Spanish Irregular Verbs: Full List by Tense
An irregular verb (verbo irregular) is a verb whose stem or ending changes in at least one tense: tener → tengo, tuve, tendré. If only a letter changes to keep the sound (llegar → llegué), the verb is still regular.
The key idea: a verb is rarely irregular in every tense. Pedir changes in the present (pido) and the preterite (pidió), but it is regular in the imperfect and the future. That is why this page breaks Spanish irregular verbs down by tense.
On this page:
- a table of 46 Spanish irregular verbs with a filter by tense;
- irregular patterns by tense: present, preterite, imperfect, future and conditional, past participle, gerund, subjunctive, commands.
Spanish irregular verbs list (46)
The verbs are sorted by frequency. Each row shows four key forms, with the irregular ones in orange. The filter keeps the verbs that are irregular in the chosen tense, and "Hide translations" turns the table into flashcards. Tap a verb to see its full conjugation.
Forms: present (yo) · preterite (él) · future (yo) · past participle. Irregular forms are highlighted in orange.
| # | Verb | Meaning | Forms |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ser | to be (essence) | soyfueserésido |
| 2 | estar | to be (state, location) | estoyestuvoestaréestado |
| 3 | haber | auxiliary; there is/are | hehubohabréhabido |
| 4 | tener | to have | tengotuvotendrétenido |
| 5 | hacer | to do, to make | hagohizoharéhecho |
| 6 | poder | to be able to, can | puedopudopodrépodido |
| 7 | decir | to say, to tell | digodijodirédicho |
| 8 | ir | to go | voyfueiréido |
| 9 | ver | to see | veovioverévisto |
| 10 | dar | to give | doydiodarédado |
| 11 | saber | to know (facts, how to) | sésuposabrésabido |
| 12 | querer | to want, to love | quieroquisoquerréquerido |
| 13 | poner | to put, to place | pongopusopondrépuesto |
| 14 | parecer | to seem | parezcopareciópareceréparecido |
| 15 | seguir | to follow, to continue | sigosiguióseguiréseguido |
| 16 | encontrar | to find, to meet | encuentroencontróencontraréencontrado |
| 17 | venir | to come | vengovinovendrévenido |
| 18 | pensar | to think | piensopensópensarépensado |
| 19 | salir | to leave, to go out | salgosaliósaldrésalido |
| 20 | volver | to return, to come back | vuelvovolvióvolverévuelto |
| 21 | conocer | to know (people, places), to meet | conozcoconocióconoceréconocido |
| 22 | sentir | to feel, to be sorry | sientosintiósentirésentido |
| 23 | contar | to count, to tell | cuentocontócontarécontado |
| 24 | empezar | to begin, to start | empiezoempezóempezaréempezado |
| 25 | escribir | to write | escriboescribióescribiréescrito |
| 26 | perder | to lose, to miss | pierdoperdióperderéperdido |
| 27 | producir | to produce, to cause | produzcoprodujoproduciréproducido |
| 28 | entender | to understand | entiendoentendióentenderéentendido |
| 29 | pedir | to ask for, to order | pidopidiópedirépedido |
| 30 | recordar | to remember, to remind | recuerdorecordórecordarérecordado |
| 31 | aparecer | to appear, to show up | aparezcoaparecióapareceréaparecido |
| 32 | conseguir | to get, to achieve, to manage to | consigoconsiguióconseguiréconseguido |
| 33 | comenzar | to begin, to start | comienzocomenzócomenzarécomenzado |
| 34 | servir | to serve, to be useful | sirvosirvióserviréservido |
| 35 | mantener | to maintain, to keep, to support | mantengomantuvomantendrémantenido |
| 36 | caer | to fall | caigocayócaerécaído |
| 37 | abrir | to open | abroabrióabriréabierto |
| 38 | oír | to hear | oigooyóoiréoído |
| 39 | convertir | to convert, to turn into | conviertoconvirtióconvertiréconvertido |
| 40 | traer | to bring | traigotrajotraerétraído |
| 41 | morir | to die | mueromuriómorirémuerto |
| 42 | suponer | to suppose, to assume | supongosupusosupondrésupuesto |
| 43 | reconocer | to recognize; to acknowledge | reconozcoreconocióreconoceréreconocido |
| 44 | nacer | to be born; to come into the world; to arise | nazconaciónacerénacido |
| 45 | jugar | to play (a game, sport) | juegojugójugaréjugado |
| 46 | dormir | to sleep | duermodurmiódormirédormido |
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Irregular verbs in the present tense (irregular yo forms)
The present tense has the most irregular verbs, but almost all of them fit into a few groups. Within a group the verbs change the same way: tener → tengo, tienes, venir → vengo, vienes.
Unique forms7
Learn them by heart: the yo form or the whole tense breaks the pattern.
-go in the yo form11
Only yo adds a -g-. The other forms are regular or have a stem change: tengo, tienes.
