Spanish irregular verbs
Irregular verbs in the Spanish language
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Spanish verbs are a complex area of Spanish grammar, with many combinations of tenses, aspects and moods (up to fifty conjugated forms per verb). Although conjugation rules are relatively straightforward, a large number of verbs are irregular. Among these, some fall into more-or-less defined deviant patterns, whereas others are uniquely irregular. This article summarizes the common irregular patterns.
As in all Romance languages, many irregularities in Spanish verbs can be retraced to Latin grammar.
Orthographic changes
Due to the rules of Spanish orthography, some predictable changes are needed to keep the same consonant sound before a or o and e or i, but these are not usually considered irregularities. The following examples use the first person plural of the present subjunctive:
- /k/: c—qu: tocar > toquemos (-car), delinquir > delincamos (-quir).
- /θ/: z—c: gozar > gocemos (-zar), vencer > venzamos (-cer).
- /x/: g—j: proteger > protejamos (-ger). But in verbs ending in -jar, the j is kept before e: mojar > mojemos (not *mogemos).
- /ɡ/: g—gu: negar > neguemos (-gar), distinguir > distingamos (-guir).
- /ɡw/: gu—gü: averiguar > averigüemos (-guar).
Other predictable changes involve stress marks, i—y alternations and i-dropping, some of which are sometimes considered as irregularities. These examples are several forms of otherwise regular preterites:
- Stress mark on stressed i after a, e or o: caer > caímos (-caer), leer > leímos (-eer), oír > oímos (-ír, -oír); this does not apply to any G-verbs such as traer and its related forms.
- Stress mark not used in monosyllabic forms: liar > lie /lje/, lio /ljo/; ver > vi, vio. However, before 2010, the forms lié /liˈe/ and lió /liˈo/, fié and fió, guié and guió, and crié and crió could also be written with the accent mark by writers who pronounce these forms as bisyllabic.[1] But this option was not available for vio.
- Unstressed i is written y between non-silent vowels: caer > cayó, cayeron (-aer, -caer); construir > construyó, construyeron (-uir). This does not apply to verbs ending in -quir (for example, delinquir > delinquió, delinquieron).
- Unstressed i is dropped between ll or ñ and a vowel: bullir > bulló (not *bullió) (-llir/-ñir), tañer > tañó (-ñer).
Stem-vowel changes
There are two kinds of changes that can affect stem vowels of some Spanish verbs: diphthongization and vowel raising. Both changes affect -e- or -o- in the last (or only) syllable of a verb stem. Diphthongization changes -e- to -ie-, and -o- to -ue-. Vowel raising changes the mid vowels -e- and -o- to the corresponding high vowels: -i- and -u- respectively. Some verbs, in their various forms, can exhibit both kinds of changes (e.g. sentir, siente, sintió (e-ie-i); dormir, duerme, durmió) (o-ue-u).
Diphthongization
The identities of verbs that diphthongize -e- to -ie- and -o- to -ue- are not marked and must be learned individually. In a diphthongizing verb, the change occurs when the stem syllable is stressed, which in effect happens only in the singular persons and third-person plural of the present tense and in the imperative. In the other forms, including the infinitive, are stressed on their endings, not their stems. Exceptionally, the -u- of jugar (u-ue -gar, -jugar) and the -i- of verbs derived from querer like inquirir (i-ie) also are subject to diphthongization (juega; inquiere).
Word-initially, *ie- is written ye- (errar > yerro) (e-ie > ye) and *ue- is written hue- (oler > huele) (o-ue > hue, oler). Also, the -ue- diphthong is written -üe- after g, with the diaeresis to indicate that the letter is not silent (avergonzarse > me avergüenzo) (reflexive, go-güe -zar).
