Irregular verbs

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Last Updated: Saturday, 18 January 2025 00:08
Published: Saturday, 16 March 2024 13:54
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Irregular verbs:

These verbs don't follow the same pattern in the 3x2 transformation table. Some or all of the entries of the table deviate from what is expected. That may be true for any of the tenses and forms of verbs. All -ar, -ir, -er verbs have few irregular verbs, and they are a pain, as you have to learn those 3x2 table for these verbs separately. Here the verbs themselves are modified or the base word is modified before transforming it. It's important to know the concept of "stem" before knowing how to modify irregular verbs.

Stem: Verbs have a stem that is used with all transformation in 3x2 table. Then we add a set of endings that are added to stem to identify the subject. To find the stem of a verb, remove the -ar, -er or -ir ending.

  • lavar => stem is "lav"
  • prender => stem is "prend"

Stem changing verbs (aka Irregular verbs): During transformation, for most of the verbs, transformation is simple since stem remains the same and a suffix is added. However, for irregular verbs stem modifies differently for different tenses. There are lot of irregularities in how this transformation happens, but there are general rules that apply to most of the irregular verbs.

NOTE: Verb conjugation might be different for other tenses and moods. What I'm showing below is for some forms only. We'll look at these irregular verbs in present, past, future tenses too in their respective section. For now, we'll follow some simple rules listed below.

Present Tense Transform: Many irregular verbs change form only for few entries (usually 1st person "I"), but follow regular verb pattern for all other entries. We'll go thru such common verbs.

  • Rule 1 (Only 1st person singular (yo form) for present tense changes to -go instead of -o): Lots of irregular verbs fall in this category. All other present tense forms except the 1st person singular form follow the regular form conjugation table. 1st person present tense usually ends in -o, but for these verbs, it sounds weird, so we end it in -go with some stem modification. Some other irregular verbs also add -go suffix for 1st person singular, but they change the conjugation for other forms too, so we talk about those separately in later sections below.
    • (o->go): The stem doesn't change, only the suffix changes from -o to -go
      • Salir (to leave): 1st person conjugation is salgo (instead of salo)
      • poner (to put): 1st person conjugation is pongo (instead of pono). Poner is used in ex as to put clothes, to put flowers on table, etc.
      • Saber (to know): 1st person conjugation is sé (instead of sabo). ex: yo lo  sé => I know it. Very commonly used in conversations. Look in "Phrases" section. Separate section below shows various forms.
      • hacer (to do/to make): 1st person conjugation is hago (instead of haco). Hacer is explained in detail below.
    • (cer/cir->zco): A lot of verbs ending in cer/cir conjugate to -zco. The complete stem doesn't change, only the last 3 words changes from -cer/-cir to -zco. Basically, an extra "z" is added to make it sound better.
      • Conocer (to know): 1st person conjugation is conozco (instead of conoco)
      • Conducir (to drive): 1st person conjugation is conduzco (instead of conduco)
  • Rule 2 (e,o -> ie/i,ue): Selected irregular verbs, which have "e" or "o" in the base word, the stem gets modified with "ie or e"  or "ue". If there are multiple "e" or "o", then only the last one is modified. This applies to only 4 entries of the table (NOT all 6 entries of 3x2 table). The plural 1st person and 2nd person are left out, which still use the base word for transformation. The way to remember it is to make a boot around the 6 entries of the table, where the tall or heel part of boot covers all singular form, and the toe part of boot is on the 3rd person plural form. These are verbs where the stem changed. This is typical for spanish verbs, where many verbs follow the boot pattern (plural 1st person and 2nd person are left out). Examples below:
    • (e->ie):
      • querer (want to) => Here original stem (w/o er) is "quer", which has an "e" in it. So, it gets replaced with "ie", so it becomes "quier". So, 4 of the 3x2 transformations are made based on "quier", while the remaining 2 are made based on "quer".
      • tener (have to) => base word changes to tien. However, 1st person singular form is different here. Instead of tieno", it's tengo (similar to rule 1). Other forms are as expected (tienes, tiene, tenimos, etc)
      • venir (to come) => Similar to tener. base word changes to vien.1st person singular is vengo, Other forms are as expected (vienes, viene, venimos, etc)
      • pensar (to think) => stem transforms to "piens". ex: yo pienso.
      • empezar (to start) => stem changes to "empiez" (e->ie). ex: yo empiezo
    • (e->i):
      • pedir (to ask for) => stem transforms to "pid"  (since pedo, etc sound weird). So, conjugations are pido, pides, pide, pedimos, pedís, piden.
    • (o -> ue):
      • poder (can, to be able to) => Here original stem (w/o er) is "pod", which has an "o" in it. So, it gets replaced with "ue", so it becomes "pued". again, same transformation rule as above (remember boot)
      • volver (to come back or to return) => stem changes to "vuelv". ex: yo vuelvo
      • dormir (to sleep) => stem changes to "duerm". ex: yo duermo, Tú duermes, etc
      • contar (to count) => stem transforms to "cuent"
      • costar (to cost) => stem transforms to "cuest". Only 3rd person forms are used, as  "I cost", "you cost" don't make sense. It's always "It costs", "something costs", etc ...
      • recordar (to remember) => stem transforms to "recuerd". ex: I remember => yo recuerdo. Opposite word is olvidar => to forget.
      • volar (to fly) => stem changes to "vuel" (o->ue). ex: yo vuelo
  •  Completely irregular (ser/estar, ir): ser/estar, ir etc are all completely irregular. No rule here. You just memorize all. They are explained in their own sections.

