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November 27, 2021 by Olga Put Spanish Grammar 0 comments

Easy Guide To Spanish Irregular Verb Conjugation

The more you know about Spanish irregular verbs, the more regular they seem to be in their irregularities.

Certain rules apply when forming irregular verbs, and you’ll slowly get to know them while advancing through Spanish grammar.

In this post, you’ll learn what Spanish irregular verbs are and get to know the 20 most common ones. Some of them are irregular just in one tense, some in two, and some in three or more. 

Today, I’ll show you Spanish irregular verbs conjugation charts for the most common verbs in the indicative mood. I’ll also mention if the verb has any irregularities in other forms.

Ready? 

What Are Spanish Irregular Verbs?

Spanish irregular verbs are those that do not follow the regular conjugation rules. If you want to learn Spanish irregular verb conjugation, I suppose you’re already familiar with the regular conjugation for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs.

The good news is that less than 5% of the –ar verbs are irregular. As far as -ir verbs are concerned, around 33% are irregular. The biggest irregular group are the -er  verbs. Over 72% of these verbs do not follow the rules. 

How to Use Spanish Irregular Verbs

You learn to use irregular verbs the same way as the regular ones. You have to learn the conjugation first and learn the words in context. I’ll show you 20 Spanish irregular verbs here, but learning them requires some Spanish irregular verbs conjugation practice. 

You’ll need to listen, write and speak. The more you use irregular verbs, the easier they will seem. 

Spanish Irregular Verb Conjugation Charts

I’ll show you conjugation charts for 20 verbs. I divided them into two groups so that you may start with the easiest ones and continue with the more difficult ones if you feel prepared.

The first group contains verbs that are irregular just in the present tense. You’ll learn four verbs here:

  • conocer – to know
  • contar – to tell
  • pensar – to think
  • recordar – to remember

The second group contains verbs that are irregular in the present and past simple tense:

  • dar – to give
  • estar – to be
  • sentir – to feel

Finally, I’ll show you verbs that are irregular in three or more tenses:

serto be
haberto have, aux
tenerto have
decirto say
poderto be able to
hacerto do
irto go
ponerto put
verto see
quererto want
saberto know
salirto go out
venirto come

After you finish the article, you can easily come back and check just the verbs that you need to conjugate at the moment.

Let’s see all of them in detail now.

Spanish Irregular Verbs in Present Tense Only

The following four verbs are irregular only in the present indicative tense. They are also irregular in all the imperative forms and the present subjunctive.

Conocer – To Know

This is a super easy irregular verb as it only has one irregular form in the present tense conjugation, the yo form.

Conocer – present simple conjugation chart

yo conozco
túconoces
él, ella, ustedconoce
nosotrosconocemos
ustedesconocen
ellos, ellasconocen

¡Yo te conozco!
I know you!

Spanish irregular

Contar – To Count

This is a stem-changing verb. You need to change o to ue in all present simple forms but the first person plural, the “we” form.

contar – present simple conjugation chart

yo cuento
túcuentas
él, ella, ustedcuenta
nosotroscontamos
ustedescuentan
ellos, ellascuentan

Mi hijo cuenta hasta 10.
My son counts till 10.

¿Cuento contigo?
Can I count on you?

Pensar – To Think

This is also a stem-changing verb. You need to change e to ie in all present simple forms but the first person plural, the “we” form.

pensar – present simple conjugation chart

yo pienso
túpiensas
él, ella, ustedpiensa
nosotrospensamos
ustedespiensan
ellos, ellaspiensan

No pienso irme de aquí.
I’m not going anywhere.

¿Qué piensas de esto?
What do you think of this?

Spanish irregular

Recordar – To Remember

This is another o-ue stem-changing verb. Remember, all forms but the nos form are irregular.

recordar – present simple conjugation chart

yo recuerdo
túrecuerdas
él, ella, ustedrecuerda
nosotrosrecordamos
ustedesrecuerdan
ellos, ellasrecuerdan

Recuerdo haberlo hecho antes.
I remember doing it before.

¿Recuerdas a mi madre?
Do you remember my mom?