The following table shows contrasting forms for both types diphthongization, and the irregular -quirir and jugar:
| Verb | yo | tú | vos | él/ ella; usted | nosotr(os/as) | vosotr(os/as) | ell(os/as); ustedes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pensar/ pensando/ pensado | indicative present | pienso | piensas | pensás | piensa | pensamos | pensáis | piensan |
| subjunctive present | piense | pienses | pensés* | piense | pensemos | penséis | piensen | |
| imperative | — | piensa
no pienses |
pensá
no pensés* |
pensad
no pensáis | ||||
| oler/ oliendo/ olido | indicative present | huelo | hueles | olés | huela | olemos | oléis | huelen |
| subjunctive present | huela | huelas | olás | huela | olamos | oláis | huelan | |
| imperative | — | huele
no huelas |
olé
no olás* |
oled
no oláis | ||||
| inquirir/ inquiriendo/ inquirido | indicative present | inquiero | inquieres | inquirís | inquiere | inquiremos | inquirís | inquieren |
| subjunctive present | inquiera | inquieras | inquirás* | inquiera | inquiramos | inquiráis | inquieran | |
| imperative | — | inquiere
no inquieras |
inquirí
no inquirás* |
inquirid
no inquieráis | ||||
| jugar/ jugando/ jugado | indicative present | juego | juegas | jugás | juega | jugamos | jugáis | juegan |
| subjunctive present | juegue | juegues | jugués* | juegue | juguemos | juguéis | jueguen | |
| imperative | — | juega
no juegues |
jugá
no jugués* |
jugad
no juguéis | ||||
* In Central America pensés, contés, etc. are used in the subjunctive present and imperative,[2] but the Royal Spanish Academy prescribes pienses, cuentes, etc., as in Rioplatense Spanish.
The verbs sentir and dormir also undergo vowel raising. Additional diphthongizing verbs include acordar(se) (o-ue), divertir(se) (e-ie), doler (o-ue), empezar (-zar e-ie, -ezar), encontrar (o-ue), entender (e-ie), llover (o-ue), morir (o-ue, -morir), mostrar (o-ue), mover (o-ue), poder (o-ue, -poder), probar (o-ue), querer (e-ie, -querer), recordar (o-ue), sentar(se) (e-ie-i), tener (e-ie, -tener, G-Verb), venir (e-ie, -venir, G-Verb), volar (o-ue), and volver (o-ue, -olver).
Many verbs with -e- or -o- in the root do not alternate. Common non-diphthongizing verbs include acercar(se), aprender, beber, ceder, coger², colar, comer, comprar, conocer, correr, creer, deber, dejar, entrar, esperar, importar, joder¹, lamentar, llegar, llevar, meter, parecer, perecer, poner, prometer, quedar, regresar, responder, robar, soportar, suceder, temer, tomar, among others. Less frequent verbs of this kind are often a source of mistakes for children learning to speak, and also for some adults:
- rebosar → yo *rebueso, él/ella *rebuesa... instead of yo reboso, él rebosa...
Vowel raising
Vowel raising appears only in -ir verbs, and in this group it affects dormir, morir, podrir (an alternative of the more common pudrir) and nearly all verbs which have -e- as their last stem vowel (e.g. sentir, repetir). Exceptions to that last rule include cernir and its derivatives, which are only diphthongizing.
Affected forms
The forms that exhibit the change can be described negatively as those in which the stem vowel is not diphthongized and the ending does not contain stressed i[3] or the -ir- sequence. In other words, vowel raising affects the forms whose endings do not contain an i which is not part of a diphthong, taking into account that diphthongizing overrides vowel raising.
For diphthongizing verbs (e.g. dormir, sentir), the vowel-raising forms are:
- the first-person and second-person plural of the present subjunctive (sintamos, sintáis, durmamos, durmáis);
- the present active participle or gerund (sintiendo, durmiendo);
- the third-person indicative past perfect (sintió, sintieron, durmió, durmieron);
- all forms of the subjunctive imperfect past (sintiera/sintiese..., durmiera/durmiese...) and of the future subjunctive (sintiere..., durmiere...).
For non-diphthongizing verbs (e.g. pedir) it affects these same forms (pidamos, pidáis, pidiendo, pidió, pidieron, pidiera...), plus:
- the singulars and third person plural of the present indicative (pido, pides, pide, piden);
- the remaining forms of the present subjunctive (pida, pidas, pidan);
- the tú form of the imperative (pide), but not the vos nor vosotros forms.
The forms which undergo neither diphthongizing nor vowel raising are:
- the first-person and second-person plural of the indicative present (sentimos, sentís), because these forms have stressed i in their endings.
- the infinitive (sentir), past participle (sentido), indicative imperfect past (sentía...) and the vos and vosotros forms of the imperative (sentí, sentid), for the same reason.
