33 Very Common Yet Hard-to-conjugate Spanish Verbs

There are many different types of verbs in Spanish, ranging from simple verbs with regular conjugations to intricate stem-changes. 

We are going to look at 33 hard (but common) Spanish verbs, what makes them challenging and their conjugations. 

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

1. Caber (To fit)

Difficulty

• The first-person singular (the yo form) is irregular in the present tense.

• The stem changes to u in the preterit tense.

Irregular conjugations

Present tense: quepo, cabes, cabe, cabemos, cabéis, caben

Preterit tense: cupe, cupiste, cupo, cupimos, cupisteis, cupieron

2. Caer (To fall)

Difficulty

• The first-person singular (the yo form) is irregular in the present tense.

• The stem changes to i in the preterit tense.

Irregular conjugations

Present tense: caigo, caes, cae, caemos, caéis, caen

Preterit tense: caí, caíste, cayó, caímos, caísteis, cayeron

3. Dar (To give)

Difficulty

• The first-person singular (the yo form) is irregular in the present tense.

• The stem changes to i in the preterit tense.

Irregular conjugations

Present tense: doy, das, da, damos, dais, dan

Preterit tense: di, diste, dio, dimos, disteis, dieron

4. Estar (To be)

Difficulty

• The first-person singular (the yo form) is irregular in the present tense.

• The stem changes to uv in the preterit tense.

Irregular conjugations

Present tense: estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están

Preterit tense: estuve, estuviste, estuvo, estuvimos, estuvisteis, estuvieron

5. Ver (To see)

Difficulty

• The first-person singular (the yo form) is irregular in the present tense.

Irregular conjugation

Present tense: veo, ves, ve, vemos, veis, ven

6. Valer  (To be worth)

Difficulty

• The first-person singular (the yo form) is irregular in the present tense.

Irregular conjugation

Present tense: valgo, vales, valemos, valéis, valen

7. Traer  (To bring)

Difficulty

• The first-person singular (the yo form) is irregular in the present tense.

• The stem changes to j in the preterit tense.

Irregular conjugations

Present tense: traigo, traes, trae, traemos, traéis, traen

Preterit tense: traje, trajiste, trajo, trajimos, trajisteis, trajeron

8. Salir (To leave)

Difficulty

• The first-person singular (the yo form) is irregular in the present tense.

Irregular conjugation

Present tense: salgo, sales, sale, salimos, salís, salen

9. Poner (To put)

Difficulty

• The first-person singular (the yo form) is irregular in the present tense.

• The stem changes to u in the preterit tense.

Irregular conjugations

Present tense: pongo, pones, pone, ponemos,ponéis, ponen

Preterit tense: puse, pusiste, puso, pusimos, pusisteis, pusieron

10. Componer (To compose)

Difficulty

• This verb is a compound form of poner. It follows the same pattern.
• Note that the compound forms of these verbs are also irregular in the yo form. Compound forms are pretty easy to spot because they show a prefix (des-, dis-, com-, con-, etc.) preceding the radical.

Irregular conjugations

Present tense: compongo, compones, compone, componemos componéis, componen

Preterit tense: compuse, compusiste, compuso, compusimos, compusisteis, compusieron

11. Disponer (To arrange)

Difficulty

• This verb is a compound form of poner. It follows the same pattern.

Irregular conjugations

Present tense: dispongo, dispones, dispone, disponemos, disponéis, disponen

Preterit tense: dispuse, dispusiste,dispuso, dispusimos, dispusisteis, dispusieron

12. Proponer (To propose)

Difficulty

• This verb is a compound form of poner. It follows the same pattern.

Irregular conjugations

Present tense: propongo, propones, propone, proponemos, proponéis, proponen

Preterit tense: propuse, propusiste,propuso, propusimos, propusisteis, propusieron

13. Reponer (To replace)

Difficulty

• This verb is a compound form of poner. It follows the same pattern.

Irregular conjugation

Present tense: repongo, repones, repone, reponemos, reponéis, reponen

Preterit tense: repuse, repusiste, repuso, repusimos, repusisteis, repusieron

14. Hacer (To do)

Difficulty

• The first-person singular (the yo form) is irregular in the present tense.

