A Simple Guide To The 5 Most Common Spanish Irregular Verbs

It’s time to talk about one of the most complex parts of learning Spanish: Spanish irregular verbs.

But they don’t have to be a problem, because there’s nothing to fear from a bunch of grammar rules. In fact, I’m sure that you’ll get the hang of them quickly!

In this article, you'll learn how to conjugate the five most common Spanish irregular verbs. And I encourage you to refer back to it as many times as you need.

What Are Spanish Irregular Verbs?

Something irregular doesn’t follow an established norm. So irregular verbs are those that have particular conjugations.

Sometimes, they have subtle changes, and it’s even possible to learn a trick to conjugate them (as happens with estar (to be)). But other times the changes are much more radical, and you'll have to learn them, as happens with ir (to go). 

Anyway, don’t be scared: although there are many Spanish irregular verbs, there are a number of key verbs that you'll hear all the time.

That means by following the rules of StoryLearning and reading books in Spanish, you'll pick up these common irregular verbs without studying or memorisation.

Next, you'll discover what they are; but first, here's a brief explanation of the main characteristics of Spanish irregular verbs.

How To Remember Spanish Irregular Verbs

Generally, Spanish irregular verbs have the following alterations in their lexical roots:

• Changes in vowels. The strong vowel is replaced by a weak one; for example, the present indicative for pedir (to ask for) is pido. A diphthong may also occur, as with the verb dormir (to sleep), which can be conjugated as duermo.
• Changes in consonants. Consonants can be added or modified, as in hago (conjugation of hacer (to do)), or parezco (conjugation of parecer (to seem or to look like)).
• Several roots. The two verbs where this happens are ser (to be) and ir (to go). You'll discover this in more detail later!

How To Know If A Verb Is Irregular?

Despite having paid attention to the previous section, it’s normal that you still have certain doubts. That’s why we have a little trick for you so that you know when a verb in Spanish is irregular.

All you have to do is try to conjugate the verb following the conjugation of a regular Spanish verb, like amar (to love), temer (to fear), or partir (to leave). Now, if the sound associated with the pronunciation changes, it’s an irregular verb!

The 5 Most Common Spanish Irregular Verbs

Now, here's what you've all been waiting for: a list of the most common Spanish irregular verbs, with their respective conjugations in the indicative (i.e not the Spanish subjunctive).

If you want to hear these verbs (and other Spanish irregular verbs) in the context of a story, press play on the video below. Otherwise, keep reading to discover these verbs and their conjugations.

1. Ser

The verb ser (to be) may be the quintessential irregular verb. If you have doubts about the difference between ser and estar, you should know that:

• ser is used to describe what exactly something is; what is the nature of its being
• estar defines the state of that thing

Having made this clarification, let’s take a look at the conjugation of ser with the present, preterite, imperfect, and future tenses.

Conjugation

Pronoun	Present Indicative	Preterite Indicative	Imperfect Indicative	Future Indicative
Yo	Soy	Era	Fui	Seré
Tú or vos	Eres or sos	Eras	Fuiste	Serás
Él/Ella	Es	Era	Fue	Será
Nosotros/as	Somos	Éramos	Fuimos	Seremos
Ustedes or vosotros/as	Son or sois	Eran o erais	Fueron or fuisteis	Serán or seréis
Ellos/as	Son	Eran	Fueron	Serán

Sample Sentences

• Soy demasiado observador. (I’m very observant.)
• Eres una persona muy dulce. (You’re a very sweet person.)
• En la escuela, éramos buenos estudiantes. (We were good students at school.)

2. Hacer

The verb hacer is usually translated as “to do” or “to make,” but it can be used in other contexts, such as when you talk about the weather. Look how it’s conjugated, and notice how the root changes in the imperfect indicative from an “e” to an “i”.

Conjugation

Pronoun	Present Indicative	Preterite Indicative	Imperfect Indicative	Future Indicative
Yo	Hago	Hacía	Hice	Haré
Tú or vos	Haces or hacés	Hacías	Hiciste	Harás
Él/Ella	Hace	Hacía	Hizo	Hará
Nosotros/as	Hacemos	Hacíamos	Hicimos	Haremos
Ustedes or vosotros/as	Hacen or hacéis	Hacían or hacíais	Hicieron or hicisteis	Harán or haréis
Ellos/as	Hacen	Hacían	Hicieron	Harán

Sample Sentences

• El camión de la basura hace mucho ruido. (The garbage truck makes a lot of noise.)
• ¿Qué hacíais despiertos tan tarde? (What were you doing up so late?)
• Los arquitectos hicieron un hermoso edificio. (The architects made a beautiful building.)

