Common difficulty

Spanish Irregular Verbs
Practice & Reference

The most commonly used Spanish verbs are almost all irregular. Master them with targeted practice and instant feedback.

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The most important irregular Spanish verbs

VerbMeaningWhy it's irregular
serto be (permanent)Completely irregular in all tenses
estarto be (temporary)Irregular present and preterite
irto goIdentical to ser in preterite
tenerto haveIrregular stem in preterite (tuv-)
hacerto do/makeIrregular preterite (hic-) and future (har-)
poderto be able toStem-changing o→ue, preterite pud-
quererto wantStem-changing e→ie, preterite quis-
saberto knowIrregular yo present (sé), preterite sup-
venirto comeStem-changing, preterite vin-
decirto say/tellIrregular throughout — dij- in preterite

Irregular preterite stems

Many common verbs share irregular preterite endings: -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.

VerbStemyoélellos
tenertuv-tuvetuvistetuvotuvieron
estarestuv-estuveestuvisteestuvoestuvieron
poderpud-pudepudistepudopudieron
quererquis-quisequisistequisoquisieron
hacerhic-hicehicistehizohicieron
decirdij-dijedijistedijodijeron

Practice irregular verbs specifically

Filter to irregular verbs only using the category dropdown. Drill across all tenses.

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Frequently asked questions

What's the best way to learn irregular verbs?
Repeated active recall beats memorising tables. Seeing "tú / hacer / pretérito" and producing "hiciste" builds faster recall than reading a conjugation chart.
How many irregular verbs are there in Spanish?
Hundreds — but the most commonly used 20-30 cover the vast majority of what you'll encounter. Master these first.
Can I filter to only irregular verbs on Practicar Verbos?
Yes — use the verb category dropdown on the practice page to select "Irregular verbs" only.