Spanish Irregular Verbs in Present and Preterite Tenses

Let’s take a look now at some Spanish irregular preterite verbs. They are all irregular in the present and preterite tenses. All their subjunctive and imperative forms are irregular, too.

Dar – To Give

The verb dar is irregular in the first form of the present tense and in all forms of the preterite tense.

dar – present simple conjugation chart

yo doy
túdas
él, ella, ustedda
nosotrosdamos
ustedesdan
ellos, ellasdan

Te doy mi palabra.
I give you my word.

Spanish irregular

dar – preterite conjugation chart

yo di
túdiste
él, ella, usteddio
nosotrosdimos
ustedesdieron
ellos, ellasdieron

No me la diste.
You didn’t give it to me.

Nos dieron las gracias.
We were thanked.

Estar – To Be

The verb estar is irregular in the first form of the present tense. It has an unexpected accent mark on all the forms but the first person singular form. All the preterite forms are irregular.

estar – present simple conjugation chart

yo estoy
túestás
él, ella, ustedestá
nosotrosestamos
ustedesestán
ellos, ellasestán

Estoy contigo
I’m with you.

No estás enferma.
You’re not sick.

estar – preterite conjugation chart

yo estuve
túestuviste
él, ella, ustedestuvo
nosotrosestuvimos
ustedesestuvieron
ellos, ellasestuvieron

Ayer estuve en la casa de mis padres.
Yesterday I was at my parents’ house.

Sentir – To Feel

The verb sentir  is an irregular e-ie stem-changing verb in the present tense. It’s also irregular in the preterite forms. It also has the irregular gerund form sintiendo

sentir – present simple conjugation chart

yo siento
túsientes
él, ella, ustedsiente
nosotrossentimos
ustedessienten
ellos, ellassienten

Lo siento mucho.
I’m very sorry.

Spanish example

senti – preterite conjugation chart

yo sentí
túsentiste
él, ella, ustedsintió
nosotrossentimos
ustedessintieron
ellos, ellassintieron

Ayer me sentí enferma.
Yesterday I felt sick.

Spanish Irregular Verbs in Three or More Tenses

Let’s now see verbs that are irregular in three or more tenses, as well as in all the subjunctive forms and the imperative forms. 

Ser – To Be

Ser is a super useful irregular verb. It’s irregular in the present, past simple, and imperfect past tenses

ser – present simple conjugation chart

yo soy
túeres
él, ella, ustedes
nosotrossomos
ustedesson
ellos, ellasson

¿Quién eres?
Who are you?

Soy su maestra.
I’m your teacher.

ser – preterite conjugation chart

yo fui
túfuiste
él, ella, ustedfue
nosotrosfuimos
ustedesfueron
ellos, ellasfueron

Ayer fuimos al cine.
Yesterday we went to the movies.

ser – past imperfect conjugation chart

yo era
túeras
él, ella, ustedera
nosotroséramos
ustedeseran
ellos, ellaseran

Antes los juegos eran diferentes.
Before, games were different.

Ver – To See

Ver is also a common irregular verb. It’s irregular in first person present tense, past simple, and imperfect. It’s also irregular in the present subjunctive mood and has the irregular past participle form, visto.

ver – present simple conjugation chart

yo veo
túves
él, ella, ustedve
nosotrosvemos
ustedesven
ellos, ellasven

Veo un gran futuro para ti.
I can see a great future for you.

ver – preterite conjugation chart

yo vi
túviste
él, ella, ustedvio
nosotrosvimos
ustedesvieron
ellos, ellasvieron

Ayer vimos un pájaro extraño.
Yesterday, we saw a strange bird.

Spanish example

ver – past imperfect conjugation chart

yo veía
túveías
él, ella, ustedveía
nosotrosveíamos
ustedesveían
ellos, ellasveían

En aquel tiempo lo veía different.
I saw it differently at that time.