• The stem changes to i in the preterit tense.

Irregular conjugations

Present tense: hago, haces, hace, hacemos, hacéis, hacen

Preterit tense: hice, hiciste, hizo, hicimos, hicisteis, hicieron

15. Deshacer  (To undo)

Difficulty

• This verb is a compound form of hacer. It follows the same pattern.

Irregular conjugations

Present tense: deshago, deshaces, deshace, deshacemos, deshacéis, deshacen

Preterit tense: deshice, deshiciste, deshizo, deshicimos, deshicisteis, deshicieron

16. Rehacer (To remake)

Difficulty

• This verb is a compound form of hacer. It follows the same pattern.

Irregular conjugations

Present tense: rehago, rehaces, rehace, rehacemos, rehacéis, rehacen

Preterit tense: rehice, rehiciste, rehizo, rehicimos, rehicisteis, rehicieron

17. Saber  (To know)

Difficulty

• The first-person singular (the yo form) is irregular in the present tense.

• The stem changes to u in the preterit tense.

Irregular conjugations

Present tense: sé, sabes, sabe, sabemos, sabéis, saben

Preterit tense: supe, supiste, supo, supimos, supisteis, supieron

18. Conocer (To know)

Difficulty

• This verb changes from c to zc in the first-person singular only.

Irregular conjugation

Present tense: conozco, conoces, conoce, conocemos, conocéis, conocen

19. Agradecer (To thank, to be grateful)

Difficulty

• This verb changes from c to zc in the first-person singular only.

Irregular conjugation

Present tense: agradezco, agradeces, agradece, agradecemos, agradecéis, agradecen

20. Aparecer  (To appear)

Difficulty

• This verb changes from c to zc in the first-person singular only.

Irregular conjugation

Present tense: aparezco, apareces, aparece, aparecemos, aparecéis, aparecen

21. Ofrecer (To offer)

Difficulty

• This verb changes from c to zc in the first-person singular only.

Irregular conjugation

Present tense: ofrezco, ofreces, ofrece, ofrecemos, ofrecéis, ofrecen

22. Permanecer (To remain)

Difficulty

• This verb changes from c to zc in the first-person singular only.

Irregular conjugation

Present tense: permanezco, permaneces, permanece, permanecemos, permanecéis, permanecen

23. Pertenecer  (To belong to)

Difficulty

• This verb changes from c to zc in the first-person singular only.

Irregular conjugation

Present tense: pertenezco, perteneces, pertenece, pertenecemos, pertenecéis, pertenecen

24. Traducir (To translate)

Difficulty

• This verb changes from c to zc in the first-person singular only in the present tense.

• The stem changes to j in the preterit tense.

Irregular conjugations

Present tense: traduzco, traduces, traduce, traducimos, traducis, traducen

Preterit tense: traduje, tradujiste, tradujo, tradujimos, tradujisteis, tradujeron

25. Conducir (To drive)

Difficulty

• This verb changes from c to zc in the first-person singular only in the present tense.

• The stem changes to j in the preterit tense.

Irregular conjugations

Present tense: conduzco, conduces, conduce, conducimos, conducis, conducen

Preterit tense: conduje, condujiste, condujo, condujimos, condujisteis, condujeron

26. Producir (To produce)

Difficulty

• This verb changes from c to zc in the first-person singular only in the present tense.

• The stem changes to j in the preterit tense.

Irregular conjugations

Present tense: produzco, produces, produce, producimos, producís, producen

Preterit tense: produje, produjiste, produjo, produjimos, produjisteis, produjeron

27. Tener (To have)

Difficulty

• Irregular form in the present tense.

• The stem changes to uv in the preterit tense.

Irregular conjugations

Present tense: tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tenéis, tienen

Preterit tense: tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvisteis, tuvieron

28. Andar (To walk)

Difficulty

• The stem changes to uv in the preterit tense.

