Spanish Reference Grammar - Verbs
Irregular verbs
Unfortunately, a number of verbs are irregular. Equally unfortunately, they tend to be ones which are commonly used. This is not a case of Spanish being awkward; it’s the same in all languages. Think of the present tense of the verb 'to be' in English, for example.
In fact, the verb 'to be' presents a particular problem in Spanish, which uses two possible verbs to translate the one English verb. These two verbs are 'ser' and 'estar'.
ser: to be
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| yo | soy | I am |
| tú | eres | You (singular, informal) are |
| usted | es | You (singular, formal) are |
| él/ella | es | He/she/it is |
| nosotros/as | somos | We are |
| vosotros/as | sois | You (plural, informal) are |
| ustedes | son | You (plural, formal) are |
| ellos/ellas | son | They are |
estar: to be
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| yo | estoy | I am |
| tú | estás | You (singular, informal) are |
| usted | está | You (singular, formal) are |
| él/ella | está | He/she/it is |
| nosotros/as | estamos | We are |
| vosotros/as | estáis | You (plural, informal) are |
| ustedes | están | You (plural, formal) are |
| ellos/ellas | están | They are |
Which 'to be' should I use?
It can be difficult for non-native Spanish speakers to decide which verb to use.
A simple rule:
If you want to say who or what someone or something is, use the appropriate person of 'ser'. This generally refers to a more permanent state.
If you want to say where or how someone or something is, use 'estar'. This generally refers to a more temporary state.
For example:
'Soy escocesa y soy estudiante.' - 'I’m Scottish and I’m a student.
Ella es mi hermana y es bonita.' - 'She’s my sister and is very pretty.'
These describe what or who someone is.
But:
'¿Dónde estás? Estoy en Escocia.' - 'Where are you? I’m in Scotland.'
'¿Cómo estás? Estoy muy bien, gracias.' - 'How are you. I’m very well, thanks.'
These describe where or how someone is.
Commonly used irregular verbs
Below is the full present tense of commonly used irregular verbs. In all cases, teachers will not actually be using the full present tense, but they are included for reference.
dar: to give
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| yo | doy | I give |
| tú | das | You (singular, informal) give |
| usted | da | You (singular, formal) give |
| él/ella | da | He/she/it gives |
| nosotros/as | damos | We give |
| vosotros/as | dais | You (plural, informal) give |
| ustedes | dan | You (plural, formal) give |
| ellos/ellas | dan | They give |
decir: to say
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| yo | digo | I say |
| tú | dices | You (singular, informal) say |
| usted | dice | You (singular, formal) say |
| él/ella | dice | He/she/it says |
| nosotros/as | decimos | We say |
| vosotros/as | decís | You (plural, informal) say |
| ustedes | dicen | You (plural, formal) say |
| ellos/ellas | dicen | They say |
hacer: to do, to make
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| yo | hago | I do, make |
| tú | haces | You (singular, informal) do, make |
| usted | hace | You (singular, formal) do, make |
| él/ella | hace | He/she/it do, make |
| nosotros/as | hacemos | We do, make |
| vosotros/as | hacéis | You (plural, informal) do, make |
| ustedes | hacen | You (plural, formal) do, make |
| ellos/ellas | hacen | They do, make |
Note: 'Hacer' is also used in the third person singular for some weather expressions.
ir: to go
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| yo | voy | I go |
| tú | vas | You (singular, informal) go |
| usted | va | You (singular, formal) go |
| él/ella | va | He/she/it goes |
| nosotros/as | vamos | We go |
| vosotros/as | vais | You (plural, informal) go |
| ustedes | van | You (plural, formal) go |
| ellos/ellas | van | They go |
saber: to know (a fact/how to do something)
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| yo | sé | I know |
| tú | sabes | You (singular, informal) know |
| usted | sabe | You (singular, formal) know |
| él/ella | sabe | He/she/it knows |
| nosotros/as | sabemos | We know |
| vosotros/as | sabéis | You (plural, informal) know |
| ustedes | saben | You (plural, formal) know |
| ellos/ellas | saben | They know |
tener: to have
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| yo | tengo | I have |
| tú | tienes | You (singular, informal) have |
| usted | tiene | You (singular, formal) have |
| él/ella | tiene | He/she/it has |
| nosotros/as | tenemos | We have |
| vosotros/as | tenéis | You (plural, informal) have |
| ustedes | tienen | You (plural, formal) have |
| ellos/ellas | tienen | They have |
Note: 'tener' + 'que' + infinitive means 'to have to'. For example: 'Tengo que estudiar' - 'I have to study.'