Ir – To Go

Ver is another common irregular verb. It’s irregular in the present, past simple, and imperfect past tenses. It’s also irregular in all the subjunctive mood tenses and has the irregular present participle form, yendo.

ir – present simple conjugation chart

yo voy
túvas
él, ella, ustedva
nosotrosvamos
ustedesvan
ellos, ellasvan

Voy contigo.
I’m going with you.

ir – preterite conjugation chart

yo fui
túfuiste
él, ella, ustedfue
nosotrosfuimos
ustedesfueron
ellos, ellasfueron

¿Por qué se fueron tan temprano?
Why did you leave so early?

Ir – past imperfect conjugation chart

yo iba
túibas
él, ella, ustediba
nosotrosíbamos
ustedesiban
ellos, ellasiban

Yo les iba a los Cowboys.
I was a Cowboys fan.

Haber – To Have (auxiliary verb)

Haber is a helping irregular verb. It’s irregular in the present, past simple, conditional, and future simple tenses.

haber – present simple conjugation chart

yo he
túhas
él, ella, ustedhay (ha in the present tense)
nosotroshemos
ustedeshan
ellos, ellashan

No hay más agua.
There’s no more water.

In the preterite tense for haber, you only need to know the third-person singular form hubo.

Ayer no hubo electricidad a las 5 pm.
There was no electricity yesterday at 5 pm.

example

haber – conditional conjugation chart

yo habría
túhabrías
él, ella, ustedhabría
nosotroshabríamos
ustedeshabrían
ellos, ellashabrían

Habría que intentarlo.
It would be worth a try.

haber – future simple conjugation chart

yo habrá
túhabrás
él, ella, ustedhabrá
nosotroshabremos
ustedeshabrán
ellos, ellashabrán

Habrá más casos de gripe este año.
There will be more flu cases this year.

Tener – To Have

Tener has an irregular yo form in the present simple tense and the e-ie stem change in all other present tense forms. It’s also irregular in the preterite, conditional, and future tenses. 

tener – present simple conjugation chart

yo tengo
tútienes
él, ella, ustedtiene
nosotrostenemos
ustedestienen
ellos, ellastienen

Tengo 15 años.
I’m 15 years old.

No tienes paciencia.
You’re not patient.

tener – preterite conjugation chart

yo tuve
tútuviste
él, ella, ustedtuvo
nosotrostuvimos
ustedestuvieron
ellos, ellastuvieron

Ayer tuve suerte.
I was lucky yesterday.

tener – conditional conjugation chart

yo tendría
tútendrías
él, ella, ustedtendría
nosotrostendríamos
ustedestendrían
ellos, ellastendrían

Si pudiera, tendría 5 perros.
If I could, I would have 5 dogs.

Spanish irregular

tener – future simple conjugation chart

yo tendré
tútendrás
él, ella, ustedtendrá
nosotrostendremos
ustedestendrán
ellos, ellastendrán

Mañana tendrán los resultados.
Tomorrow, you’ll have the results. 

Querer – To Want

Querer has an e-ie stem change in the present tense. It’s also irregular in the preterite, conditional, and future tenses. 

querer – present simple conjugation chart

yo quiero
túquieres
él, ella, ustedquiere
nosotrosqueremos
ustedesquieren
ellos, ellasquieren

Te quiero.
I love you.

querer – preterite conjugation chart

yo quise
túquisiste
él, ella, ustedquiso
nosotrosquisimos
ustedesquisieron
ellos, ellasquisieron

No quisieron venir.
They didn’t want to come.

querer – conditional conjugation chart

yo querría
túquerrías
él, ella, ustedquerría
nosotrosquerríamos
ustedesquerrían
ellos, ellasquerrían

Si pudiera, querría vivir para siempre.
If I could, I would like to live forever.

querer – future simple conjugation chart

yo querré
túquerrás
él, ella, ustedquerrá
nosotrosquerremos
ustedesquerrán
ellos, ellasquerrán

Ya querrá venir.
He will still want to come.

