Irregular Verbs in the Present Tense | Spanish Translation by Spanish to Go

Irregular Verbs in the Present Tense | Lesson

What are the irregular verbs in the Present tense?. The verbs Ir (to go), Dar (to give) and Estar (to be) are irregular in the present tense. However, the only irregularity is in the first person yo. All other forms are the same forms of a regular “ar” verb.

Ir = to go

voy

vas

vamos

van

Dar = to give

doy

das

damos

dan

Estar = to be

estoy

estás

está

estamos

están

Example of conjugation:

Yo voy (I go), Tú vas (You -informal- go), Él va (He goes), Ella va (She goes), Usted va (You -formal- go), Nosotros vamos (We -masculine- go), Nosotras vamos (We -feminine- go), Ellos van (They -masculine- go), Ellas van (They -feminine- go), Ustedes van (You -plural- go).

Yo doy (I give), Tú das (You give), Él da (He gives), Nosotros damos (We give), Ellos dan (They give).

Note 1: Don’t forget that Él, Ella and Usted share the same form of the verb. It is the same case with Nosotros and Nosotras and with Ellos, Ellas and Ustedes.

Note 2: Ir is unique, because despite being an “ir” verb, it’s endings are like those of “ar” verbs.

Note 3: Notice that the verb Estar ( to be), from our second lesson, is an irregular verb.

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The verbs Poner (to put), Hacer (to do, to make), Traer (to bring), Salir (to go out, to leave) are irregular in the Present tense, but only in the first person singular yo. All their other forms are regular. For example:

Poner = to put

pongo

pones

pone

ponemos

ponen

Hacer = to do

hago

haces

hace

hacemos

hacen

Traer = to bring

traigo

traes

trae

traemos

traen

Salir = to go out

salgo

sales

sale

salimos

salen

…..

Most verbs that end in cer or cir are irregular in the Present tense. Notice, however, that only the first person singular is irregular, and all other conjugations are regular.

conocer = to know

conozco

conoces

conoce

conocemos

conocen

conducir = to drive

conduzco

conduces

conduce

conducimos

conducen

Note: Conocer means to know somebody or to know some place (to be familiar with).

Examples:

Yo conozco a la profesora de español. (I know the spanish teacher.)

Nosotros conocemos Mexico. (We know Mexico.)

…..

The verb Saber means “to know” (something, as in facts or knowledge), and is also irregular in the present tense but only in the first person singular yo. Otherwise, it’s conjugated as a normal “er” verb.

Saber = to know

sé

sabes

sabe

sabemos

saben

Note: Saber means to have the knowledge of something.

Examples:

Yo sé donde está el supermercado. (I know where the supermarket is.)

Ella sabe bailar salsa. (She knows how to dance salsa.)

…..

The verb Ser (to be) is irregular in the Present tense. Ser is a very unique verb, and no other verb follows the same pattern:

Ser = to be

soy

eres

somos

son

There are other irregular verbs that you’ll learn in time, but the ones covered in this lesson are some of the most common ones that you’ll need to know.