- the future (sentiré...) and conditional (sentiría...), whose endings contain the -ir- sequence and derive from the infinitive.
Affected verbs
Vowel-raising but not diphthongizing verbs include:
- those ending in -edir (medir, pedir...), -egir (elegir, regir), and -etir (competir, repetir)
- those ending in -eír (desleír, freír, reír). Double i that would result is simplified (rieron, not *riieron nor *riyeron). The stressed i in contact with a/e/o must take an acute accent (río, ríe, ría); monosyllabic forms of the indicative perfect past tense do not have it (though it was officially allowed until 2010).
- those ending in -eñir (ceñir, teñir...). As usual, the unstressed i between ñ and a vowel is dropped (tiñendo, tiñó, tiñeron, tiñera...).
- decir and derived verbs (bendecir, predecir...), in forms that do not have overriding irregularities.
- erguir. Usually diphthongizing (with ye- forms such as yergo), there are raised forms that are valid but rare (irgo).
- hacer and derived verbs (-facer, like satisfacer), which goes from -a- to -i- in forms that do not have overriding irregularities. The -facer derivatives take forms identical to hacer but with an initial f- instead of an initial h-.
- podrir. The affected forms are equal to those derived from the more usual infinitive pudrir, which is regular except in the past participle podrido.
- vestir and derived verbs (including embestir)
The following table demonstrates the contrasting forms for both types of raising, as well as the irregular decir and hacer.
| Verb | yo | tú | vos | él/ ella; usted | nosotr(os/as) | vosotr(os/as) | ell(os/as); ustedes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pedir-pidiendo-pedido | indicative present | pido | pides | pedís | pide | pedimos | pedís | piden |
| indicative perfect past | pedí | pediste | pidió | pedisteis | pidieron | |||
| subjunctive present | pida | pidas | pidás | pida | pidamos | pidáis | pidan | |
| subjunctive past | pidiera | pidieras | pidiera | pidiéramos | pidierais | pidieran | ||
| imperative | — | pide
no pidas |
pedí
no pidas |
pida | pidamos | pedid
no pidáis |
pidan | |
| podrir-pudriendo-podrido | indicative present | pudro | pudres | podrís | pudre | podrimos | podrís | pudren |
| indicative perfect past | podrí | podriste | pudrió | podristeis | pudrieron | |||
| subjunctive present | pudra | pudras | pudra | pudramos | pudráis | pudran | ||
| subjunctive past | pudiera | pudieras | pudiera | pudiéramos | pudierais | pudieran | ||
| imperative | — | pudre
no pudras |
podrí
no pudras |
pudra | pudramos | podrid
no pudráis |
pudran | |
| decir-diciendo-dicho | indicative present | digo | dices | decís | dice | decimos | decís | dicen |
| indicative perfect past | dije | dijiste | dijo | dijimos | dijisteis | dijeron | ||
| subjunctive present | diga | digas | digás | diga | digamos | digáis | digan | |
| subjunctive past | dijera | dijeras | dijera | dijéramos | dijerais | dijeran | ||
| imperative | — | di
no digas |
decí
no digas |
diga | digamos | decid
no digáis |
digan | |
| hacer-haciendo-hecho | indicative present | hago | haces | hacés | hace | hacemos | hacéis | hacen |
| indicative perfect past | hice | hiciste | hice | hicimos | hicisteis | hicieron | ||
| subjunctive present | haga | hagas | hagás | haga | hagamos | hagáis | hagan | |
| subjunctive past | hiciera | hicieras | hicera | hiciéramos | hicierais | hicieran | ||
| imperative | — | haz
no hagas |
hacé
no hagas |
haga | hagamos | haced
no hagáis |
hagan | |
Diphthongizing and vowel-raising verbs include:
- those ending in -entir (arrepentirse, mentir, sentir...) and -ertir (advertir, convertir ...).
- dormir, morir, and poder
- venir and derived verbs (convenir, prevenir...), in the forms that do not undergo overriding irregularities.
