Spanish verbs
Spanish verbs form one of the more complex areas of Spanish grammar. Spanish language, Spanish is a relatively synthetic language with a moderate to high degree of inflection, which shows up mostly in Spanish conjugation.
As is typical of verbs i ...
are a complex area of
Spanish grammar
Spanish is a grammatically inflected language, which means that many words are modified ("marked") in small ways, usually at the end, according to their changing functions. Verbs are marked for tense, aspect, mood, person, and number (result ...
, with many combinations of tenses, aspects and moods (up to fifty conjugated forms per verb). Although
conjugation
Conjugation or conjugate may refer to:
Linguistics
*Grammatical conjugation, the modification of a verb from its basic form
*Emotive conjugation or Russell's conjugation, the use of loaded language
Mathematics
*Complex conjugation, the change o ...
rules are relatively straightforward, a large number of verbs are
irregular. Among these, some fall into more-or-less defined deviant patterns, whereas others are uniquely irregular. This article summarizes the common irregular patterns.
As in all
Romance languages
The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...
, many irregularities in Spanish verbs can be retraced to
Latin grammar
Latin is a heavily inflected language with largely free word order. Nouns are inflected for number and case; pronouns and adjectives (including participles) are inflected for number, case, and gender; and verbs are inflected for person, numbe ...
.
Orthographic changes
Due to the rules of
Spanish orthography
Spanish orthography is the orthography used in the Spanish language. The alphabet uses the Latin script. The spelling is fairly phonemic orthography, phonemic, especially in comparison to more opaque orthographies like English orthography, Engl ...
, some predictable changes are needed to keep the same consonant sound before ''a'' or ''o'' and ''e'' or ''i'', but these are not usually considered irregularities. The following examples use the first person plural of the present subjunctive:
* : ''c''—''qu'': ' > ' (-car), ' > ' (-quir).
* : ''z''—''c'': ' > ' (-zar), ' > ' (-cer).
* : ''g''—''j'': ' > ' (-ger). But in verbs ending in ''-jar'', the ''j'' is kept before ''e'': ' > ' (not ).
* : ''g''—''gu'': ' > ' (-gar), ' > ' (-guir).
* : ''gu''—''gü'': ' > ' (-guar).
Other predictable changes involve stress marks, ''i''—''y'' alternations and ''i''-dropping, some of which are sometimes considered as irregularities. These examples are several forms of otherwise regular preterites:
* Stress mark on stressed ''i'' after ''a'', ''e'' or ''o'': ' > ' (-caer), ' > ' (-eer), ' > ' (-ír, -oír); this does not apply to any G-verbs such as ' and its related forms.
* Stress mark not used in monosyllabic forms: ' > ' , ' ; ' > ', '. However, before 2010, the forms ' and ' , ' and ', ' and ', and ' and ' could also be written with the accent mark by writers who pronounce these forms as bisyllabic. But this option was not available for '.
* Unstressed ''i'' is written ''y'' between non-silent vowels: ' > ', ' (-aer, -caer); ' > ', ' (-uir). This does not apply to verbs ending in -quir (for example, ' > ', ').
* Unstressed ''i'' is dropped between ''ll'' or ''ñ'' and a vowel: ' > ' (not ''*bullió'') (-llir/-ñir), ' > ' (-ñer).
Stem-vowel changes
There are two kinds of changes that can affect stem vowels of some Spanish verbs:
diphthongization
In historical linguistics, vowel breaking, vowel fracture, or diphthongization is the sound change of a monophthong into a diphthong or triphthong.
Types
Vowel breaking may be unconditioned or conditioned. It may be triggered by the presence of ...
and
vowel raising. Both changes affect ''-e-'' or ''-o-'' in the last (or only) syllable of a verb stem. Diphthongization changes ''-e-'' to ''-ie-'', and ''-o-'' to ''-ue-''. Vowel raising changes the
mid vowel
A mid vowel (or a true-mid vowel) is any in a class of vowel sounds used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned approximately midway between an open vowel and a close vowel.
Other n ...
s ''-e-'' and ''-o-'' to the corresponding
high vowels: ''-i-'' and ''-u-'' respectively. Some verbs, in their various forms, can exhibit both kinds of changes (e.g. , , (e-ie-i); , , ) (o-ue-u).
Diphthongization
Some verbs with ''-e-'' or ''-o-'' in their stem are inherently diphthongizing, whereas others are not: their identities must be learned individually.
