Spanish Irregular Verbs: Full Conjugation Table

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 garjue 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)        
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
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