venir: to come
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| yo | vengo | I come |
| tú | vienes | You (singular, informal) come |
| usted | viene | You (singular, formal) come |
| él/ella | viene | He/she/it comes |
| nosotros/as | venimos | We come |
| vosotros/as | venís | You (plural, informal) come |
| ustedes | vienen | You (plural, formal) come |
| ellos/ellas | vienen | They come |
hay: there is or there are
This verb is an irregular form of the verb 'haber' and is invariable, ie it is the same whether the subject is singular or plural. This verb is very useful.
For example:
¿Hay un banco por aquí? - Is there a bank near here?
¿Hay plátanos? - Are there any bananas?
No, no hay. - No, there isn't/aren't.
Stem-changing verbs
There is another group of verbs in Spanish which are affected in the present tense. They are called stem-changing or radical-changing verbs and in the present tense the endings of the verb follow the regular pattern, but the stem changes.
One of these common verbs is 'querer' and you would find the infinitive written as 'querer(ie)'. The '-ie' indicates that the 'e' of the stem will change to 'ie' except when used with 'nosotros' and 'vosotros'.
Querer(ie): to like or to want
| Pronoun (singular) | Verb form | English translation |
| yo | quiero | I like, want |
| tú | quieres | You (singular, informal) like, want |
| usted | quiere | You (singular, formal) like, want |
| él/ella | quiere | He/she/it wants |
| nosotros/as | queremos | We want |
| vosotros/as | queréis | You (plural, informal) like, want |
| ustedes | quieren | You (plural, formal) like, want |
| ellos/ellas | quieren | They want |
poder(ue): to be able to
Poder(ue) is another common stem-changing verb. In this case, the o will change to ue, except for with 'nosotros/as' or 'vosotros/as'.
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| yo | puedo | I can, am able to |
| tú | puedes | You (singular, informal) can, are able to |
| usted | puede | You (singular, formal) can, are able to |
| él/ella | puede | He/she/it can, is able to |
| nosotros/as | podemos | We can, are able to |
| vosotros/as | podéis | You (plural, informal) can, are able to |
| ustedes | pueden | You (plural, formal) can, are able to |
| ellos/ellas | pueden | They can, are able to |
Here are some other common stem-changing verbs.
preferir(ie): to prefer
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| yo | prefiero | I prefer |
| tú | prefieres | You (singular, informal) prefer |
| usted | prefiere | You (singular, formal) prefer |
| él/ella | prefiere | He/she/it prefers |
| nosotros/as | preferimos | We prefer |
| vosotros/as | preferís | You (plural, informal) prefer |
| ustedes | prefieren | You (plural, formal) prefer |
| ellos/ellas | prefieren | They prefer |
empezar(ie): to begin
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| yo | empiezo | I begin |
| tú | empiezas | You (singular, informal) begin |
| usted | empieza | You (singular, formal) begin |
| él/ella | empieza | He/she/it begins |
| nosotros/as | empezamos | We begin |
| vosotros/as | empezáis | You (plural, informal) begin |
| ustedes | empiezan | You (plural, formal) begin |
| ellos/ellas | empiezan | They begin |
volver(ue): to return
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| yo | vuelvo | I return |
| tú | vuelves | You (singular, informal) return |
| usted | vuelve | You (singular, formal) return |
| él/ella | vuelve | He/she/it returns |
| nosotros/as | volvemos | We return |
| vosotros/as | volvéis | You (plural, informal) return |
| ustedes | vuelven | You (plural, formal) return |
| ellos/ellas | vuelven | They return |
jugar(ue): to play
This is the only stem-changing verb in which the 'u' changes to 'ue'.
| Pronoun | Verb form | English translation |
| yo | juego | I play |
| tú | juegas | You (singular, informal) play |
| usted | juega | You (singular, formal) play |
| él/ella | juega | He/she/it plays |
| nosotros/as | jugamos | We play |
| vosotros/as | jugáis | You (plural, informal) play |
| ustedes | juegan | You (plural, formal) play |
| ellos/ellas | juegan | They play |
Note: Use 'jugar' + 'a' to play a sport, but 'tocar' to play a musical instrument. Examples: 'jugar al fútbol' (to play football); 'tocar la guitarra' (to play the guitar).