Leer is an irregular -er verb in Spanish — the forms that break the pattern are explained in the grammar notes below.
Practice leer free →Leer means 'to read', and it is a common -er verb with one small spelling quirk. In the preterite, the third-person forms swap the i for a y: leyó and leyeron, and the gerund is leyendo. Otherwise it behaves regularly. Reading is a natural topic for hobbies and free-time, so being able to say what you read, what you read recently (leí) and what you used to read (leía) gives easy tense range. The y-spelling in the preterite is a favourite examiner detail.
Quick facts
Leer (to read) is an irregular -er verb.
Real sentences across different tenses — the kind of thing you'd actually say or write.
Leo un libro (I'm reading a book).
Third persons take y: leyó, leyeron.
De niño leía cómics (as a child I used to read comics).
Leer en voz alta (to read aloud).
Fixed expressions worth knowing — they come up in listening, reading and writing tasks.
Idiomatic expressions
Spelling change in él and ellos: the unstressed i between two vowels becomes y (leyó, leyeron). All other forms are regular.
Type conjugations from memory and get instant feedback. That's how you actually build the automatic recall the exam needs — not from reading tables.
Practice leer now →Three questions, no account needed. Type the form, then press Enter or tap Check.
yo: leo, tú: lees, él: lee, nosotros: leemos, vosotros: leéis, ellos: leen
Leer is irregular. The tenses with irregular forms are: Pretérito Indefinido.
The past participle is leído (he leído) and the gerund is leyendo (estoy leyendo).
Leer is on the AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas GCSE Spanish vocabulary lists. Compare the exam boards.
Written by Daniel Holmes for GCSE & A-Level Spanish students.