In a diphthongizing verb, the change turns ''-e-'' into ''-ie-'' and ''-o-'' into ''-ue-'' when the syllable in question is stressed, which in effect happens only in the singular persons and third-person plural of the present indicative and present subjunctive, and in the imperative (all other tenses and forms are stressed on their endings, not their stems). The dictionary form always has the vowel, not the
diphthong
A diphthong ( ), also known as a gliding vowel or a vowel glide, is a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: that is, the tongue (and/or other parts of ...
, because, in the infinitive form, the stress is on the ending, not the stem. Exceptionally, the ''-u-'' of (u-ue -gar, -jugar) and the ''-i-'' of and (i-ie) also are subject to diphthongization (', etc.; ', etc.).
In word-initial position, ''*ie-'' is written ''ye-'' (' > ') (e-ie > ye) and ''*ue-'' is written ''hue-'' (' > ') (o-ue > hue, oler). Also, the ''-ue-'' diphthong is written ''-üe''- after ''g'', with the
diaeresis to indicate that the letter is not silent (' > ') (
reflexive, go-güe -zar).
The following examples show that all three conjugations (''-ar'', ''-er'', and ''-ir'' verbs) include some diphthongizing verbs (only some tenses and persons are shown, for contrasting purposes):
Present indicative
Present subjunctive
(*) In Central America ''pensés'', ''contés'', etc. are used, but Spanish Royal Academy prescribe
piensescuentes etc., according to
Rioplatense Spanish
Rioplatense Spanish ( , ), also known as Rioplatense Castilian, or River Plate Spanish, is a variety of SpanishAlvar, Manuel, "''Manual de dialectología hispánica. El español de América''", ("Handbook of Hispanic Dialectology. Spanish Lan ...
.
Imperative
:(*) Only used in Spain. Formal conjugations of the plural imperative end in ''-d'', but in colloquial use the most common conjugation ends in ''-r'' instead: ''pensar, contar'', etc.
The verbs and also undergo
vowel raising. Additional diphthongizing verbs include ' (o-ue), ' (e-ie), ' (o-ue), ' (-zar e-ie, -ezar), ' (o-ue), ' (e-ie), ' (o-ue), ' (o-ue, -morir), ' (o-ue), ' (o-ue), ' (o-ue, -poder), ' (o-ue), ' (e-ie, -querer), ' (o-ue), ' (e-ie-i), ' (e-ie, -tener, G-Verb), ' (e-ie, -venir, G-Verb), ' (o-ue), and ' (o-ue, -olver).
Many verbs with ''-e-'' or ''-o-'' in the root do ''not'' alternate. Common non-diphthongizing verbs include ', ',
', ', ' ²,
',
', ', ', ', ', ', ', ', ', ', ' ¹, ', ', ', ', ', ',
', ', ', ', ', ',
', ', ', ' and others.
Less frequent verbs of this kind are often a source of mistakes for children learning to speak, and also for some adults:
*' → , instead of ,
Vowel raising
Vowel raising appears only in verbs of the third conjugation (''-ir'' verbs), and in this group it affects , , (alternative of the more common ) and nearly all verbs which have ''-e-'' as their last stem vowel (e.g. , ); exceptions include ', ' and ' (all three diphthongizing, e-ie).
Affected forms
The forms that exhibit the change can be described negatively as those in which the stem vowel is ''not'' diphthongized and the ending does ''not'' contain stressed ''i''
[Terrell, Tracy D., and Salgués de Cargill, Maruxa, ''Lingüística aplicada a la enseñanza del español a anglohablantes'' (New York: Wiley, 1979), p. 97.] or the ''-ir-'' sequence. In other words, vowel raising affects the forms whose endings do not contain an ''i'' which is not part of a diphthong, taking into account that diphthongizing overrides vowel raising.
In effect, for diphthongizing verbs (e.g. ', '), the vowel-raising forms are:
* the first-person and second-person plural of the present subjunctive (''sintamos'', ''sintáis'', ''durmamos'', ''durmáis'');
* the gerund (''sintiendo'', ''durmiendo'');
* the third-person singular and plural of the preterite (''sintió'', ''sintieron'', ''durmió'', ''durmieron'');
* all forms of the imperfect subjunctive (''sintiera/sintiese''..., ''durmiera/durmiese''...) and of the future subjunctive (''sintiere''..., ''durmiere''...).
