Spanish grammar guide

Spanish Irregular Verbs

Learn the Patterns First

Spanish irregular verbs are easier when you study them by pattern, not as a random list of 100 verbs. Start with the smallest high-value groups first: soy, estoy, voy, doy.

The Smart Learning Order

Do not try to memorize every irregular verb at once. Learn the most useful groups first, then move to wider lists and quizzes.

1. Tiny core group

ser, estar, ir, dar: the four essential -OY verbs.

2. Present yo forms

tengo, hago, digo, pongo: high-frequency yo irregulars.

3. Time-based groups

Imperfect irregulars, future stems, gerunds, and participles.

4. Wider lists

Use the Top 40 / Top 60 / Top 100 lists after the patterns make sense.

Start with the 4 Essential -OY Verbs

These four verbs are short, common, and irregular in the present yo form. They are also essential in the simple past.

Four essential Spanish -OY verbs with present and simple past yo forms
Verb	Present yo	Simple past yo	Meaning
ser	soy	fui	I am / I was
estar	estoy	estuve	I am / I was
ir	voy	fui	I go / I went
dar	doy	di	I give / I gave

Important: fui can mean “I was” or “I went”. Context tells you whether it comes from ser or ir.

Top Present Yo Irregulars

Many essential Spanish verbs are irregular mainly in the yo form. These are high-priority forms for real conversations.

tener

tengo

to have

hacer

hago

to do / make

decir

digo

to say / tell

venir

vengo

to come

poner

pongo

to put

salir

salgo

to leave / go out

saber

sé

to know

ver

veo

to see

Helpful pattern note

Not every irregular yo form is a “go verb”. conozco, traduzco, sé, veo, voy, estoy, and doy are also irregular, but they do not all follow the classic -go pattern.

For positive and negative commands such as ten / no tengas, haz / no hagas, and di / no digas, study the full command page below.

Study go verbs and commands

Only 3 Verbs Are Irregular in the Imperfect

This is one of the easiest irregular groups in Spanish. In the imperfect tense, only ser, ir, and ver are irregular.

The only three irregular Spanish imperfect verbs
Infinitive	Imperfect yo	English
ser	era	I was
ir	iba	I was going / I used to go
ver	veía	I was seeing / I used to see

12 Essential Irregular Future Stems

In the simple future, the ending stays regular, but the stem changes: tener → tendré, hacer → haré, decir → diré.

Twelve essential Spanish irregular future stems
Infinitive	Future yo	Stem	Example
tener	tendré	tendr-	Tendré tiempo.
venir	vendré	vendr-	Vendré mañana.
poner	pondré	pondr-	Pondré la mesa.
salir	saldré	saldr-	Saldré temprano.
valer	valdré	valdr-	Valdrá la pena.
decir	diré	dir-	Te diré la verdad.
hacer	haré	har-	Lo haré después.
poder	podré	podr-	No podré venir.
querer	querré	querr-	Querré saber más.
saber	sabré	sabr-	Lo sabré pronto.
caber	cabré	cabr-	No cabrá aquí.
haber	habré	habr-	Habrá mucha gente.

Study future irregulars with more expressions

Irregular Past Participles Used in the Present Perfect

The present perfect is built with he + past participle. The irregular part is usually the participle: visto, dicho, hecho, puesto.

Common Spanish irregular past participles used in the present perfect
Infinitive	Present perfect yo	Everyday example
ver	he visto	Ya lo he visto.
decir	he dicho	No te he dicho nada.
hacer	he hecho	¿Qué has hecho?
poner	he puesto	He puesto las llaves aquí.
volver	he vuelto	He vuelto temprano.
morir	he muerto	Me he muerto de risa.
escribir	he escrito	Te he escrito un mensaje.
abrir	he abierto	He abierto la puerta.
romper	he roto	Se ha roto el vaso.

Careful: not every important irregular verb has an irregular participle. For example, tener → he tenido and venir → he venido use regular participles.

High-Priority Verbs Irregular in Several Important Forms

After the small groups above, use this comparison table to see the most useful irregular forms across several tenses. The gerund column shows forms used with estar, such as estoy diciendo.

High-priority Spanish irregular verbs compared across important forms
Infinitive	Present yo	Simple past yo	Imperfect yo	Gerund	Present perfect yo	Future yo
ser	soy	fui	era	siendo	he sido	seré
ir	voy	fui	iba	yendo	he ido	iré
ver	veo	vi	veía	viendo	he visto	veré
tener	tengo	tuve	tenía	teniendo	he tenido	tendré
venir	vengo	vine	venía	viniendo	he venido	vendré
poner	pongo	puse	ponía	poniendo	he puesto	pondré
hacer	hago	hice	hacía	haciendo	he hecho	haré
decir	digo	dije	decía	diciendo	he dicho	diré
poder	puedo	pude	podía	pudiendo	he podido	podré
querer	quiero	quise	quería	queriendo	he querido	querré
saber	sé	supe	sabía	sabiendo	he sabido	sabré
salir	salgo	salí	salía	saliendo	he salido	saldré

What to Study Next

Top 40 Irregular Verbs Compare yo forms across six essential forms. Go Verbs + Commands tengo, hago, digo plus ten, haz, di. Preterite Irregulars tuve, hice, dije, puse, vine and more. Future Irregulars tendré, haré, diré, podré, habrá. Present Irregulars Quiz Practice the most useful present forms. Preterite Irregulars Quiz Review the most important simple past forms.