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Spanish Irregular Verbs: Full Conjugation Table

Learning & Grammer

Here is the conjugation of irregular Spanish verbs! It's time to tackle one of the most difficult topics in the Spanish language, especially at the beginning: irregular verbs in Spanish. Just like in Italian—or English—there are several verbs in Spanish that choose a different, entirely unique conjugation.

Studying and memorizing them is essential, especially since these verbs include some of the most important and commonly used: does the verb “to be” mean anything to you? Yes, it too follows an irregular conjugation.

So, let's not waste time talking and get straight to the point by discovering how irregular verbs are conjugated in Spanish, what irregularities mean, and when these verbs are used. Sprachcaffe helps you memorize them by also providing a valuable table: in short, there are no more excuses for not knowing them!

Irregular Verbs in Spanish: What do they mean?

First of all, what do we mean by irregular verbs in Spanish?

Quite simply, these are verbs that don't follow the standard -AR, -ER, or -IR conjugations from beginning to end. They choose to modify their stem based on tense and tense usage, even though they are found within the same conjugation.

This does not mean, however, that the irregularity is present in every part of the conjugation itself: in some verbs it may concern only one tense and two persons, in others it may be more widespread, in others still it may appear in a single case.

An example is the verb ir in Spanish , which in the first person singular becomes "voy, and maintains this irregularity throughout the conjugation of the present indicative :

To then return to its traditional and standard form in other conjugations, such as that of the imperfect indicative:
Person Verb ir Present Indicative
yo I
tu You
él/ella he/she
nosotros us
vosotros you
ellos/ellas they
Another difference to note is that there are irregular verbs in Spanish with diphthongs and with weakening.
Person Verb ir (to go) Imperfect Tense
yo I
tu you
él/ella he/she
nosotros us
vosotros you
ellos/ellas they
  • Irregular verbs with diphthongs are those that add something, for example transforming the "e" and the "i" into the diphthong "ie" in verbs like querer and adquirir, or the "o" and the "u" into the diphthong "ue", as in the verbs poder and jugar:

    qu e rer → qu ie ro
    adqu i rir → adqu ie ro
    po der → p ue do
    ju gar → jue go
  • Irregular verbs with weakening, on the other hand, are those that have an "e" in the root and transform it into an "i." These are always third-conjugation verbs, and the most obvious example is the verb pedir:

    p e dir → p i do

Irregular Verbs in Spanish: Table

And, to help you learn them all, we've enriched this lesson by providing you with a complete table of irregular verbs in Spanish that you can download and carry with you wherever you go.

Take advantage of every free moment of the day to read it and study a few verb groups, and you'll see that in no time you'll know them all by heart without any problems.

As you can see, they are all very commonly used verbs in the Spanish language.
Verb Translation
querer want
pedir ask
ir go
ser to be
hacer do
nacer be born
dormir sleep
oir to hear (hearing)
jugar play
poner put
poder candies
entender understand
decir say
dar give
caer fall
saber know
tener have
traer bring
valer to be worth
venir come
ver see
caber to hold/to be there
haber have
sentir to feel (emotions)
salir go out

Examples of Conjugation of Irregular Verbs in Spanish

To further clarify how irregular verbs work in Spanish, let's now look at their complete conjugation. To do so, let's take one of the most common verbs in the Spanish language as an example: the verb poder, which means to be able to.

Person Present Imperfect Perfect Tense Future
Yo I can could could I could
Tu you can you could were you able you will be able to
Él / Ella he/she could we were able will be able
Nosotros we can we could we were able we will be able to
Vosotros you you could were you able you will be able to
Ellos / Ellas they could they were able they will be able to
         
indicative (compound tenses)        
Person Present Imperfect Perfect Tense Future
Yo I have been able I had been able to I could have I will have been able to.
Tu have you been able You had been able to You could have You will have been able to.
Él / Ella has podium I had been able to He/She/It had been will have been able to
Nosotros we have been able We had been able to we could have we will have been able
Vosotros have been able You (plural) had been able to you could have you will have been able
Ellos / Ellas they have podid You have been able to they could have they will have been able
         
subjunctive (simple tenses)        
person present preterite imperfect future  
Yo can could could  
Tu you can could you could  
Él/Ella you can could could  
Nosotros let's get there we could we could  
Vosotros In you could/you could you could  
Ellos/Ellas they could could could  
subjunctive (compound tenses)      
persona presente pretérito imperfecto futuro
Yo may have been able to we could have could have
Tu you have been able to you could have you could have
Él/Ella may have been able to could have could have
Nosotros we have been able to we could have we could have
Vosotros You you could have you could have
Ellos / Ellas They they could have could have
       
Conditional      
Person Simple Compound  
Yo could would have been able to  
You could you could have  
Él/Ella could would have been able to  
Nosotros we could we could have  
Vosotros you were going to be able you could have  
Ellos/Ellas They they could have  

Of the verb poder, the past participle is podido , while the gerund pudiendo / habiendo podido.

In this case, we can note the irregularity that persists consistently in some tenses while not appearing at all in others. Taking the indicative, for example, it is found in the present and preterite perfect tenses, while it does not appear at all in the imperfect and simple future tenses.

This is a recurring pattern in other verb moods as well.

Remember, however, that each irregular verb can have different and unique characteristics, and therefore it is essential to study the conjugation of each one in great detail.

Irregular Verbs in Spanish: How to Memorize Them?

Luckily, there aren't a huge number of irregular verbs in Spanish, but memorizing them all at once can be a real challenge.

This is because, in addition to the verb and its translation, you also need to know its conjugation and understand where its irregularity lies! For example, with the verb "salir," you need to remember that the first-person singular becomes "salgo," with the addition of a "g."

In some cases, you'll see that it's very simple: in the example we just saw, we have the exact same irregularity in Italian. In other cases, it's not so, like the real "caer" becoming "caigo."

So, here are some tips to help you memorize irregular verbs in Spanish more easily and become an unstoppable language learner:

  1. Learn them a little at a time : there's no rush, on the contrary. It's better to learn a few at a time but well, remembering every detail of conjugation and irregularities, rather than memorizing a meaningless list of all the irregular verbs. Quality always beats quantity, even (and especially) when learning a new language;
  2. Group verbs by category : try to group together all those with similar irregularities and study them as a group. For example, you can choose to combine all those with irregularities involving diphthongs and weakening, or simply study one conjugation at a time: first -AR, then -ER, and finally -IR. You'll notice that some verbs are simply unclassifiable: verbs like -oir, -ir, and -ser don't follow a specific irregularity: they are truly irregular and should be studied as they are;
  3. Put them in context: One of the best ways to study and memorize vocabulary and verbs is definitely to put them in context. Seeing, reading, and hearing them in a meaningful sentence helps you immediately grasp their meaning, but it also makes the conjugation easier to relate to the infinitive.
    For example, if I say the sentence "Que sea un buen dia," you immediately understand that "sea" is the subjunctive of the verb "ser," meaning "to be," because the context is a huge help.
  4. Embark on a language study trip: why not embark on a language study holiday in Spain ? There's no better way to learn a language than immersing yourself in a place where everyone speaks it, where that language is an integral part of the culture. Sprachcaffe gives you the opportunity to experience life abroad in three of Spain's most beautiful cities: Malaga, Barcelona, and the sunny capital, Madrid.
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