Past Tense Transform: Many irregular verbs change base differently for past tense than present or future tense.. No specific rules here.

  • Misc:
    • Saber (to know): Stem changes to "sup", so supe, supiste, supo, etc. (still follows an -er verb conjugation)
    • hacer (to do/to make): stem changes to hic. see below
    • poner => to put. For past tense, the stem changes to "pus". However forms are irregular. 1st and 3rd person singular follow past tense of -ar verb, while others follow -er verb.
      • Conjugation => puse, pusiste, puso, pusimos, pusisteis, pusieron, ex: "yo puse" => I put (past).

Future Tense Transform: For future tense, we have many categories of rules which show how some irregular verbs are modified (before adding the suffix).

  • Rule 1: Verb stem changes to -dr: er/ir endings change to -dr.
    • tener => have to (see above in er verb). For future tense, the stem changes to "tendr". For present tense, the verb stem chaged to tien, and NOT tendr. ex: "yo tendré" => I'll have.
    • poder => can or be able to (see above in er verb). For future tense, the stem changes to "podr" (instead of transforming to poddr, we drop the extra d). For present tense, the verb stem chaged to pued, and NOT podr. ex: "yo podré" => I'll be able to.
    • poner => to put. For future tense, the stem changes to "pondr". ex: "yo pondré" => I'll put.
    • valer => to be worth or to cost. You can remember valer as "of value". For future tense, the stem changes to "valdr". ex: Estos libros valdrán cien dólares => These books will be worth $100.
    • salir => to leave (from somewhere). For future tense, the stem changes to "saldr". ex: "yo saldré" => I'll leave.
    • venir => to come to/from or come back (from somewhere). It's similar to llegar (to arrive). venir is opposite of salir. For future tense, the stem changes to "vendr". ex: "yo vendré" => I'll come.
  • Rule 2: Verb stem changes to -r: er/ir endings change to -r.
    • querer => want to (see above in er verb). For future tense, the stem changes to "querr".
    • caber => Means "to fit in something, to accomodate". For future tense, the stem changes to "cabr", before adding the suffix from table above. So "yo cabré" => I'll fit. "usted cabrá" => You will fit, etc. For present tense, stem remains n original form (except for I fit, which trnsforms to "quepo"). However for other tenses, the stem does get transformed differently.
    • saber => means to know. For future tense, the stem changes to "sabr", before adding the suffix from table above. So "yo sabré karate" => I'll know karate
    • haber => have to (δ verb that helps main verb, i.e I have to go. For future tense, the stem changes to "habr". Remember like this => habe looks similar to have). ex: haber de hacer algo => have to do something
      • ex: You will have studied spanish => tu/usted habrás/habrá estudiado español.
    • hacer => to do OR to make. For future tense, the stem changes to har. It should have changed to hacr, but that sounds weird, so har. ex: Yo haré la tarea todos los días => I'll do my task (homework) every day. tarea=task, todos=all
    • decir => to say or tell. For future tense, the stem changes to dir. It should have changed to decr, but that sounds weird, so dir.ex: I will say or tell => yo diré"

 

 

Few Irregular verbs:

 

 

 

  • Difference b/w saber vs conocer: Both mean "to know". However saber is for knowing facts, while conocer is for knowing objects. When talking about abstract ideas, they are used interchangeably.
    • Saber: is used when we know facts, info, how to do something. Generally used to answer questions (i.e I know ...).
      • Facts/info: Do you know how many people live in Spain? => ¿Sabes cuántas personas viven en España?
      • how to do something: I know to speak Spanish => yo sé hablar español.
    • Conocer: is used when we know about people, places or things (i.e objects). It's English equiv of to meet, have been to or to be familiar with. Always remember to include the preposition ‘a‘ when using conocer with people.
      • people: I know your cousin (i.e I'm familiar with ..) => yo conozco a tu primo => remember to use personal "a"
      • places: He knows this place very well => Él conoce muy bien este lugar.
      • things: I am not familiar with the latest phones => yo no conozco con los últimos teléfonos