Saber – To Want

Saber has the irregular yo present tense form and is irregular in the past, conditional, and future tenses.

saber – present simple conjugation chart

yo sé
túsabes
él, ella, ustedsabe
nosotrossabemos
ustedessaben
ellos, ellassaben

Lo sé muy bien.
I know it very well.

saber – preterite conjugation chart

yo supe
túsupiste
él, ella, ustedsupo
nosotrossupimos
ustedessupieron
ellos, ellassupieron

Lo supimos de inmediato
We knew it immediately.

saber – conditional conjugation chart

yo sabría
túsabrías
él, ella, ustedsabría
nosotrossabríamos
ustedessabrían
ellos, ellassabrían

Si fuera él, yo lo sabría.
If it was him, I would know it.

saber – future simple conjugation chart

yo sabré
túsabrás
él, ella, ustedsabrá
nosotrossabrémos
ustedessabrán
ellos, ellassabrán

Todos sabrán la verdad.
Everybody will know the truth.

Decir – To Say

Decir also has the irregular yo present tense form, the e-i stem change, and is irregular in the past, conditional, and future tenses. It has an irregular gerund form diciendo and past participle dicho.

decir – present simple conjugation chart

yo digo
túdices
él, ella, usteddice
nosotrosdecimos
ustedesdicen
ellos, ellasdicen

Él siempre dice la verdad.
He always tells the truth.

decir – preterite conjugation chart

yo dije
túdijiste
él, ella, usteddijo
nosotrosdijimos
ustedesdijeron
ellos, ellasdijeron

Nunca nos dijeron nuestras notas.
They never told us our grades.

decir – conditional conjugation chart

yo diría
túdirías
él, ella, usteddiría
nosotrosdiríamos
ustedesdirían
ellos, ellasdirían

Si lo supiera, te lo diría.
If I knew, I would tell you.

decir – future simple conjugation chart

yo diré
túdirás
él, ella, usteddirás
nosotrosdiremos
ustedesdirán
ellos, ellasdirán

Ya me dirán si tengo que venir.
You’ll tell me if I need to come.

Example

Salir – To Leave

Salir is another verb with the irregular yo present tense form. It’s also irregular in conditional and future tense. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive mood.

salir – present simple conjugation chart

yo salgo
túsales
él, ella, ustedsale
nosotrossalimos
ustedessalen
ellos, ellassalen

Yo no salgo sin mi perro.
I don’t go out without my dog.

salir – conditional conjugation chart

yo saldría
túsaldrías
él, ella, ustedsaldría
nosotrossaldríamos
ustedessaldrían
ellos, ellassaldrían

Si pudiera, saldría todos los viernes. 
If I could, I would go out every Friday.

salir – future simple conjugation chart

yo saldré
túsaldrás
él, ella, ustedsaldrá
nosotrossaldremos
ustedessaldrán
ellos, ellassaldrán

No saldré sin ti.
I won’t go out without you. 

Poder – To Be Able

Poder is the o-ue stem-changing verb, and it is irregular in the past, conditional and future tense. It also has the irregular gerund form pudiendo

poder – present simple conjugation chart

yo puedo
túpuedes
él, ella, ustedpuede
nosotrospodemos
ustedespueden
ellos, ellaspueden

Yo no puedo con tanto trabajo.
I can’t cope with so much work.

poder – preterite conjugation chart

yo pude
túpudiste
él, ella, ustedpudo
nosotrospudimos
ustedespudieron
ellos, ellaspudieron

Nunca pudimos visitar México.
We could never visit México.

poder – conditional conjugation chart

yo podría
túpodrías
él, ella, ustedpodría
nosotrospodríamos
ustedespodrían
ellos, ellaspodrían

¿Podría decirme la hora, por favor?
Could you tell me the hour, please?

poder – future simple conjugation chart

yo podré
túpodrás
él, ella, ustedpodrá
nosotrospodremos
ustedespodrán
ellos, ellaspodrán

Mis padres no podrán venir.
My parents won’t be able to come.

