Irregular Verbs in the Present tense
Irregular verbs don't follow the normal spelling pattern when they are conjugated. This happens in English too!
For example, let's look at the verb “To Be.” It is conjugated: I am, you are, he is...etc.
We've already looked at some irregular Spanish verbs: Ser (to Be), Ir (to Go)
There are different kinds of irregularities. Some have gross irregularities like Ser (to Be) and Ir (to Go); some add letters to help with pronunciation or to stabilize the weak unaccented "i" like Oír ; and others, like Haber, have more than just the irregular Yo form.
Very Irregular verbs |
Yo |
Tú |
Él, ella, usted |
Nosotros |
Ellos, ellas, ustedes |
| soy | eres | es | somos | son | |
| estoy | estás | está | estamos | están | |
Oír |
oigo | oyes | oye | oímos | oyen |
| Ir | voy | vas | va | vamos | van |
|
This is the infinitive for "Hay" |
he | has | ha | hemos | han |
Some verbs are irregular only in the Yo form:
Verbs Irregular in the Yo form |
Yo |
Tú |
Él, ella, Usted |
Nosotros |
Ellos, ellas, Uds. |
| Dar | doy | das | da | damos | dan |
| Hacer | hago | haces | hace | hacemos | hacen |
| Poner | pongo | pones | pone | ponemos | ponen |
| Saber | sé | sabes | sabe | sabemos | saben |
Salir Salir de = Get out of, Leave fromSalir con = Go out with Salir + a + Infinitive = Leave to Go Do Something Salir + para + destination = to head out for a place |
salgo | sales | sale | salimos | salen |
| Traducir | traduzco | traduces | traduce | traducemos | traducen |
Some verbs have an irregular Yo form and are stem-changers as well, like Tener (to Have). Remember that the Nosotros form does not stem-change. Think "No!" for Nosotros.
Stem-changers Irregular in the Yo form |
Yo |
Tú |
Él, ella, Usted |
Nosotros |
Ellos, ellas, Uds. |
| Decir | digo | dices | dice | decimos | dicen |
| Tener | tengo | tienes | tiene | tenemos | tienen |
| Venir | vengo | vienes | viene | venimos | vienen |
Stem-changing verbs are not considered irregular verbs. Rather they are a specific type of verb. Stem-changers have vowels in the stem (root) which either change to a different vowel or to a combination of two vowels when conjugated.