The following table demonstrates the contrasting forms of both an e-ie-i verb and an o-ue-u verb, along with the irregular venir:
| Verb | yo | tú | vos | él/ ella; usted | nosotr(os/as) | vosotr(os/as) | ell(os/as); ustedes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sentir/ sintiendo/ sentido | indicative present | siento | sientes | sentís | siente | sentimos | sentís | sienten |
| indicative perfect past | sentí | sentiste | sintió | sentisteis | sintieron | |||
| subjunctive present | sienta | sientas | sentás | sienta | sentamos | sentáis | sientan | |
| subjunctive past | sintiera | sintieras | sintiera | sintiéramos | sintierais | sintieran | ||
| imperative | — | siente
no sientas |
sentí
no sientas |
sienta | sentamos | sentid
no sentáis |
sientan | |
| dormir/ durmiendo/ dormido | indicative present | duermo | duermes | dormís | duerme | dormimos | dormís | duermen |
| indicative perfect past | dormí | dormiste | durmió | dormisteis | durmieron | |||
| subjunctive present | duerma | duermas | dormás | duerma | dormamos | dormáis | duerman | |
| subjunctive past | durmiera | durmieras | durmiera | durmiéramos | durmierais | durmieran | ||
| imperative | — | duerme
no duermas |
dormí
no duermas |
duerma | dormamos | dormid
no dormáis |
duerman | |
| venir/ viniendo/ venido | indicative present | vengo | vienes | venís | viene | venimos | venís | vienen |
| indicative perfect past | vine | viniste | vino | vinimos | vinisteis | vinieron | ||
| subjunctive present | venga | vengas | vengás | venga | vengamos | vengáis | vengan | |
| subjunctive past | viniera | vinieras | viniera | viniéramos | vinierais | vinieran | ||
| imperative | — | ven
no vengas |
vení
no vengas |
venga | vengamos | venid
no vengáis |
vengan | |
Diphthong loss
Diphthongs in the infinitive may be preserved throughout the conjugation or broken in the forms which are stressed on the stem, depending on whether the i or u in contact with a/e/o take the stress or not. The stressed vowel is marked bold in the examples: cambiar > cambio, but enviar > envío (requiring an acute accent to indicate the resulting hiatus). The Real Academia Española does not consider either behaviour as irregular, but illustrates each with six "regular" models, one for each possible diphthong in the infinitive: anunciar, averiguar, bailar, causar, peinar and adeudar for diphthong-keeping verbs and enviar, actuar, aislar, aunar, descafeinar and rehusar for diphthong-breaking ones. The presence of a silent h does not break a diphthong, so a written accent is needed anyway in rehúso.
All verbs ending in -guar are diphthong-keeping, as well as saciar, desairar, restaurar and reinar. Two diphthongs are kept in desahuciar > desahucio (again the -h- makes no difference), which thus follows both the anunciar and causar models.
Diphthong-breaking verbs include ahincar, aislar, aunar, aullar, maullar, aupar, aliar, vaciar, contrariar, evaluar, habituar, reunir. The verbs criar, fiar, guiar, liar and piar are also diphthong-breaking (crío, guíe), but when the stress falls on the endings the resulting forms are generally considered as monosyllables and thus written without accent: crie, fie, guiais, lieis.... In spite of that, the regular accentuation rules can also be used if they are pronounced as bisyllabic: crié, guiáis....
For the verbs licuar and adecuar both options are valid: adecuo or adecúo.
The ui diphthong in cuidar is kept throughout the conjugation despite the fact of the i getting the stress in forms such as cuido (written without stress mark).