 

  • hacer => to do/to make : This is different than all other verbs above, but is very commonly used. I means to make or to do. I did this, He wants to do this, etc  However, it's used in a lot of places where the translation is not "do or amke". It's like English word "get" or "put", which gets used in tons of places like I got haircut, he got angry, get him, etc. A non native English speaker has a hard time understanding usage of "get" and "put". Same with hacer. Many times it's used when you cn't think of other word to put there, so it's used as a filler verb that works for a lot of sentences. Think of hacer as a fusion of "make and do". Hacer is very different than haber (explained under Participle verb section).
    • The participle form of hacer is "hecho" (done).
    • The gerund form is haciendo (doing).
    • Present tense: Even though hacer is put under irregular verb section, only the 1st person singular form of present tense is irregular, others follow the regular table. 
    •  base word = hacer => to do/to make Past (stem is hic) Present (irregular only for 1st person singular) Future (stem is har)
       I => First person

      hice

      ex: I did my homework => hice mis deberes

      hago (it should be haco, but that sounds weird, so changed to hago)

      ex: I do my homework => hago mis debres

      		  
      You (informal) => Second person

      hiciste

      haces

      ex: tú (optional) me haces sonreír => You make me smile (you (to me) make smile)

       
      He, she, You (formal=> Third person

      hizo => It should be hico, but instead is "hizo", since hico sounds bad.

      hace

      ex: Mis padres hacen paella cada domingo => My parents make paella every Sunday.

       
      We  

      hacemos

      ex: we have => hemos

      		  
      You all    hacéis  
      They    hacen  
    • Past tense: Here stem changes to "hic", so hice, hiciste, etc. 3rd person singular is even more irregular.
    • Future tense: Base word is "har". see above.
  • ex: ¿Qué quieres hacer hoy? => What do you want to do today?
  • ex: ¿Qué puedes hacer? => What can you do?
  • ex: ¿Qué tienes que hacer hoy? => What do you have to do today?
  • Weather and Time: Used in weather context for hot, cold, etc, as well as for time. Saying "it is cold" in English translates to "It does/makes cold" in Spanish. We could have used ser/estar form too insteead of hacer. It seems like "está" should be used, since it's estar form (temporary "is"). True. "está" is used for temporary weather condition,(i.e it's raining), while "hace" is used for general weather conditions (i.e it's hot). We only use 3rd person form. The noun (it, climate) is ommitted here as is done with most pronouns.
    • ex: It is hot => hace calor (i.e it makes hot), ex: It is cold, right? => hace frío, ¿eh? Proper form would be "el clima hace frío" => the climate makes cold, but "el clima" is left out as is common.
    • ex: ¡Qué buen día hace! => What a nice day! (i.e it makes a nice day)
    • ex: Ahora mismo está lloviendo => Right now, it is raining
    • ex regarding time: "Hace mucho tiempo que no te veo" => "It has been (does/makes) a long time since I have seen you".
  • More unusual usage of hacer, where do/make doesn't make sense, but that's the way spanish uses these:
    • to do sports => hacer deporte => i.e to play sports. We could have also used "jugar deporte", but hacer is more common
    • to do/pose a question => hacer una pregunta => It's similar to "to ask a question"
    • hacer el mercado: to do the action of going to a store/market/supermarket
    • hace tres semanas => it does/makes 3 weeks => it has been 3 weeks
    • hacer la compra => to do the shopping (regular groceries, etc)

 

 

 

  • ver => to see : This is highly irregular as it's stem is just one letter "v".
    • The participle form of ver is "visto" (seen) instead of vido.
    • The gerund form is viendo (seeing) > as expected.
    • Present tense: Only the 1st person singular is irregular. Instead of vo, it's veo.
    • Past tense: Nothing irregular: vi, viste, vio, ...
    • Future Tense: Nothing irregular: veré, verás, verá, verémos, ...

 

  • Elegir (ele-hir) => to elect, choose, select : Elegir sounds like elect. This is somewhat irregular as it's "g" changes to "j" where conjugation with "g" in the stem sounds odd (Both g and j sound as "h". But "g" sounds as "h" only when it's -ge or -gi. So, when we have we have letters other than -ge or -gi in the conjugation, we change it to "-j" to make the same "h" sound)
    • Present tense: Only the 1st person singular is irregular. Instead of elego (no -ge or -gi, so no "h" sound, so changed), it's elejo.
    • Imperative: These are irregular. Forms change as we swap -gir with -gar, so where ever it happens, we need to have it as -jar (har). ex: 3rd person: elija / no elija. it Past remains same as all conjugations end in -gi*
    • Subjunctive: irregular
    • Other tense: All other tenses conjugate to -ge or -gi, so they keep the g letter in stem, so nothing irregular: