Irregular Present Tense
Recognize common irregular forms and stem-changing patterns in the present tense.
Irregular Present Tense
Most Spanish verbs follow the regular -ar, -er, and -ir patterns. However, many common verbs have irregular forms or change their stem in the present tense.
You do not need to memorize every irregular verb at once. Start by recognizing the most common patterns. If a verb is not covered on this page, you can check its full conjugation on SpanishDict.
If you are not familiar with regular conjugation yet, see Regular Present Tense first.
1. Completely irregular verbs
Some very common verbs do not follow the regular present-tense patterns.
Ser
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | soy |
| tú | eres |
| él / ella / usted | es |
| nosotros/as | somos |
| vosotros/as | sois |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | son |
See Ser for its main uses.
Ir
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | voy |
| tú | vas |
| él / ella / usted | va |
| nosotros/as | vamos |
| vosotros/as | vais |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | van |
Voy al mercado por la mañana. — I go to the market in the morning.
See Ir and Venir for the difference between going and coming.
Hay
Hay is a special form of haber used to mean “there is” or “there are.”
Hay un café cerca. — There is a café nearby.
At A1, it is most useful to learn hay as a fixed form. See Hay for how to use it.
2. Irregular yo forms
Some verbs are irregular mainly in the yo form.
| Infinitive | Yo form |
|---|---|
| hacer | hago |
| poner | pongo |
| salir | salgo |
| traer | traigo |
| caer | caigo |
| conocer | conozco |
| saber | sé |
| ver | veo |
| dar | doy |
For example, hacer becomes hago with yo, while other forms include haces, hace, and hacemos.
- Hago la cena a las ocho. — I make dinner at eight.
- Ana sale de casa a las siete. — Ana leaves home at seven.
3. Stem-changing verbs
Some verbs keep the regular present-tense endings but change a vowel in the stem.
There are three especially common patterns:
- e → ie: pensar → pienso, querer → quiero
- o → ue: poder → puedo, dormir → duermo
- e → i: pedir → pido, servir → sirvo
The stem changes in:
yo, tú, él / ella / usted, ellos / ellas / ustedes
It normally does not change in:
nosotros/as, vosotros/as
E → IE
Common e → ie verbs:
- pensar → pienso — to think
- querer → quiero — to want
- empezar → empiezo — to start
- cerrar → cierro — to close
- entender → entiendo — to understand
- preferir → prefiero — to prefer
For example:
| Person | Querer |
|---|---|
| yo | quiero |
| tú | quieres |
| él / ella / usted | quiere |
| nosotros/as | queremos |
| vosotros/as | queréis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | quieren |
Quiero un café. — I want a coffee.
Notice that nosotros and vosotros keep the original e: queremos, queréis.
O → UE
Common o → ue verbs:
- poder → puedo — can / to be able to
- volver → vuelvo — to return
- dormir → duermo — to sleep
- encontrar → encuentro — to find
- recordar → recuerdo — to remember
For example:
| Person | Poder |
|---|---|
| yo | puedo |
| tú | puedes |
| él / ella / usted | puede |
| nosotros/as | podemos |
| vosotros/as | podéis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | pueden |
No puedo ir hoy. — I cannot go today.
Notice: podemos and podéis keep the original o.
See Querer, Poder, and Necesitar + Infinitive for using querer and poder with another verb.
E → I
Common e → i verbs:
- pedir → pido — to ask for / order
- repetir → repito — to repeat
- servir → sirvo — to serve
- seguir → sigo — to follow / continue
For example:
| Person | Pedir |
|---|---|
| yo | pido |
| tú | pides |
| él / ella / usted | pide |
| nosotros/as | pedimos |
| vosotros/as | pedís |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | piden |
Pido una ensalada. — I order a salad.
Again, pedimos and pedís keep the original e.
4. Verbs with more than one irregular pattern
Some common verbs combine different types of irregularity.
Tener
Tener has an irregular yo form (tengo) and an e → ie stem change.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | tengo |
| tú | tienes |
| él / ella / usted | tiene |
| nosotros/as | tenemos |
| vosotros/as | tenéis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | tienen |
Tengo dos hermanos. — I have two brothers.
See Tener for its main A1 uses.
Venir
Venir follows a similar pattern: vengo, but vienes, viene, and vienen.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | vengo |
| tú | vienes |
| él / ella / usted | viene |
| nosotros/as | venimos |
| vosotros/as | venís |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | vienen |
¿Vienes a mi casa? — Are you coming to my house?
Decir
Decir has the irregular yo form digo and an e → i change in several other forms.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | digo |
| tú | dices |
| él / ella / usted | dice |
| nosotros/as | decimos |
| vosotros/as | decís |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | dicen |
Marta dice la verdad. — Marta tells the truth.
Quick rule
When you learn a new irregular verb, look for a pattern instead of memorizing six unrelated forms:
- special yo form: hacer → hago
- e → ie: querer → quiero
- o → ue: poder → puedo
- e → i: pedir → pido
- more than one change: tener → tengo, tienes
For stem-changing verbs, remember that nosotros/as and vosotros/as normally keep the original stem.