Present tense: irregular verbs
A few key verbs are irregular. Many are irregular only in the yo form, and the rest of the verb is regular.
| type | verbs | yo form |
|---|---|---|
| -go | hacer, poner, salir, traer, caer | hago, pongo, salgo, traigo, caigo |
| -go + stem change | tener, venir, decir | tengo (tienes), vengo (vienes), digo (dices) |
| -zco | conocer, conducir, traducir, parecer | conozco, conduzco, traduzco |
| other yo | saber, ver, dar | sé, veo, doy |
Fully irregular: ir (to go)
voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van. Ir takes a: Voy a la playa. Vamos al cine.
Examples
- ¿Qué haces el fin de semana? Salgo con amigos.What do you do at the weekend? I go out with friends.
- No sé su nombre.I don’t know his name.
- Tengo veinticinco años.I am twenty-five years old.
- Voy al trabajo en metro.I go to work by metro.
- Mis amigos vienen a cenar hoy.My friends are coming for dinner today.
Common mistakes
- ✗ Yo hacho la tarea.✓ Yo hago la tarea.Hacer has an irregular yo form, hago. English never changes the stem, so regular -o is the natural guess.
- ✗ Yo sabo la respuesta.✓ Yo sé la respuesta.Saber has the one-off yo form sé, which is also why it needs an accent to tell it from se.
- ✗ Yo vo al cine.✓ Yo voy al cine.Ir is completely irregular: the yo form is voy, not vo.
- ✗ Yo pono la mesa.✓ Yo pongo la mesa.Poner adds -g in the yo form: pongo, as in tengo, salgo and hago.
- ✗ Yo conozo a Ana.✓ Yo conozco a Ana.Verbs in -cer after a vowel take -zco in the yo form: conozco, not conozo.