-zco in the yo form6
Verbs ending in -cer or -cir after a vowel: c → zc only in yo.
e → ie8
The stressed e of the stem becomes ie in every form except nosotros and vosotros: pienso, pensamos.
o → ue7
The stressed o of the stem becomes ue in every form except nosotros and vosotros: puedo, podemos.
e → i4
Only -ir verbs, in every form except nosotros and vosotros: pido, pedimos.
Don't confuse: spelling only
In dirijo only the letter changes, to keep the sound. That is not an irregularity.
- dirigirdirijo
Irregular preterite verbs
The preterite (pretérito indefinido) comes second for irregular verbs. The trick is to tell real irregularities (tuve, hice, dije) from spelling rules (busqué, leyó). A useful hint: verbs with a new stem never take a written accent on the ending: tuve, hizo.
ser = ir, dar3
ser and ir share the same forms (fui, fue); context tells them apart. dar takes the -er endings.
New stem11
A new stem and unstressed endings: -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron (tuve, tuvo).
Stem in -j3
Like the new-stem group, but ellos ends in -eron, not -ieron: dijeron, trajeron.
Stem change in the third person8
-ir verbs with a present-tense stem change switch e → i and o → u only in él and ellos: pidió, durmió.
Don't confuse: spelling only
c → qu, g → gu, z → c before e (busqué, llegué, empecé) and i → y between vowels (leyó, cayó). Vi and vio have no accent because they are one syllable. The endings are the regular ones.
Irregular verbs in the imperfect
The easiest tense: there are only three irregular verbs.
Only three verbs3
Every other verb, even the most irregular ones, is regular in the imperfect.
Irregular future and conditional stems
In the simple future and the conditional all verbs share the same endings, and only twelve verbs from the list change their stem. Both tenses use the same stem: tendr- → tendré, tendría.
Special stem in the future and conditional12
The endings are regular; only the stem changes, and both tenses share it: tendré, tendría.
Irregular past participles
There are only a few irregular participles, but you will use them all the time: every compound tense is built with one. Verbs built on the same root inherit the form: suponer → supuesto, like poner → puesto.
Irregular past participles9
The participle is used in every compound tense: he hecho, había dicho, habré visto.
Don't confuse: spelling only
The accent shows that the i is a separate syllable: leído, oído. These participles are regular.
Irregular gerunds
The gerund is used with estar for actions in progress: estoy diciendo, está durmiendo.
Irregular gerunds12
-ir verbs with a stem change (diciendo, durmiendo), plus poder (pudiendo) and ir (yendo).
Don't confuse: spelling only
An i between vowels is written y: leyendo, oyendo, trayendo. It is the same -iendo ending.
Irregular verbs in the subjunctive
The present subjunctive comes almost entirely from the present yo form, so it adds very few new irregularities: you need the yo form and six exceptions.
Rule: start from yo6
Take the present yo form, drop the -o and add the subjunctive ending. The quirk of the yo form stays: tengo → tenga.
Exceptions: yo doesn't end in -o6
These six verbs have a yo form that doesn't end in -o, so learn their subjunctive by heart.
Don't confuse: spelling only
Only the letter changes, to keep the sound: llegue, busque, realice, dirija. That is not an irregularity.
Irregular tú commands
The affirmative tú command is usually the same as the él form of the present: habla, come, piensa. There are only a few exceptions, and they are all short. Compound verbs add a written accent: mantén, supón.
Short tú commands10
Normally the tú command is the same as the él form of the present (habla, piensa). These verbs are the exceptions.
How to learn Spanish irregular verbs
- Learn them in groups, not one by one. Verbs ending in -go or -zco, or with an e → ie change, follow the same pattern within their group.
- Memorize three forms of each verb: present yo, preterite yo and the past participle (tengo, tuve, tenido). Once you know these three, the other tenses come much more easily.
- Start with the most common ones. Ser, estar, haber, tener, hacer, poder, decir and ir show up in almost every sentence.
Rules for each tense: Present, Preterite (Indefinido), Future, Past participle and Present subjunctive. Related: the 100 most common Spanish verbs and Spanish reflexive verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What makes a Spanish verb irregular?
A verb is irregular when its stem or ending changes in at least one tense, not just a letter. For example, tener: tengo, tuve, tendré. The most common irregular verbs are ser, estar, haber, tener, hacer, poder, decir and ir.
Which tense has the most irregular verbs?
The present and the preterite. The imperfect has only three irregular verbs: ser (era), ir (iba) and ver (veía). In the future and conditional, twelve verbs from this list change only their stem; the endings stay regular.
Are leer and creer irregular?
Strictly speaking, no. In leyó, creyó and leyendo an i between vowels is written y, and in leído and creído the accent marks a separate syllable. These are spelling rules; the endings are regular.
Are llegué, busqué and empecé irregular forms?
No. The letter changes before e to keep the sound: g → gu, c → qu, z → c. These forms follow the regular pattern. Empezar is irregular in the present (empiezo), but not in the preterite.
What is the best way to learn Spanish irregular verbs?
Learn them in groups: verbs with the same irregularity change the same way. Start with the most common ones (ser, estar, tener, hacer, ir) and memorize three forms of each: present yo, preterite yo and the past participle.