Regular and Irregular Participles in Spanish: Rules, Examples and Usage
Learning to use Spanish participles correctly is essential for improving your writing and communication, especially if you are studying the language to prepare for an official exam such as the DELE or the SIELE.
In Spanish, participles are divided into regular and irregular. Let’s take a closer look with clear rules and examples.
Regular participles in Spanish
Regular participles are simple to form and always follow a fixed rule:
- Verbs ending in -ar → replace with -ado.
- Example: hablar → hablado (to speak → spoken).
- Verbs ending in -er → replace with -ido.
- Example: comer → comido (to eat → eaten).
- Verbs ending in -ir → replace with -ido.
- Example: vivir → vivido (to live → lived).
These are the easiest Spanish participles to learn because the pattern never changes.
Irregular participles in Spanish
This is where it gets interesting. Some verbs don’t follow the regular pattern and have irregular participles. These are among the most common ones:
- -ierto: abrir → abierto (opened), cubrir → cubierto (covered), morir → muerto (dead).
- -echo / -icho: hacer → hecho (done), decir → dicho (said), deshacer → deshecho (undone).
- -elto: volver → vuelto (returned), resolver → resuelto (solved), devolver → devuelto (given back).
- -isto: ver → visto (seen), prever → previsto (foreseen).
- -ito / -oto: escribir → escrito (written), romper → roto (broken).
- -uesto: poner → puesto (put/placed), oponer → opuesto (opposed), exponer → expuesto (exposed).
Double participles in Spanish
Some verbs in Spanish have two participle forms, one regular and one irregular:
- freír → freído / frito (fried)
- imprimir → imprimido / impreso (printed)
In most cases, the irregular form is more common in everyday Spanish.
Uses of Spanish participles with examples
Spanish participles are very flexible and can be used in different ways:
- As a noun: El herido fue trasladado al hospital. → The injured man was taken to the hospital.
- As an adjective: La puerta está cerrada con llave. → The door is locked with a key.
- In the passive voice: La carta fue escrita por mi abuelo. → The letter was written by my grandfather.
- With compound verbs: Hemos viajado a varios países este año. → We have traveled to several countries this year.
- With verbal periphrasis: El proyecto quedó terminado en junio. → The project was finished in June.
As you can see, mastering regular and irregular Spanish participles with examples is key if you want to speak and write with more fluency and confidence.
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