Irregular verbs in the present tense

Gramática I, Unidad 7

Contraseña says there are 3 families of irregular verbs, but I prefer to talk about 4 families:

  • (1) Verbs that have irregular yo-forms, but that are otherwise totally regular.
  • These verbs are poner, salir, hacer, caer, traer and dar.
     
  • (2) Verbs that stem change e to ie in the present tense and have an irregular yo-form.
  • These verbs are tener (which you've already learned) and venir.
     
  • (3) Verbs that stem change e to i in the present tense and have an irregular yo-form.
  • These verbs are seguir and decir.
     
  • (4) Two verbs that truly are profoundly irregular and must be memorized.
  • These verbs are construir and oír.

Family 1:

  • Verbs that have irregular yo-forms, but that are otherwise totally regular.
  • These verbs are poner, salir, hacer, traer, caer and dar.
  • For these 6 verbs, the only thing you have to memorize is each one's irregular yo-form. The rest of the conjugation is completely regular (just stem + ending, like always).
     
  • Those forms are:
  • poner
  • salir
  • hacer
  • traer
  • caer
  • dar

irregular yo-form is pongo

irregular yo-form is salgo

irregular yo-form is hago

irregular yo-form is traigo

irregular yo-form is caigo

irregular yo-form is doy

All of the remaining forms are completely normal.
Just stem+ ending, as shown below with 4 of our 6 verbs

PONER
Stem: pon

  • tú-form: pones
  • 3rd person singular form: pone
  • nosotros-form: ponemos
  • 3rd person plural form: ponen
     

SALIR
Stem: sal

  • tú-form: sales
  • 3rd person singular form: sale
  • nosotros-form: salimos
  • 3rd person plural form: salen
     

HACER
Stem: hac

  • tú-form: haces
  • 3rd person singular form: hace
  • nosotros-form: hacemos
  • 3rd person plural form: hacen
     

TRAER              stem: tra

  • tú-form: traes                           
  • nosotros-form: traemos         
  • 3rd-person singuar form: trae
  • 3rd-person plural form: traen

Family 2:

  • Verbs that have irregular yo-forms, but that are otherwise totally regular verbs that stem-change e to ie
  • These verbs are tener and venir.
     
  • For these 2 verbs, the only thing you have to memorize is each one's irregular yo-form. The rest of the conjugation is completely normal (they behave like all e to ie stem-changing verbs do).
     

Those forms are:

 

 

 

tener: irregular yo-form is tengo

venir: irregular yo-form is vengo

Now we'll add "venir" next to it (conjugating  both verbs really is just stem + ending as usual for stem-changing verbs):

  • yo form (irregular and must be memorized): tengo, vengo
     
  • tú form (stem change): tienes, vienes
     
  • 3rd-person-singular form (stem change): tiene, viene
     
  • nosotros form (never a stem change): tenemos, venimos
     
  • 3rd-person-plural form (stem change): tienen, vienen

We've already seen "tener" in the present tense.

You can see all these conjugated forms in the Resumen Gramatical in the Gramática I section of Unidad 7.

  • Note that any verb created by adding a prefix to "tener" or "venir" (mantener, prevenir) will behave in exacty the same way.

Family 3:

  • Verbs that have an irregular yo-form, but that are otherwise  totally regular verbs that stem-change e to i.
  • These verbs are decir and seguir.
  • For these verbs, the only thing you have to memorize is the irregular yo-form. The rest of the conjugated forms are completely normal (they behave like all e to i stem-changing verbs do).
     
  • Those forms are:
  • decir: irregular yo-form is digo
  • seguir: irregular yo-form is sigo

Conjugating  "decir" and "seguir" really is still just stem + ending as usual for stem-changing verbs. It's just that the stem change is different.

  • yo form (irregular--must be memorized): digo, sigo
     
  • tú form (stem change): dices, sigues
     
  • 3rd-person-singular form (stem change): dice, sigue
     
  • nosotros form (never a stem change): decimos, seguimos
     
  • 3rd-person-plural form (stem change): dicen, siguen

Let's look at these e to i stem-changing verbs.

You can see all these conjugated forms in the Resumen Gramatical in the Gramática I section of Unidad 7.

Family 4: also presented in this textbook section are the deeply irregular verbs "oír" and "construir".

Let's begin with "oír"--you will need to memorize 5 things about its conjugation.

  • First, the yo-form is irregular: it's "oigo".
     
  • Second, the tú-form has a spelling change: it's "oyes".
     
  • Third, the 3rd-person-singular form has the same spelling change: it's "oye".
     
  • Fourth, the nosotros form carries an accent mark: it's "oímos".
     
  • Fifth, the 3rd-person-plural form has the same spelling change as the tú- and 3rd-person-singular forms: it's "oyen".

Family 4: also presented in this textbook section are the deeply irregular verbs "oír" and "construir".

And now "construir"--you will need to memorize 4 things about its conjugation.

  • 1st: the yo-form is irregular: it's "construyo".
     
  • 2nd: the tú-form has the same spelling change: it's "construyes".
     
  • 3rd: the 3rd-person-singular form has the same spelling change: it's "construye".
     
  • (The nosotros-form is totally normal: "construimos", no accent)
     
  • 4th: the 3rd-person-plural form has the same spelling change as the yo, tú- and 3rd-person-singular forms: it's "construyen".

EXAM-FORMAT PRACTICE

For every blank in the exam, you will have to do two things:

  • First, choose the correct verb for meaning.
  • Second, conjugate the verb you choose in the present tense for its subject.
     
  • Tú siempre ____________(hacer/poner) ejercicio.
     
  • Yo ____________(salir/traer) de casa a las ocho de la mañana.
     
  • ¿Ustedes ___________(venir/seguir) bien las instrucciones?
     
  • La profesora ____________(dar/prevenir) explicaciones gramaticales.
     
  • Nosotros ___________(decir/caer) las respuestas.

Remember--for every blank in the exam, you must do two things:

  • First, choose the correct verb for meaning.
  • Second, conjugate the verb you choose in the present tense for its subject.
     
  • Tú siempre ____________(hacer/poner) ejercicio.
  • hacer
  • haces
     
  • Yo ____________(salir/traer) de casa a las ocho de la mañana.
  • salir
  • salgo
     
  • ¿Ustedes ___________(venir/seguir) bien las instrucciones?
  • seguir
  • siguen

Remember--for every blank in the exam, you must do two things:

  • First, choose the correct verb for meaning.
  • Second, conjugate the verb you choose in the present tense for its subject.
     
  • La profesora ____________(dar/prevenir) explicaciones gramaticales.
  • dar
  • da
     
  • Nosotros ___________(decir/caer) las respuestas.
  • decir
  • decimos (never a stem change in nosotros-forms!)