Spanish irregular verbs · present tenseThe Irregular Starter Pack

Why these 9 verbs first

Spanish has hundreds of irregular verbs. You don't need them yet. These nine show up in almost every conversation you'll have this month, and the good news is that most of them break the rules in the same way.

We start with yo (I) and tú (you), because that's what a conversation is: you talk about yourself, then you ask about the other person. ¿Tienes tiempo? Sí, tengo tiempo.

Don't memorize this as a list of nine. Learn it as three groups.

Group 1: the "-go" verbs

Four of them end in -go in the yo form. Only in yo: in tú the -go disappears.

Notice that tener, venir and decir also change a vowel in tú: tienes, vienes, dices. That's the pattern of the next group.

Group 2: the "boot" verbs

In poder and querer, the vowel in the middle of the verb changes, in both yo and tú.

Why "boot"? When you see the full chart, the forms that change make the shape of a boot. Only nosotros stays outside it. You'll find the chart at the end of this lesson.

Group 3: the rebels

Ser, estar and ir don't follow any pattern. You just learn them, and because you'll use them a hundred times a day, they stick fast.

Ir almost always goes with a: Voy a la playa. ¿Vas al cine? (a + el becomes al.)

✍️ Quick check

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1. 1.Yo ___ 25 años. (I'm 25.)

   soytengoestoy

2. 2.¿Tú ___ ir mañana? (Can you go tomorrow?)

   puedespodespuedo

3. 3.Yo ___ la tarea en la noche. (I do my homework at night.)

   hagohacehaco

Common mistakes

• ✗Soy 30 años.

  ✓Tengo 30 años.

  Age is something you have, not something you are.

• ✗Yo podo ir.

  ✓Yo puedo ir.

  The o → ue change happens in yo.

• ✗¿Tú tenes tiempo?

  ✓¿Tú tienes tiempo?

  Tener changes e → ie in tú. (You may hear tenés in Argentina, but not in Mexico.)

• ✗Quiero a comer.

  ✓Quiero comer.

  The English "to" doesn't carry over. After querer or poder, the next verb goes straight in.

• ✗Soy en casa.

  ✓Estoy en casa.

  Where you are is always estar.

Put it together

Here's the sentence from class:

Hoy tengo clase, voy al trabajo y puedo salir tarde.

• tengo: tener, group 1 (a "-go" verb)
• voy: ir, group 3 (a rebel)
• puedo: poder, group 2 (a boot verb), followed by salir in its basic form

And now as a conversation, with yo and tú going back and forth:

1. ¿Qué haces hoy?

   What are you doing today?

2. Hoy tengo clase, voy al trabajo y puedo salir tarde. ¿Y tú?

   Today I have class, I'm going to work and I can leave late. And you?

3. Yo no puedo, tengo mucho trabajo. ¿Quieres un café después?

   I can't, I have a lot of work. Do you want a coffee later?

4. ¡Sí! ¿A qué hora vienes?

   Yes! What time are you coming?

5. Voy a las seis.

   I'll go at six.

Now make it yours: swap clase, trabajo and tarde for your own day, and ask someone about theirs.

Test yourself

✍️ Five quick questions

0/5

1. 1.¿Tú ___ café? (Do you want coffee?)

   quieresqueresquiero

2. 2.¿De dónde ___? (Where are you coming from?)

   vienesvenesvengo

3. 3.¿Qué ___ los sábados? (What do you do on Saturdays?)

   hagohaceshaco

4. 4.¿___ al cine hoy? (Are you going to the movies today?)

   VoyVasVa

5. 5.Yo ___ en el supermercado. (I'm at the supermarket.)

   soyestoyvoy

All the forms

Full present-tense chart

You'll learn él/ella in class 10 and nosotros/ellos in class 11. Here's the whole picture for when you need it. We teach Mexican Spanish, so there's no vosotros.

	yo	tú	él / ella / usted	nosotros	ellos / ustedes
ser	soy	eres	es	somos	son
estar	estoy	estás	está	estamos	están
tener	tengo	tienes	tiene	tenemos	tienen
ir	voy	vas	va	vamos	van
hacer	hago	haces	hace	hacemos	hacen
poder	puedo	puedes	puede	podemos	pueden
querer	quiero	quieres	quiere	queremos	quieren
venir	vengo	vienes	viene	venimos	vienen
decir	digo	dices	dice	decimos	dicen

The forms in color are the ones that change. Look at poder or querer: yo, tú, él and ellos change, nosotros doesn't. That's the boot.