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
va
vamos
van
Dar = to give
doy
das
da
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
es
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.
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