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Spanish 1 Unit 4: Key irregular verbs

The most common verbs are irregular. Learning ser, estar, tener and ir early unlocks most everyday sentences.

Covers: ser vs estar, tener and tener expressions, ir and ir + a + infinitive, stem-changing verbs

Study guide

Spanish has two verbs meaning "to be," and choosing between them is one of the most important skills. Ser (soy, eres, es, somos, son) describes identity and lasting traits: origin, profession, personality, physical description, time and dates, and what something is made of. Estar (estoy, estás, está, estamos, están) describes location, feelings and temporary conditions, and forms the present progressive (estoy hablando). So Soy de México (origin) but Estoy en México (location), and Es aburrido (he's boring) but Está aburrido (he's bored).

Tener means "to have": tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tienen. It appears in many expressions where English uses "to be": tener… años (to be … years old), tener hambre (hungry), tener sed (thirsty), tener frío and tener calor (cold, hot), tener miedo (afraid), tener prisa (in a hurry) and tener razón (to be right). Tener que + infinitive means "to have to": Tengo que estudiar.

Ir means "to go": voy, vas, va, vamos, van. Combine it with a and a place (Voy a la escuela; a + el becomes al). Ir a + infinitive expresses the near future: Voy a estudiar (I'm going to study).

Stem-changing verbs change the vowel in their stem in every form except nosotros and vosotros. The patterns are e → ie (querer: quiero, quieres, queremos; also pensar, empezar, preferir), o → ue (poder: puedo, puedes, podemos; also dormir, volver, almorzar) and e → i (pedir: pido, pides, pedimos; also servir, repetir). Some verbs are irregular only in the yo form: hago (hacer), pongo (poner), salgo (salir), tengo and vengo (with stem changes in other forms too).

Dar (to give) is irregular in the yo form only: doy, das, da, damos, dan. It joins the other common verbs whose yo form ends in -oy: soy, estoy and voy. Just as a + el becomes al, de + el becomes del: Soy del norte, el libro del profesor. The other articles don't contract: de la, de los, de las.

Hay means "there is" or "there are" and doesn't change for number: Hay un libro, Hay tres libros. Use hay to say something exists, and estar to say where a specific thing is: Hay un banco cerca, but El banco está en la plaza. Tener ganas de + infinitive means "to feel like doing something": Tengo ganas de comer pizza. Similar structures are necesitar + infinitive (Necesito estudiar) and deber + infinitive (Debes descansar, "you should rest").

Key ideas

• ser (soy, eres, es, somos, son) for identity, origin, time, characteristics.
• estar (estoy, estás, está, estamos, están) for location, feelings and temporary states.
• tener (tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tienen): to have; tener ___ años = to be ___ years old.
• ir (voy, vas, va, vamos, van); ir + a + infinitive = going to (future).
• Stem-changers: e → ie (quiero), o → ue (puedo), except in nosotros.

Formulas and rules

Common mistakes

• Using ser for location (Soy en casa ✗ → Estoy en casa ✓).
• Saying 'Soy 15 años' instead of 'Tengo 15 años'.

Words to know

ser

to be (identity, traits)

estar

to be (location, feelings)

tener

to have

ir

to go

hacer

to do / to make

querer

to want

poder

to be able to / can

dormir

to sleep

venir

to come

jugar

to play (a sport or game)

preferir

to prefer

pedir

to ask for / to order

pensar

to think

tener hambre

to be hungry

tener sed

to be thirsty

tener frío

to be cold

tener calor

to be hot

tener miedo

to be afraid

tener sueño

to be sleepy

tener prisa

to be in a hurry

tener razón

to be right

tener … años

to be … years old

tener que

to have to

al

to the (a + el)

el cine

the movie theater

el parque

the park

la biblioteca

the library

el centro comercial

the mall

la piscina

the pool

el gimnasio

the gym

el restaurante

the restaurant

el café

the café

el campo

the countryside

las montañas

the mountains

la iglesia

the church

a casa

(to) home

la fiesta

the party

el concierto

the concert

el partido

the game / the match

el fútbol

soccer

Sample practice questions

31 more questions like these, from level 1 to 5, are in the practice set.