Irregular Spanish Verbs & Their Conjugation Charts (2024)

Spanish verbs use stems and endings for their various conjugations. In regular verbs, the stems don’t change, and the endings change based on the personal pronoun you’re using (I, you, we, etc.). Irregular verbs don’t follow the same ending patterns, and their stems sometimes change when endings are added. That makes conjugating irregular verbs a little more complicated.

While English verbs don’t use stems or endings like Spanish verbs do, the English language has regular and irregular verbs. English verbs are considered regular when their past tense ends in “-ed.”

For example, the verb “play” is “played,” just like “tone” is “toned.” Irregular English verbs don’t have past tense forms ending in “-ed.” For example, “swim” isn’t “swimmed,” it’s “swam,” and “freeze” isn’t “freezed” but rather “froze.”

Verb conjugation can be tricky with Spanish irregular verbs. In this post, we’ll go over basic Spanish grammar and conjugation, as well as how to handle some common irregular verbs when you are learning Spanish.

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Regular Spanish verbs and their conjugations

Before looking at common irregular verbs, it’s important to recap regular Spanish verbs and how they are conjugated. In Spanish, there are three categories or classes of verb endings for infinitive verbs: -ar, -er and -ir. These are for the verb’s infinitive form, phrases with the word “to” in front of them. For example, “pensar” means “to think,” “tener” means “to have” and “dormir” means “to sleep.”

Some verbs ending in -ar, -er, and -ir are regular and some are irregular. A regular verb follows the conjugation chart shown below. Irregular verbs, on the other hand, have different endings and/or stem changes.

With regular Spanish verbs, the verb ending indicates which conjugation pattern to use. How you conjugate the verb will vary depending on the subject of the sentence. The endings of each verb form also change based on what tense you’re using.

What makes a regular Spanish verb regular is that it’s conjugated using the same definitive endings, swapping out the -ar, -er or -ir ending based on the pronoun. The chart below shows how to conjugate each type of verb in present tense.

As shown in the chart, regular verbs keep the same stem – only the ending changes, following a pattern based on the pronoun used.

For example, if you want to write “I love,” you would use the verb “amor” (meaning “to love”) and the pronoun “yo.” The verb ending for that pronoun, and for a regular -ar verb, is “-o,” so “I love” would be “Yo amo.”

The most common irregular Spanish verbs

Here are some of the most common irregular verbs in Spanish. Though there are many ways to conjugate verbs in a language depending on the context, in this post, we’ll go over conjugating these verbs in present tense, past tense (also called preterite) and future tense. We’re also excluding the “vosotros” forms of these verbs, because that form is only used in Spain. In Latin America, they use “ustedes” to mean “you” (plural).

On the whole, what makes these verbs irregular is that they don’t follow a set conjugation pattern to form all their tenses.

1. Ser – to be

The verb “ser” is a form of “to be” that refers to a non-changing state of something, like who or what you are. For example, if you’re a tall person, you’d say, “Yo soy alto” (meaning “I am tall”), because your height doesn’t change.

“Ser” uses different stems in its present and past tenses, but follows a regular conjugation pattern in future tense.

2. Haber – to have

In addition to being an irregular verb, “haber” is atypical because it’s also an auxiliary verb. That means that it’s used to form compound verb phrases. It’s placed before the main verb in a phrase to set the main verb’s tense. For example, “He estado,” a phrase containing “haber” and a form of “estar,” means “I have been.”

Because it’s an auxiliary verb, “haber” isn’t typically used in the past tense or preterite, so that conjugation is included only for reference.

In the conjugation “hay,” it’s also used to mean “there is” or “there are.”

3. Estar – to be

The verb “estar” also means “to be,” but, unlike “ser” which refers to something permanent, “estar” refers to what something does, or a temporary state of being. For example, if you have a cold, you’d say, “Estoy enfermo” (meaning “I am sick”), because you’re only sick for the time being.

4. Pensar – to think

While the verb “pensar” mainly means “to think,” it also refers to making plans, holding beliefs, and intending to do something, especially when used in compound phrases with other verbs. In addition to being an irregular verb, “pensar” is also an example of a stem-changing verb, like many other irregular verbs on our list (more on that later).

5. Tener – to have

The verb “tener” mainly means “to have,” but, depending on what word it’s paired with, it can also mean “to be.” For example, “tener calor” means “to be hot.” When “tener” is paired with the word “que,” it means “to have to do” something, as in “Tienes que hacerlo” (meaning “You have to do it”). Its conjugations are irregular in every tense below.

6. Poder – to be able to

The verb “poder” means that you can or are able to do something. It’s often paired with an infinitive, or a verb that isn’t conjugated. For example, “Puedo hacerlo” means “I am able to do it.” It’s irregular in its present and past tenses.

7. Poner – to put

The verb “poner” means “to put,” usually referring to an object. It’s irregular in all three tenses listed below.

8. Ir – to go

One of the most commonly used verbs in Spanish, “ir” means “to go,” as in to go to a place. For example, if you and your friends are going to the pool, you would say, “Nosotros vamos a la piscina.” It’s irregular in its present and preterite forms. It has the same past tense conjugations as the verb “ser.”

9. Saber – to know

The verb “saber” means “to know,” referring specifically to information, like facts or how to do something. To talk about people, places, or things you know, you’d use the verb “conocer.” “Saber” is irregular in its present and past tenses.

