Irregular Present Tense of Verbs

To Be

In Spanish there are two words for the verb "be": estar and ser. Both of these verbs are irregular.

Ser

Ser is used to describe more permanent conditions, the location of an event, ownership, and also expressions of time. The following table shows the different forms of ser in the present tense.

yo soy	I am
tú eres	you are (singular familiar)
él/ella es	he/she is
usted es	you are (singular polite)
nosotros somos	we are
vosotros sois	you are (familiar plural)
ustedes son	you are (formal plural)
ellas/ellos son	they are (f/m)

Examples

La casa es roja.	The house is red.
Él es de España.	He is from Spain.
Son las cuatro de la mañana.	It is four in the morning.
El concierto es en Barcelona.	The concert is in Barcelona.
¿Eres tú ingeniero?	Are you an engineer?
La idea es de Ana.	It is Anna's idea.

Related Lessons

Present Tense
Present Progressive Tense
Preterite Tense
Imperfect Tense
Present and Past Perfect Tenses
Future and Conditional Tenses
Instructions and Commands
Subjunctive Mood
Irregular Verbs

Estar

Estar is used to describe location, health, and changing characteristics, such as mood or location. The following table shows the different forms of estar in the present tense.

yo estoy	I am
tú estás	you are (singular familiar)
él/ella está	he/she is
usted está	you are (singular polite)
nosotros estamos	we are
vosotros estáis	you are (familiar plural)
ustedes están	you are (formal plural)
ellas/ellos están	they are (f/m)

Examples

Estoy cansado.	I am tired.
¿Estás cansado?	Are you tired?
¿Está usted cansado?	Are you tired? (polite)
Él está enfermo.	He is sick.
Ella está en casa.	She is at home.
El restaurante está en la ciudad.	The restaurant is in the city.
Ellos están en el restaurante.	They are in the restaurant.

More Irregular Verbs

There are many Spanish verbs that are irregular in the present tense. This section covers some of the more common ones.

Ir (to go)

The verb ir is very common and very irregular. The following table shows the different forms of ir in the present tense.

yo voy	I go
tú vas	you go (singular familiar)
él/ella va	he/she goes
usted va	you go (singular polite)
nosotros vamos	we go
vosotros vais	you go (familiar plural)
ustedes van	you go (formal plural)
ellas/ellos van	they go (f/m)

Examples

Voy al mercado.	I'm going to the market.
¿Quieres ir conmigo?	Do you want to go with me?

Tener (to have)

The Spanish verb tener means to have. The first e often changes to ie. This is a common pattern with Spanish verbs in the present tense. The following table shows the different forms of tener in the present tense.

yo tengo	I have
tú tienes	you have (singular familiar)
él/ella tiene	he/she has
usted tiene	you have (singular polite)
nosotros tenemos	we have
vosotros tenéis	you have (familiar plural)
ustedes tienen	you have (polite plural)
ellas/ellos tienen	they have (f/m)

Examples

The verb tener is often used where be is used in English.

Tengo miedo.	I am afraid.
¿Tienes frio?	Are you cold?
Pedro tiene hambre.	Pedro is hungry.
Maria tiene sed.	Maria is thirsty.
Tenemos prisa.	We are in a hurry.
Tienen suerte.	They are lucky.
¿Tienen éxito?	Are they successful?
Usted tiene las llaves.	You have the keys. (singular polite)

venir (to come)

The Spanish verb venir means to come. It is conjugated in a similar maner to tener. The following table shows the different forms of venir in the present tense.

yo vengo	I come
tú vienes	you come (singular familiar)
él/ella viene	he/she comes
usted viene	you come (singular polite)
nosotros venimos	we come
vosotros venís	you come (familiar plural)
ustedes vienen	you come (formal plural)
ellas/ellos vienen	they come (f/m)

Examples

Ella viene a las tres.	She's coming at three.
Vengo de Ecuador.	I'm from Ecuador.

