The present tense and irregular verbs
Some of the most common verbA 'doing' word; a word expressing action. 'Walk', 'talk', 'come', 'go', 'eat' and 'sleep' are all verbs. in Spanish are irregular verbs. This means that they don't follow the usual pattern in the present tenseA verb that describes an action that is happening now or that happens regularly, eg I eat breakfast every day.. You have to learn each one separately.
The four most common irregular verbs are:
| ser (to be) | estar (to be) | tener (to have) | ir (to go) | |
| (yo) | soy | estoy | tengo | voy |
| (tu) | eres | estás | tienes | vas |
| (él/ella/usted) | es | está | tiene | va |
| (nosotros/as) | somos | estamos | tenemos | vamos |
| (vosotros/as) | sois | estáis | tenéis | vais |
| (ellos/ellas/ustedes) | son | están | tienen | van |
| (yo) | |
| ser (to be) | soy |
| estar (to be) | estoy |
| tener (to have) | tengo |
| ir (to go) | voy |
| (tu) | |
| ser (to be) | eres |
| estar (to be) | estás |
| tener (to have) | tienes |
| ir (to go) | vas |
| (él/ella/usted) | |
| ser (to be) | es |
| estar (to be) | está |
| tener (to have) | tiene |
| ir (to go) | va |
| (nosotros/as) | |
| ser (to be) | somos |
| estar (to be) | estamos |
| tener (to have) | tenemos |
| ir (to go) | vamos |
| (vosotros/as) | |
| ser (to be) | sois |
| estar (to be) | estáis |
| tener (to have) | tenéis |
| ir (to go) | vais |
| (ellos/ellas/ustedes) | |
| ser (to be) | son |
| estar (to be) | están |
| tener (to have) | tienen |
| ir (to go) | van |
These irregular verbs are also useful:
- decir (to say) digo, dices, dice, decimos, decís, dicen
- venir (to come) vengo, vienes, viene, venimos, venís, vienen
Verbs which are irregular in the 'I' form only
Some verbs are only irregular in the first person ('I' form) of the verb. These include:
- conocer (to know) → conozco (I know)
- dar (to give) → doy (I give)
- hacer (to do/make) → hago (I do/make)
- poner (to put/set) → pongo (I put/set)
- saber (to know) → sé (I know)
- salir (to go out/leave) → salgo (I go out/leave)
- ver (to see/watch) → veo (I see/watch)
Practice using irregular verbs
Complete the sentences with the 'I' form of each verb and translate them into English.
Question
Nunca ________ al insti cuando ________ enfermo. (infinitive = ir / estar)
Nunca voy al insti cuando estoy enfermo. (I never go to school when I am ill.)
Question
Siempre ________ mi programa favorito. ¡________ que ________ adicto! (infinitive = ver / saber / ser)
Siempre veo mi programa favorito. ¡Sé que soy adicto! (I always watch my favourite programme. I know that I'm addicted!)
Question
Normalmente ________ mis deberes y luego ________ con mis amigos, si ________ tiempo. (infinitive = hacer / salir / tener)
Normalmente hago mis deberes y luego salgo con mis amigos, si tengo tiempo. (Normally, I do my homework and then I go out with my friends, if I have time.)