3. Ir

When you see some conjugations of the verb ir (to go) such as fui or vaya, you might think that it’s a different verb—yet it’s the same! Yup, we could say that ir is super irregular. Let’s take a look at it in detail.

Pronoun	Present Indicative	Preterite Indicative	Imperfect Indicative	Future Indicative
Yo	Voy	Iba	Fui	Iré
Tú or vos	Vas	Ibas	Fuiste	Irás
Él/Ella	Va	Iba	Fue	Irá
Nosotros/as	Vamos	Íbamos	Fuimos	Iremos
Ustedes or vosotros/as	Van or vais	Íban or ibais	Fueron or fuisteis	Irán or iréis
Ellos/as	Van	Iban	Fueron	Irán

Sample Sentences

• Fuimos a la playa. (We went to the beach.)
• Si quieres, vamos al concierto. (If you want, we go to the concert.)
• Iré al supermercado, ¿quieres que te compre algo? (I’ll go to the supermarket, do you want me to buy you something?)

4. Estar

The verb estar is another of the most important verbs in the Spanish language and, of course… it’s irregular. But remembering how to conjugate it is easy, because its root is always the same: est.

Conjugation

Pronoun	Present Indicative	Preterite Indicative	Imperfect Indicative	Future Indicative
Yo	Estoy	Estaba	Estuve	Estaré
Tú or vos	Estás	Estabas	Estuviste	Estarás
Él/Ella	Está	Estaba	Estuvo	Estará
Nosotros/as	Estamos	Estábamos	Estuvimos	Estaremos
Ustedes or vosotros/as	Están or estáis	Estaban or estabais	Estuvieron or estuvisteis	Estarán or estaréis
Ellos/as	Están	Estaban	Estuvieron	Estarán

Sample Sentences

• Estoy esperando el autobús. (I’m waiting for the bus.)
• ¿Estuviste en la fiesta ayer? (Were you at the party yesterday?)
• Estaré ocupado mañana por mañana. (I will be busy tomorrow morning.)

5. Poder

Poder (can) is an interesting case, because it allows us to see how the vowel “o” is changed to an “ue” in the present indicative: yo puedo (I can). Let’s see all the conjugations of this verb.

Conjugation

Pronoun	Present Indicative	Preterite Indicative	Imperfect Indicative	Future Indicative
Yo	Puedo	Podía	Pude	Podré
Tú or vos	Puedes or podés	Podías	Pudiste	Podrás
Él/Ella	Puede	Podía	Pudo	Podrá
Nosotros/as	Podemos	Podíamos	Pudimos	Podremos
Ustedes or vosotros/as	Pueden or podéis	Podían or podíais	Pudieron or pudisteis	Podrán or podréis
Ellos/as	Pueden	Podían	Pudieron	Podrán

Sample Sentences

• ¿Puedes venir un momento? (Can you come for a moment?)
• Pudiste habérmelo dicho antes. (You could have told me before.)
• Si vamos al río, podremos pescar. (If we go to the river, we can fish.)

List Of Spanish Irregular Verbs

The verbs that you've just learned are the most common, but there are many other Spanish irregular verbs, such as:

• Andar (to walk)
• Caer (to fall)
• Dar (to give)
• Decir (to say)
• Entender (to understand)
• Jugar (to play)
• Leer (to read)
• Saber (to know)
• Salir (to leave)
• Tener (to have)
• Traer (to bring)

Final Thoughts On Spanish Irregular Verbs

The verbs you've just learned will be part of any conversation you have in Spanish; so learning how to conjugate them is essential.

Don’t worry if it takes some time to get to grips with them. And don’t be afraid to make mistakes either. After all, making mistakes means you're learning!

By the way, if you want to listen to exciting stories, with people conjugating all these verbs in a lot of different dialects such as Argentine Spanish, Chilean Spanish, Colombian Spanish or Mexican Spanish, check out the StoryLearning method: you'll find books, the StoryLearning Spanish YouTube channel and the StoryLearning Spanish podcast.

¡Que los disfrutes!