Other common irregular patterns
Endings starting with o/a in er/ir verbs
In er and ir verbs, the first person singular of the present indicative and the whole present subjunctive are the only forms whose endings start with o/a instead of e/i. These two different phonetic environments made Latin forms evolve differently in many verbs, leading to irregularities. Whenever the first person singular of the present indicative has an irregularity other than diphthongizing, but still ends in -o, the whole present subjunctive shares that same irregularity. For example:
- lucir: luzco, luzca... (c-zc, -cir)
When the first person singular of the present indicative does not end in -o, the present subjunctive is also irregular, but in a different way:
- ir: voy, vaya... (-ir, oy-verb)
- haber: he, haya (-haber)
- saber: sé, sepa... (-saber)
- ser: soy, sea... (-ser, oy-verb)
G-verbs
Before o (in the first person singular of the indicative present tense) and a (that is, in all persons of the present subjunctive), the so-called g-verbs (sometimes "go-yo verbs", "yo-go verbs", or simply "go verbs") add a medial -g- after l and n (also after s in asir), add -ig- when the root ends in a vowel, or substitute -c- for -g-. This change overrides diphthongization (tener, venir) but combines with vowel-raising (decir). Many of these verbs are also irregular in other ways. For example:
- asir: yo asgo, tú ases... stem: as-
- caer: yo caigo, tú caes... stem: ca-
- decir: yo digo, tú dices... stem: dec/dez- (e-i alternation)
- -facer, as in satisfacer: yo satisfago, tú satisfaces… stem: satisfac-/ satisfaz-
- hacer: yo hago, tú haces... stem: hac/haz-
- oír: yo oigo, tú oyes... stem: o-
- poner: yo pongo, tú pones... stem: pon-
- salir: yo salgo, tú sales... stem: sal- (-salir)
- tener: yo tengo, tú tienes... stem: ten/tien- (e-ie alternation)
- traer: yo traigo, tú traes... stem: tra-
- valer: yo valgo, tú vales... stem: val-
- venir: yo vengo, tú vines... stem: ven- (e-i alternation)
- yacer: yo yago/yazgo, tú yaces... stem: yac/yaz-
Zc-verbs
This group of verbs—which originated in the Latin inchoative verbs but now includes other verbs as well—substitute -zc- for stem-final -c- before o and a. The group includes nearly all verbs ending in -acer (except hacer and derived verbs), -ecer (except mecer and remecer), -ocer (except cocer and derived verbs), and -ucir. For example:
- nacer: yo nazco, tú naces... (-acer)
- crecer: yo crezco, tú creces... (-ecer)
- conocer: yo conozco, tú conoces... (-ocer)
- ducir: yo duzco, tú duces... (-ucir)
- yacer: yo yazco/yazgo, tú yaces... (yacer)
Yacer may alternatively be conjugated with -zc- (yazco), -g- (yago), or a compromise -zg- (yazgo).
Irregular forms in the future, conditional and imperative
Some -er and -ir verbs (most g-verbs plus caber, haber, saber, poder and querer) also change their stem in the future and conditional. This involves syncope:
- Just dropping the infinitive e: caber → cabré, haber → habré, poder → podré, querer → querré, saber → sabré
- Dropping the infinitive e/i and padding the resulting *-lr-/*-nr- with an epenthetic -d-: poner → pondré, salir → saldré, tener → tendré, valer → valdré, venir → vendré.
- Dropping the infinitive -ce- or -ec-: decir → diré, hacer → haré
- contradecir, desdecir, predecir may share this irregularity (prediré...) or, more commonly, use the regular forms (predeciré). For bendecir and maldecir only the regular forms are used (bendeciré...).
Many of these verbs also have shortened tú imperative forms (apocope): decir → di, hacer → haz, salir → sal, poner → pon, tener → ten, venir → ven. However, all verbs derived from decir are regular in this form: bendice, maldice, desdícete, predice, contradice.
Anomalous stems in the preterite and derived tenses
Some verbs (including most g-verbs and most verbs ending in -ducir) have a somewhat different stem in the preterite. These stems are very old and often are found in Latin as well. The same irregular stem is also found in the imperfect subjunctive (both in -ra and -se forms) and the future subjunctive. These stems are anomalous also because:
- They are stressed in the first and third persons singular, ending in unstressed -e and -o respectively (while in all other cases the preterite is stressed on the suffix).
- The rest of the endings are the usual for -er/-ir verbs, even for the -ar verbs estar and andar.
- In the verbs with -je preterite (decir, traer, and most verbs ending in -ducir) unstressed i is dropped between the j and a vowel: ellos trajeron, yo trajera... This does not happen with regular or vowel-raising -ger/-jer/-gir/-jir verbs (proteger > protegieron, tejer > tejieron, corregir > corrigieron, crujir > crujieron).
Examples:
- andar: yo anduve, tú/vos anduviste(s), él/ella anduvo..., ellos anduvieron; yo anduviera...
- caber: yo cupe, tú/vos cupiste(s), él/ella cupo..., ellos cupieron; yo cupiera...
- decir: yo dije, tú/vos dijiste(s), él/ella dijo, ellos dijeron; yo dijera...
- ducir: yo duje, tú/vos dujiste, él/ella dujo, ellosdujeron; yo dujera
- estar: yo estuve, tú/vos estuviste(s), él/ella estuvo..., ellos estuvieron; yo estuviera...