10. Dar – to give

The verb “dar” means “to give.” If you gave your friend a present, you could say, “Le di un regalo.” It’s irregular in its present and past tenses.

11. Dormir – to sleep

The verb “dormir” means “to sleep.” It’s irregular in both present and past tense. If you stayed up all night and slept all day, you might say to a friend, “¡Dormí todo el día!”

12. Hacer – to make, to do

The verb “hacer” means “to make” or “to do,” depending on the context. For example, “Yo hago mi tarea” means “I do my homework,” while “Mis padres hacen paella” translates to “My parents make paella.” It’s irregular in all three tenses.

13. Decir – to say, to tell

The verb “decir” means “to say” or “to tell,” referring to what someone says to you or what you say to them. It’s irregular in all three tenses.

14.Querer – to want, to love

The verb “querer” primarily means “to want,” though it can also mean “to love.” It’s a transitive verb, meaning it’s usually attached to one object, though a sentence with “querer” can be complete without the object being mentioned.

For example, it’s common in Spanish for someone to say “Quiero” to mean “I want it,” without necessarily saying “it” or specifying what “it” is. It’s irregular in its present and preterite forms.

Stem-changing Spanish irregular verbs

Some verbs on the list above are stem-changing verbs. That means that, in order to conjugate the verb, you have to add or change the vowels in the stem. Stem changes can occur with verbs of -ar, -er and -ir verb endings, usually to make the verb present tense.

The stem change usually applies to all pronouns except the “nosotros” form of the verb, which is conjugated like a regular verb. There are five types of stem-changing verbs in the simple present tense. We’ll go over examples of each below.

“e” changes to “ie”

For these stem-changing verbs, the “e” in the stem is dropped and replaced with an “ie.” This is the most common type of stem change, affecting the largest number of Spanish verbs. One example is “venir,” the verb “to come.”

“o” to “ue”

For this type of stem change, the “o” in the stem is replaced with a “ue.” An example of this is the verb “poder,” meaning “to be able.”

“e” to “i”

This stem change drops the “e” and replaces it with an “i,” but only applies to -ir verbs. An example is the verb “medir,” meaning “to measure.”

“i” to “ie”

This stem change only happens in two verbs: “adquirir,” meaning “to buy” or “to acquire,” and “inquirir,” meaning “to inquire” or “to question.” To conjugate these, drop the “i” in the stem and replace it with “ie” in all forms except “nosotros.” For example, here’s how to conjugate “inquirir.”

“u” to “ue”

Only one Spanish verb follows this pattern – “jugar,” meaning “to play.” For this verb, substitute “ue” for “u” in all forms except for “nosotros.” Here’s how to conjugate “jugar.”

Irregular “yo” form Spanish verbs

Many irregular Spanish verbs have irregular “yo” forms. Some verbs are only irregular in the “yo” form in their present tense conjugation. When a verb has an irregular “yo” form, it means that the ending for the first-person singular form changes to something other than the regular conjugation pattern in the present tense.

An example of a verb with an irregular “yo” form is “dar,” the verb “to give.” “Dar” is an -ar verb. A regular -ar verb would have an “-o” ending in its “yo” form. Instead, the “yo” form of “dar” is “doy.” The other present tense conjugations of “dar” follow the regular pattern for -ar verbs.

Practice irregular Spanish verbs

One of the best ways to see how well you grasp something is to put it into practice. So, ready to test yourself on what you learned?

Here are 15 sentences using the verbs we went over above. Try filling in each blank with the correct form of the correct irregular verb.

1. “Yo ____ feliz.” – “I am happy.” (Answer: ʎoʇsǝ)
2. “¿Qué ____?” – “What do you think?” (Answer: sɐsuǝᴉd)
3. “____ hambre.” – “I am hungry.” (Answer: oƃuǝʇ)
4. “¿Qué ____ él?” – “What did he say?” (Answer: oɾᴉp)
5. “____ al cine.” – “I am going to the movies.” (Answer: ʎoΛ)
6. “Ella se ____ ido.” – “She will be gone.” (Answer: ɐ̗ɹqɐɥ)
7. “Nosotros ____ todo el día.” – “We slept all day.” (Answer: soɯᴉɯɹop)
8. “Ella ____ un pastel.” – “She made a cake.” (Answer: ozᴉɥ)
9. “No ____ cómo hacer eso.” – “I don’t know how to do that.” (Answer: ǝ̗s)
10. “Ellos ____ una fiesta.” – “They want a party.” (Answer: uǝɹǝᴉnb)
11. “____lo en la mesa.” – “Put it on the table.” (Answer: uoԀ)
12. “Juan ____ mi jefe.” – “Juan is my boss.” (Answer: sǝ)
13. “¿____ ir a la fiesta?” – “Can you go to the party?” (Answer: sɐ̗ɹpoԀ)
14. “_____ a visitarte.” – “I will come to visit you.” (Answer: ǝ̗ɹpuǝɅ)
15. “Me ____ un gran regalo.” – “You gave me a great gift.” (Answer: ǝʇsᴉp)

Learning a new language can be challenging, but it’s exciting too, and opens you up to a whole new world of possibilities. Understanding irregular verbs and learning how to use them in conversation is essential if you want to take your Spanish to the next level.

If you want to converse with a native Spanish speaker, book a lesson with a Spanish tutor on Preply. There are tutors available for learners at all levels, and you can take lessons at a time and price that suits you. Take your first lesson today and you won’t look back.