
You'll spot similar patterns when you learn the rest of the tenses. For example, the first-person singular forms all end with -o, and the second-person singular forms all end with -s. Hopefully you've spotted some of the patterns. (Remember that the vosotros form is only used in Spain in Latin America, use ustedes.) Él/ella/usted (he/she/you, singular formal)Įllos/ellas/ustedes (they/they/you, plural formal) The regular present tense forms in each case are: “ -ir” verbs, such as vivir (to live), existir (to exist), and ocurrir (“to happen”).“ -er” verbs, such as deber (to owe), correr (to run), and comprender (to understand).“ -ar” verbs, such as hablar (to speak), cantar (to sing), and bailar (to dance).Remember that Spanish verbs (regular or irregular) can be divided into three categories, based on the ending of their infinitive form: If you want to communicate effectively in Spanish, you need to learn which verbs are irregular, and what their irregularities are.īut before we get deeper into the verbs that break the rules, let's review those rules. There are some basic patterns that most verbs – the regular verbs – follow, but there are also many irregular exceptions. These are just a few of the many, many English verbs that don't play by the normal rules. Similarly, “to buy” becomes “bought”, not “buyed”, and “to throw” becomes “threw”, not “throwed”. This word doesn't follow the pattern above its past-tense version is not “speaked” but “spoke”. Most English verbs follow this simple pattern as such, they're known as regular verbs.īut then, there are verbs like “to speak”. These aren't the only tenses, of course, but the point is that the different forms of the verb “to walk” are made using some simple, consistent patterns that can be applied to many other verbs: Or you can put an “-ed” on the end of the verb to make it past tense: “I walked”. Other tenses are just as easy: for the present continuous tense, you stick an “-ing” on the end of the verb and combine it with the present tense of the verb “to be”, as in “he is walking”. The one exception is the third-person singular form (he/she/it), which has an “s” on the end: “he/she/it walk s“. To use “to walk” in the present tense, you simply stick a pronoun in front of it: “I walk” or “they walk”. I'll illustrate it with the verb “to walk”. They usually follow a pretty simple pattern. To understand the difference between regular and irregular verbs, it helps to take a closer look at how verbs work in English. Ready? Vamos! (“Let’s go!”) What Are Irregular Verbs in Spanish? Irregular “yo” form with no stem changeĭon’t be put off if you’re a complete beginner: I won't assume much if any existing knowledge of Spanish grammar.Spanish Verbs With an Irregular “yo” Form.Types of Stem-Changing Verbs in Spanish.The Spanish Irregular Verbs by Category: Stem-Changing Verbs.The 10 Most Common Spanish Irregular Verbs.Note that ser and ir are the same in the preterite. Irregular verbs – the following verbs are irregular in the preterite and do not follow any other pattern. Vine, viniste, vino, vinimos, vinisteis, vinieron Quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisisteis, quisieron Traje, trajiste, trajo, trajimos, trajisteis, trajeron Tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvisteis, tuvieron Supe, supiste, supo, supimos, supisteis, supieron Puse, pusiste, puso, pusimos, pusisteis, pusieron Pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudisteis, pudieron Hice, hiciste, hizo, hicimos, hicisteis, hicieron andarĪnduve, anduviste, anduvo, anduvimos, anduvisteis, anduvieronĬupe, cupiste, cupo, cupimos, cupisteis, cupieronĮstuve, estuviste, estuvo, estuvimos, estuvisteis, estuvieronĭije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, dijisteis, dijeron Note that the endings also differ from the regular preterite endings. Irregular stems – the following verbs’ stems change in the preterite tense. – caer (to fall), creer (to believe), leer (to read), oír (to hear), huir (to flee), incluir (to include), construir (to construct), atribuir (to attribute) Irregular third-person form verbs – Verbs that have a vowel before the -er and -ir infinitive endings change from -ió and -ieron to -yó and – yeron. – o > u – dormir (to sleep), morir (to die) – e > i – conseguir (to get), divertirse (to have fun), mentir (to lie), pedir (to ask for), preferir (to prefer), repetir (to repeat), seguir (to follow / continue), servir (to serve) Only -ir verbs have stem changes in the Ud., Uds., él, ella, ellos and ellas form. Stem changing verbs – Present tense stem changers do not undergo the same changes in the preterite.


Regular verbs – To conjugate past tense regular verbs, drop the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, -ir) and add the following endings. Preterite tense Spanish verbs The preterite tense in Spanish is used to discuss actions in the past that are viewed as completed, over or accomplished.