- haber: yo hube, tú/vos hubiste(s), él/ella hubo..., ellos hubieron; yo hubiera...
- hacer: yo hice, tú/vos hiciste(s), él/ella hizo..., ellos hicieron; yo hiciera...
- -facer (derivatives of hacer), for example satisfacer: yo satisfice, tú/vos satisficiste(s), él/ella satisfizo…, ellos satisficieron; yo satisficiera…
- poder: yo pude, tú/vos pudiste(s), él/ella pudo..., ellos pudieron; yo pudiera.
- poner: yo puse, tú/vos pusiste(s), él/ella puso..., ellos pusieron; yo pusiera.....
- querer: yo quise, tú/vos quisiste(s), él/ella quiso…, ellos quisieron; yo quisiera…
- saber: yo supe, tú/vos supiste(s), él/ella supo..., ellos supieron; yo supiera...
- tener: yo tuve, tú/vos tuviste(s), él/ella tuvo..., ellos tuvieron; yo tuviera...
- traer: yo traje, tú/vos trajiste(s), él/ella trajo…, ellos trajeron; yo trajera…
- venir: yo vine, tú/vos viniste(s), él/ella vino..., ellos vinieron; yo viniera...
The verb ver in modern Spanish has a regular -er verb preterite (yo vi, tú viste, él vio—note the lack of written accent on monosyllables), but in archaic texts the irregular preterite forms yo vide, él vido, etc. are sometimes seen.
Irregular past participles
A number of verbs have irregular past participles, sometimes called "strong" because the change is in the root, rather than an ending. This includes verbs which are irregular in many other ways, like poner and decir, but for other verbs this is their only irregularity (such as abrir and romper), while some very irregular verbs (such as ser and ir) have regular past participles. Examples:
- abrir → abierto
- cubrir → cubierto
- decir → dicho
- escribir → escrito/ escripto
- hacer → hecho; satisfacer → satisfecho (and other words ending in -facer)
- morir → muerto
- pudrir → podrido
- poner → puesto
- romper → roto
- resolver → resuelto (and other words ending in -solver)
- ver → visto
- volver → vuelto
Most of these verbs have derivatives with the same irregularity. For example, alongside volver → vuelto and poner → puesto, there are devolver → devuelto and componer → compuesto; alongside decir → dicho there is predecir → predicho (but note bendecir → bendecido, maldecir → maldecido are regular, though they also have the adjectival forms bendito and maldito). Solver is obsolete, but its derivatives absolver and resolver (absuelto, resuelto) are in common use. Likewise with premir and its derivatives comprimir, deprimir, imprimir, exprimir, oprimir, reprimir, and suprimir. The alternative form of escrito, escripto, is used in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay; likewise with derivates of escribir, such as describir.
There are verbs that have both a regular and an irregular past participle. Both forms may be used when conjugating the compound tenses and the passive voice with the auxiliary verbs haber and ser, but the irregular form is generally the only one used as an adjective:
- elegir → he elegido or he elecho
- freír → he freído or he frito; but papas fritas "french fries".
- imprimir → he imprimido or he impreso (and other words ending in -primir)
- prender → he prendido or he preso
- proveer → he proveído or he provisto, but una despensa bien provista is far more usual than una despensa bien proveída.
A number of other "strong" past participles, such as ducho, electo, pinto, among others are obsolete for general use, but are occasionally used in Spain (and to a much lesser extent in Spanish America) among educated, style-conscious writers, or in linguistic archaisms such as proverbs (refranes). Otherwise, they are obsolete or solely used as adjectives.
