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:

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 te conozco!
I know you!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Te doy mi palabra.
I give you my word.

dar – preterite conjugation chart

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

Estoy contigo
I’m with you.

No estás enferma.
You’re not sick.

estar – preterite conjugation chart

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

Lo siento mucho.
I’m very sorry.

senti – preterite conjugation chart

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

¿Quién eres?
Who are you?

Soy su maestra.
I’m your teacher.

ser – preterite conjugation chart

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

ser – past imperfect conjugation chart

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

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

ver – preterite conjugation chart

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

ver – past imperfect conjugation chart

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

Voy contigo.
I’m going with you.

ir – preterite conjugation chart

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

Ir – past imperfect conjugation chart

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

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.

haber – conditional conjugation chart

Habría que intentarlo.
It would be worth a try.

haber – future simple conjugation chart

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

Tengo 15 años.
I’m 15 years old.

No tienes paciencia.
You’re not patient.

tener – preterite conjugation chart

Ayer tuve suerte.
I was lucky yesterday.

tener – conditional conjugation chart

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

tener – future simple conjugation chart

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

Te quiero.
I love you.

querer – preterite conjugation chart

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

querer – conditional conjugation chart

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

querer – future simple conjugation chart

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

Lo sé muy bien.
I know it very well.

saber – preterite conjugation chart

Lo supimos de inmediato
We knew it immediately.

saber – conditional conjugation chart

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

saber – future simple conjugation chart

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

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

decir – preterite conjugation chart

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

decir – conditional conjugation chart

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

decir – future simple conjugation chart

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

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

salir – conditional conjugation chart

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

salir – future simple conjugation chart

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

poder – preterite conjugation chart

Nunca pudimos visitar México.
We could never visit México.

poder – conditional conjugation chart

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

poder – future simple conjugation chart

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

¿Hago un descanso?
Shall I take a break?

hacer – preterite conjugation chart

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

hacer – conditional conjugation chart

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

hacer – future simple conjugation chart

¿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 la casa, ustedes traen los juegos.

I provide the house, you bring the games.

poner – preterite conjugation chart

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

poner – conditional conjugation chart

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

poner – future simple conjugation chart

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

Él viene de Colombia.
He comes from Colombia.

venir – preterite conjugation chart

Ayer estuvimos cansados.
We were tired yesterday.

venir – conditional conjugation chart

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

venir – future simple conjugation chart

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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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.

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