Irregular conjugations

Preterit tense: anduve, anduviste, anduvo, anduvimos, anduvisteis, anduvieron

29. Poder (To be able to)

Difficulty

• The stem changes to ue in the present tense.

• The stem changes to u in the preterit tense.

Irregular conjugations

Present tense: puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, podéis, pueden

Preterit tense: pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudisteis, pudieron

30. Venir (To come)

Difficulty

• Irregular first-person singular form (the yo form) in the present tense, and stem change in other present tense forms.

• The stem changes to i in the preterit tense.

Irregular conjugations

Present tense: vengo, vienes, viene, venimos, venís, vienen

Preterit tense: vine, viniste, vino, vinimos, vinisteis, vinieron

31. Querer (To want)

Difficulty

• Irregular form with stem change in the present tense.

• The stem changes to i in the preterit tense.

Irregular conjugations

Present tense: quiero, quieres, quiere, queremos, queréis, quieren

Preterit tense: quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisisteis, quisieron

32. Traducir (To translate)

Difficulty

• This verb changes from c to zc in the first-person singular only in the present tense.

• The stem changes to j in the preterit tense.

Irregular conjugations

Present tense: traduzco, traduces, traduce, traducimos, traducis, traducen

Preterit tense: traduje, tradujiste, tradujo, tradujimos, tradujisteis tradujeron

33. Producir (To produce)

Difficulty

• This verb changes from c to zc in the first-person singular only in the present tense.

• The stem changes to j in the preterit tense.

Irregular conjugations

Present tense: produzco, produces, produce, producimos, producís, producen

Preterit tense: produje, produjiste, produjo, produjimos, produjisteis, produjeron

Resources for Tackling Difficult Spanish Verbs

“Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses”

Author: Dorothy Richmond

This “Practice Makes Perfect” edition is ideally suited for beginner to intermediate level students and will help you finally understand how and when to use the appropriate tense and mood through everyday examples covering a wide variety of topics and about 250 engaging exercises.

“501 Spanish Verbs”

Author: Christopher Kendris

The principal behind this book is simple: Giving you an in-depth analysis of the 501 most commonly used verbs in Spanish and how to use them all in the 15 tenses and moods.

The seventh edition includes brand new content covering passive and active voice formation, an additional list of 2200 regular verbs to improve your learning, sentences demonstrating Spanish verb usage in all tenses, a CD-ROM which includes language learning aids and an audio CD that reviews the formation and usage of Spanish verb forms.

“A Frequency Dictionary of Spanish: Core Vocabulary for Learners”

Author: Mark Davies

This extremely complete and up-to-date Spanish frequency dictionary provides you with a list of the 5,000 most commonly used words in the language.

There’s a special section which provides a comprehensive list of the most used verbs (which is quite different from the list of the preceding book) along with their English equivalents and sample sentences.

“Spanish Verb Workbook”

Author: Frank R. Neussel, Ph.D.

This Spanish workbook will have you actually put into practice everything you’ll come to learn about la gramática española (Spanish grammar). Each chapter will present you with exercises covering fundamental conjugation information and illustrative dialogues for you to master every tense and mood over a period of time.

 

These are just a few resources to help you get a handle on Spanish verbs, and ideally, you should pair these books with other tools that can teach and also show you the verbs in action. That way, you can see all the rules that come into play when it comes to proper verb conjugation.

Immersion-based language learning programs are one such tool that can present Spanish verbs in context by using content that depicts real-life usage of Spanish. For example, FluentU uses short Spanish videos featuring native speakers.

By pairing book-based learning with constant exposure to realistic Spanish speech, you can more quickly master these finicky verbs. So put plenty of time and effort into practicing them, because it’ll be well worth it when you can craft some pretty impressive Spanish phrases.

 

So, there you have it! There was muchísima (a lot of) information in this post and you might want to bookmark this page so you can come back to it often and refresh your mind when you need to.

The more you use these difficult Spanish verbs, the easier it will become for you to use and understand them when spoken out loud or in your reading materials.

If you want to expand on this particular subject, feel free to refer to the recommended list of books included in the first section of this article. It’ll go a long way.

Good luck!

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)