Wholly irregular verbs
The verbs ir "to go" and ser "to be [in essence]" both exhibit irregularities in the present, imperfect and preterite forms. Together with ver "to see", they are the only three verbs with irregular indicative imperfect past tenses. These verbs are highly irregular based on being single-syllable stems, and suppleting several tenses. Similarly, dar "to give" and estar "to be [in a state]" (whose stem was originally st-) also come from verbs with one syllable in the stem but they do not supplete any tenses. A table of their conjugations is shown below:
| Verb inflection | Indicative | Subjunctive | Imperative | Conditional | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | Past | Future | Present | Past | Affirmative | Negative | |||
| Imperfect | Preterite | ||||||||
| dar/ dando/ dado "to give/ giving/ given" | |||||||||
| yo | doy | daba | di | daré | dé | diera | — | daría | |
| tú | das | dabas | diste | darás | des | dieras | da | no des | darías |
| vos | |||||||||
| él/ ella; usted | da | daba | dio | dará | dé | diera | dé | no dé | daría |
| nosotr(os/as) | damos | dábamos | dimos | daremos | demos | diéramos | demos | no demos | daríamos |
| vosotr(os/as) | dais | dabais | disteis | daráis | deis | dierais | dad | no deis | daríais |
| ell(os/as); ustedes | dan | daban | dieron | darán | den | dieran | den | no den | darían |
| estar/ estando/ estado "to be/ being/ been [in a state]" | |||||||||
| yo | estoy | estaba | estuvo | estaré | esté | estuviera | — | estaría | |
| tú | estás | estabas | estuviste | estarás | estés | estuvieras | está | no estés | estarías |
| vos | |||||||||
| él/ ella; usted | está | estaba | estuve | estará | esté | estuvera | esté | no esté | estaría |
| nosotr(os/as) | estamos | estábamos | estuvimos | estaremos | estemos | estuviéramos | estemos | no estemos | estaríamos |
| vosotr(os/as) | estáis | estabais | estuvisteis | estaráis | estéis | estuvieráis | ested | no estéis | estaríais |
| ell(os/as); ustedes | están | estaban | estuvieron | estarán | estén | estuvieran | estén | no estén | estarían |
| ir/ yendo/ ido "to go/ going/ gone" | |||||||||
| yo | voy | iba | fui | iré | vaya | fuera | — | iría | |
| tú | vas | ibas | fuiste | irás | vayas | fueras | ve | no vayas | irías |
| vos | vayás | andá | |||||||
| él/ ella; usted | va | iba | fue | irá | vaya | fuera | vaya | no vaya | iría |
| nosotr(os/as) | vamos | íbamos | fuimos | iremos | vayamos | fuéramos | vamos | no vayamos | iríamos |
| vosotr(os/as) | vais | ibais | fuisteis | iréis | vayáis | fuerais | id | no vayáis | iríaís |
| ell(os/as); ustedes | van | iban | fueron | irán | vayan | fueran | vayan | no | irían |
| ser/ siendo/ sido "to be/ being/ been [in essence]" | |||||||||
| yo | soy | era | fui | seré | sea | fuera | — | sería | |
| tú | eres | eras | fuiste | serás | seas | fueras | sé | no seas | serías |
| vos | sos | seás | |||||||
| él/ ella; usted | es | era | fue | será | sea | fuera | sea | no sea | sería |
| nosotr(os/as) | somos | éramos | fuimos | seremos | seamos | fuéramos | seamos | no seamos | seríamos |
| vosotr(os/as) | sois | erais | fuisteis | seráis | seáis | fuerais | sed | no seáis | seríaís |
| ell(os/as); ustedes | son | eran | fueron | serán | sean | fueran | sean | no sean | serían |
| ver/ viendo/ visto "to see/ seeing/ seen" | |||||||||
| yo | veo | veía | vi | veré | vea | viera | — | vería | |
| tú | ves | veías | viste | verás | veas | vieras | ve | no veas | verías |
| vos | veás | ||||||||
| él/ ella; usted | ve | veía | vio | verá | vea | viera | vea | no vea | vería |
| nosotr(os/as) | vemos | veíamos | vimos | veremos | veamos | viéramos | veamos | no veamos | veríamos |
| vosotr(os/as) | veis | veíais | visteis | veráis | veáis | vieráis | ved | no veáis | veríais |
| ell(os/as); ustedes | ven | veían | vieron | verán | vean | vieran | vean | no vean | verían |
Whenever the stem of the indicative perfect past tense is irregular, the subjunctive past tense (-ra or -se) and the obsolescent subjunctive future tense (-re) share the same irregularity but with different infixes. The subjunctive past -ra forms are used in the table above, as the -se forms are less predominant. Some forms of dar and estar take an accent when marking stress would be redundant to distinguish them from unrelated words; such as dé contrasting with the prepositon de. In New Mexican Spanish, soy may be replaced by seigo.
See also
Notes
- ¹ Vulgar or profane.
- ² Vulgar or profane depending on context.
