Spanish Irregular Verbs: Present Tense List, Patterns and Exercises
Irregular verbs are one of the first big challenges for anyone learning Spanish. They appear in almost every sentence: tengo, voy, puedo, quiero… As a Spanish teacher and official DELE examiner, I see the same thing every year: students try to memorise endless lists, when the real secret is to learn the patterns.
In this guide you’ll find the most common Spanish irregular verbs in the present tense, grouped by pattern, plus the key irregular verbs in the past, tables to review and exercises with answers.
What Is an Irregular Verb in Spanish?
A regular verb follows a fixed model: hablar → hablo, hablas, habla… An irregular verb changes its stem, its ending or both: tener → tengo, tienes, tiene…
The good news is that most irregular verbs follow a small number of patterns. Learn the pattern once and you can conjugate dozens of verbs.
1. Stem-Changing Verbs: the “Boot” Verbs
These verbs change the vowel of the stem in every person except nosotros and vosotros. If you draw a line around the forms that change in a conjugation table, it looks like a boot, which is why teachers call them “boot verbs”.
| Pronoun | querer (e→ie) | poder (o→ue) | pedir (e→i) | jugar (u→ue) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | quiero | puedo | pido | juego |
| tú | quieres | puedes | pides | juegas |
| él / ella / usted | quiere | puede | pide | juega |
| nosotros/as | queremos | podemos | pedimos | jugamos |
| vosotros/as | queréis | podéis | pedís | jugáis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | quieren | pueden | piden | juegan |
Other very common verbs with the same changes:
- e → ie: pensar, empezar, entender, preferir, cerrar, sentir
- o → ue: dormir, volver, encontrar, contar, costar, recordar
- e → i: servir, repetir, seguir, vestirse
- u → ue: jugar is the only one
2. Verbs That Are Irregular Only in the “Yo” Form
Many frequent verbs are completely regular except in the first person singular. Learn the yo form and you know the whole verb.
| Group | Infinitive → yo | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -go verbs | hacer → hago, poner → pongo, salir → salgo, traer → traigo, caer → caigo | Hoy salgo a las seis. |
| -zco verbs | conocer → conozco, conducir → conduzco, traducir → traduzco, parecer → parezco | Conozco un restaurante muy bueno. |
| Other | saber → sé, ver → veo, dar → doy, caber → quepo | No sé dónde está. |
Some verbs combine two irregularities: they are irregular in the yo form and stem-changing: tener (tengo, tienes), venir (vengo, vienes) and decir (digo, dices).
3. Completely Irregular Verbs: Ser, Estar, Ir and Haber
These four are the most used verbs in Spanish, and they don’t follow any pattern. You simply need to know them by heart.
| Pronoun | ser | estar | ir | haber |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | soy | estoy | voy | he |
| tú | eres | estás | vas | has |
| él / ella / usted | es | está | va | ha (hay) |
| nosotros/as | somos | estamos | vamos | hemos |
| vosotros/as | sois | estáis | vais | habéis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | son | están | van | han |
Not sure when to use ser or estar? Read ser vs estar in Spanish explained simply.
Irregular Verbs in the Past: the Preterite
In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), a group of very common verbs has an irregular stem and special endings without written accents: -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.
- tener → tuv-: tuve, tuviste, tuvo…
- estar → estuv-: estuve, estuviste, estuvo…
- poder → pud-, poner → pus-, saber → sup-, querer → quis-, venir → vin-
- hacer → hic-: hice, hiciste, hizo…
- decir → dij- and traer → traj-: the third person plural ends in -eron (dijeron, trajeron)
Ser and ir share the same preterite: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron. The context tells you which one it is: Fui profesora (ser) / Fui a Madrid (ir).
Irregular Past Participles
Some verbs also have an irregular participle, the form you use with haber: hacer → hecho, decir → dicho, ver → visto, escribir → escrito, poner → puesto, volver → vuelto, abrir → abierto, romper → roto. You’ll find the complete list in my guide to regular and irregular participles in Spanish.
Common Mistakes with Spanish Irregular Verbs
- ❌ Yo sabo → ✅ Yo sé
- ❌ Nosotros puedemos → ✅ Nosotros podemos (no stem change in nosotros)
- ❌ Yo conoco → ✅ Yo conozco
- ❌ Ayer hací la cena → ✅ Ayer hice la cena
- ❌ Estuvé en Sevilla → ✅ Estuve en Sevilla (no accent in irregular preterites)
How to Learn Irregular Verbs: Tips from a Teacher
- Learn by groups, not by long alphabetical lists.
- Start with the yo form: it is the one you need most when you talk about yourself.
- Use each verb in a real sentence about your life: Los lunes salgo a correr.
- Say them out loud for five minutes a day. The shadowing technique works very well for this.
- If you’re preparing the DELE A2 or B1, make sure you master every verb in this article: they appear in all parts of the exam.
Quick Practice: Conjugate the Verb
- Yo no ___ (saber) la respuesta.
- ¿A qué hora ___ (empezar) la clase?
- Nosotros ___ (poder) quedar mañana.
- Yo ___ (conducir) todos los días.
- Ayer Marta ___ (hacer) una paella.
- ¿Qué ___ (decir) tú?
- Ellos ___ (dormir) ocho horas.
- El año pasado yo ___ (estar) en Sevilla.
Answers: 1. sé · 2. empieza · 3. podemos · 4. conduzco · 5. hizo · 6. dices · 7. duermen · 8. estuve
Irregular verbs become automatic with practice, not with lists. If you want a plan adapted to your level, book your free trial class and we’ll work on them together.
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