dormir (to sleep)

The Spanish verb dormir means to sleep. In several forms of the present tense the o is changed to ue. There are many other verbs that follow this pattern. The following table shows the different forms of dormir in the present tense.

yo duermo	I sleep
tú duermes	you sleep (singular familiar)
él/ella duerme	he/she sleeps
usted duerme	you sleep (singular polite)
nosotros dormimos	we sleep
vosotros dormís	you sleep (familiar plural)
ustedes duermen	you sleep (formal plural)
ellas/ellos duermen	they sleep (f/m)

Examples

María duerme hasta las nueve.	María sleeps until nine.
Duermo por ocho horas.	I sleep for eight hours.

Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive verbs are verbs whose subject and object refer to the same thing. In Spanish these verbs are used with reflexive pronouns. In the infinitive form of the verb, the reflexive pronoun is appended to the end of the verb. The following table shows the conjugation of reflexive verbs.

sentarse - to sit (oneself) down

yo me siento	I sit down
tú te sientas	you sit down
él se sienta	he sits down
ella se sienta	she sits down
usted se sienta	you sit down (polite singular)
nosotros nos sentamos	we sit down
ustedes se sientan	you sit down (plural)
ellos/ellas se sientan	they sit down

Note: The subject pronoun is usually omitted with reflexive verbs.

Common Reflexive Verbs

acostarse	to go to bed
afeitarse	to shave
bañarse	to have a bath
cepillarse	to brush oneself
despertarse	to wake up
dormirse	to fall asleep
ducharse	to have a shower
lavarse	to wash oneself
levantarse	we get up early
llamarse	to call oneself
peinarse	to comb ones hair
ponerse	to put on
quitarse	to take off
secarse	to dry off

Examples

Me llamo Martín.	My name is Martin.
Me acuesto tarde.	I go to bed late.
Se duermen temprano.	They fall asleep early.
Se afeita por la mañana.	He shaves in the morning.
Nos despertamos temprano.	We wake up early.

The Spanish Word Hay

In Spanish the word hay is used to say both there is and there are when used to indicate existence. When there is is used to emphasize the location of an object está allí is used instead.

Examples

Hay un libro sobre la mesa.	There is a book on the table.
Hay dos libros sobre la mesa.	There are two books on the table.
¿Hay un libro sobre la mesa?	Is there a book on the table?
Hay muchos problemas.	There are many problems.
El libro está allí.	The book is there.
Los libros están allí.	The books are there.

Note: Problema is one of the few masculine nouns in Spanish that ends in a.

Flashcards

Here are some flashcards to help you learn the present tense of the irregular Spanish verbs that are included in this lesson.

Conversaciones

Park Bench

Español

Ana y Matías están sentados en un banco en un parque, disfrutando de un cálido día de verano.

Matías: ¡Qué dia tan bonito!

Ana: Si. No puedo creer lo cálido que es.

Matías: Mira a todas las personas caminando por el parque.

Ana: Va a llover mañana, así que la gente está aprovechando el buen tiempo.

Matías: Bueno, tanto como me gusta sentarse a la luz del sol, tengo mucha hambre.

Ana: No eres el único. Vamonos.

Matías y Ana se ponen de pie y caminan hacia el restaurante.

English

Ashley and Matías are sitting on a bench in a park enjoying a warm summer day.

Matías: What a beautiful day!

Ana: Yes. I can't believe how warm it is.

Matías: Look at all the people walking around the park.

Ana: It's is going to rain tomorrow, so people are taking advantage of the nice weather.

Matías: Well, as much as I enjoy sitting in the sunshine, I am getting very hungry.

Ana: You're not the only one. Let's go.

Matías and Ana stand up and walk towards the restaurant.

Present Tense Quiz

Here is a quiz to help you learn how to conjugate the irregular verbs included in this lesson for the present tense. Rewrite each sentence with the correct Spanish verb in the present tense.

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