. = My dog follows me.
4. venir = to come
| yo vengo | nosotros venimos |
| tú vienes | vosotros venís |
| él/ella/usted viene | ellos/ellas/ustedes vienen |
Example sentences:
- Cada vez que venimos es un desastre. = Every time we come here, it’s a disaster.
- ¿Por qué no venís a cenar mañana? = Why don’t you all come for dinner tomorrow?
5. decir = to say, to tell
| yo digo | nosotros decimos |
| tú dices | vosotros decís |
| él/ella/usted dice | ellos/ellas/ustedes dicen |
Example sentences:
- Dices eso ahora, pero ¿qué tal en 30 años? = You say that now, but what about in 30 years?
- Mi mamá dice que necesitamos dormir ahora. = My mom says we need to sleep now.
6. pedir = to ask for, to order
| yo pido | nosotros pedimos |
| tú pides | vosotros pedís |
| él/ella/usted pide | ellos/ellas/ustedes piden |
Example sentences:
- Pido tacos de pescado del restaurante de la calle. = I order fish tacos from the restaurant down the street.
- ¿Por qué no le pides que juegue con nosotras? = Why don’t you ask her to play with us?
7. repetir = to repeat
| yo repito | nosotros repetimos |
| tú repites | vosotros repetís |
| él/ella/usted repite | ellos/ellas/ustedes repiten |
Example sentences:
- Mi hijo pequeño repite todo lo que su hermano dice. = My younger son repeats everything his brother says.
- Los niños repiten lo que hacen las personas mayores. = Children repeat what older people do.
8. sentir = to feel
| yo siento | nosotros sentimos |
| tú sientes | vosotros sentís |
| él/ella/usted siente | ellos/ellas/ustedes sienten |
Example sentences:
- Me siento como un turista en mi propia ciudad. = I feel like a tourist in my own city.
- Los dos sentís lo mismo. = You both feel the same way.
9. vestir = to dress, to wear
| yo visto | nosotros vestimos |
| tú vistes | vosotros vestís |
| él/ella/usted viste | ellos/ellas/ustedes visten |
Example sentences:
- ¿Cómo te vistes para el trabajo? = How do you dress for work?
- ¡Nos vestimos para impresionar! = We dress to impress!
10. dormir = to sleep
| yo duermo | nosotros dormimos |
| tú duermes | vosotros dormís |
| él/ella/usted duerme | ellos/ellas/ustedes duermen |
Example sentences:
- ¿Duermes en clase? = Do you sleep in class?
- Los bebés duermen menos que los adolescentes. = Babies sleep less than teenagers.
A better way to learn verbs in Spanish
There are more Spanish verbs than we can list, but there are also more ways to effectively learn Spanish than memorizing conjugation tables. In fact, the best way to learn a language and get conversation-ready is through immersive learning.
And Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion approach to language learning helps you do just that! With real-world topics and real-time pronunciation feedback, you can learn everything you need to speak confidently—in a way that feels natural and fun.
Start your first Spanish lesson today at rosettastone.com!