Hacer – To Do

Hacer has the irregular yo form in the present tense, and is irregular in the past, conditional and future tenses. It also has the irregular past participle form hecho

hacer – present simple conjugation chart

yo hago
túhaces
él, ella, ustedhace
nosotroshacemos
ustedeshacen
ellos, ellashacen

¿Hago un descanso?
Shall I take a break?

hacer – preterite conjugation chart

yo hice
túhiciste
él, ella, ustedhizo
nosotroshicimos
ustedeshicieron
ellos, ellashicieron

Nunca me hizo caso.
He never paid attention to me.

hacer – conditional conjugation chart

yo haría
túharías
él, ella, ustedharía
nosotrosharíamos
ustedesharían
ellos, ellasharían

Yo que tú, no lo haría.
I wouldn’t do it if I were you.

Spanish irregular

hacer – future simple conjugation chart

yo haré
túharás
él, ella, ustedhará
nosotrosharemos
ustedesharán
ellos, ellasharán

¿Cuándo harán la fiesta?
When will you have the party?

Poner – To Put

Hacer has the irregular yo form in the present tense, and is also irregular in the past, conditional and future tense. It has the irregular past participle form puesto

poner – present simple conjugation chart

yo pongo
túpones
él, ella, ustedpones
nosotrosponemos
ustedesponen
ellos, ellasponen

Yo pongo la casa, ustedes traen los juegos.

I provide the house, you bring the games.

poner – preterite conjugation chart

yo puse
túpusiste
él, ella, ustedpuso
nosotrospusimos
ustedespusieron
ellos, ellaspusieron

Las gallinas pusieron 4 huevos.
The hens laid 4 eggs.

poner – conditional conjugation chart

yo pondría
túpondría
él, ella, ustedpondría
nosotrospondría
ustedespondría
ellos, ellaspondría

Yo no lo pondría en este lugar.
I wouldn’t put it in this place.

poner – future simple conjugation chart

yo pondré
túpondrás
él, ella, ustedpondrá
nosotrospondremos
ustedespondrán
ellos, ellaspondrán

Aquí pondrán un nuevo centro comercial. 
A new shopping mall will be built here.

Venir – To Come

Venir has the irregular present tense yo form and the stem change e-ie. It’s also irregular in the past simple, conditional, and future tenses. It has the irregular present participle form viniendo

venir – present simple conjugation chart

yo vengo
túvienes
él, ella, ustedviene
nosotrosvenimos
ustedesvienen
ellos, ellasvienen

Él viene de Colombia.
He comes from Colombia.

Spanish irregular

venir – preterite conjugation chart

yo vine
túviniste
él, ella, ustedvino
nosotrosvinimos
ustedesvinieron
ellos, ellasvinieron

Ayer estuvimos cansados.
We were tired yesterday.

venir – conditional conjugation chart

yo vendría
túvendrías
él, ella, ustedvendría
nosotrosvendríamos
ustedesvendrían
ellos, ellasvendrían

Yo no vendría con él.
I wouldn’t come with him.

venir – future simple conjugation chart

yo vendré
túvendrás
él, ella, ustedvendrá
nosotrosvendremos
ustedesvendrán
ellos, ellasvendrán

Nunca más vendrán aquí.
They will never come here.

Practice Time

Wow! Congratulate yourself! It’s such a big topic and you did it! Of course, to truly master Spanish irregular verbs, you have to practice and practice. To keep yourself motivated, remember that if you’re able to conjugate and properly use Spanish irregular verbs, you’re that much closer to being bilingual.

Being fluent in Spanish is not only knowing the language but being able to travel to more countries. It also means a bigger social circle, as only in the USA there are 41 million native Spanish speakers who speak Spanish in their homes. 

Start today! Sign up now for a free trial class at Homeschool Spanish Academy. Let our friendly and professional teachers from Guatemala help you reach your fluency goals and practice Spanish irregular verbs in a 1-to-1 conversation! Check out our affordable pricing and flexible programs!

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Ready to learn more Spanish grammar and vocabulary? Check these out!

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Olga Put
Olga Put
Freelance Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy
I'm a Spanish philologist, teacher, and freelance writer with a Master's degree in Humanities from Madrid. I speak Polish, Spanish, and English fluently, and want to get better in Portuguese and German. A lover of literature, and Mexican spicy cuisine, I've lived in Poland, Spain, and Mexico and I'm currently living and teaching in Madeira, Portugal.
Olga Put
Latest posts by Olga Put (see all)
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