For non-diphthongizing verbs (e.g. ') it affects these same forms (''pidamos'', ''pidáis'', ''pidiendo'', ''pidió'', ''pidieron'', ''pidiera''...), plus:
* in the present indicative, all singular forms and the third-person plural (''pido'', ''pides'', ''pide'', ''piden'');
* the remaining forms of the present subjunctive (''pida'', ''pidas'', ''pidan'');
* the ''tú'' form of the imperative (''pide'').
The forms which do ''not'' undergo either diphthongizing or vowel raising are:
* the first-person and second-person plural of the present indicative (''sentimos'', ''sentís''), because these forms have stressed ''i'' in their endings.
* the infinitive (''sentir''), past participle (''sentido''), imperfect indicative (''sentía''...) and the ''vos'' and ''vosotros/as'' forms of the imperative (''sentí'', ''sentid''), for the same reason.
* the future (''sentiré''...) and conditional (''sentiría''...), whose endings contain the ''-ir-'' sequence.
Affected verbs
Verbs which are diphthongizing ''and'' vowel-raising include:
* those ending in (', ', '...) and ''-ertir'' (', '...).
* those ending in (', ', ', '...), except '.
* ' and derived verbs (', '...), in the forms that do not undergo other overriding irregularities.
* ' and '.
The diphthongizing ''-er'' verb ' exceptionally undergoes vowel raising in the gerund (), but the first- and second-person plural of the present subjunctive are regular (''podamos'', ''podáis'').
Non-diphthongizing vowel-raising verbs include:
* those ending in ''-edir'' (', ', '...), ''-etir'' (', ') and ''-egir'' (', '...; note forms with ''j'' before ''a/o'' such as ''corrijo'', ''corrija'').
* those ending in ''-eír'' (', ', ', '). Double ''i'' that would result is simplified (, not or ). The stressed ''i'' in contact with ''a/e/o'' must take an acute accent (''río'', ''ríe'', ''ría'') but monosyllabic forms of the preterite do not have it (''rio'', ''riais'', but ''rió'' and ''riáis'' were valid before 2010 if pronounced in two syllables).
* those ending in ''-eñir'' (', '...). The unstressed ''i'' between ''ñ'' and a vowel is dropped (''tiñendo'', ''tiñó'', ''tiñeron'', ''tiñera''...).
* ' and derived verbs (', '...), in the forms that do not undergo other overriding irregularities.
* ' and derived verbs.
* '.
* '. The affected forms are equal to those derived from the more usual infinitive ', which is regular except in the past participle '.
The vowel-raising verb ' is usually diphthongizing (with ''ye-'' forms such as ''yergo''...). Non-diphthongizing forms are valid but rare (''irgo''...).
Diphthongs and hiatus
''Cambio'' vs. ''envío''
Diphthong
A diphthong ( ), also known as a gliding vowel or a vowel glide, is a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: that is, the tongue (and/or other parts of ...
s in the infinitive may be preserved throughout the conjugation or broken in the forms which are stressed on the stem, depending on whether the ''i'' or ''u'' in contact with ''a/e/o'' take the stress or not. The stressed vowel is marked bold in the examples: ' > ''cambio'', but ' > ''envío'' (requiring an acute accent to indicate the resulting
hiatus). The
Real Academia Española
The Royal Spanish Academy (, ; ) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with national language academies in 22 other Hispanopho ...
does not consider either behaviour as irregular, but illustrates each with six "regular" models, one for each possible diphthong in the infinitive: ', ', ', ', ' and ' for diphthong-keeping verbs and ', ', ', ', ' and ' for diphthong-breaking ones. Remember that the presence of a silent ''h'' does not break a diphthong, so a written accent is needed anyway in ''rehúso''.
All verbs ending in ''-guar'' are diphthong-keeping, as well as ', ', ' and '. Two diphthongs are kept in ' > ''desahucio'' (again the ''-h-'' makes no difference), which thus follows both the ''anunciar'' and ''causar'' models.
Diphthong-breaking verbs include ', ', ', ', ', ', ', ', ', ', ', '. The verbs ', ', ', ' and ' are also diphthong-breaking (''crío, guíe''), but when the stress falls on the endings the resulting forms are generally considered as monosyllables and thus written without accent: ''crie'', ''fie'', ''guiais'', ''lieis...''. In spite of that, the regular accentuation rules can also be used if they are pronounced as bisyllabic: ''crié'', ''guiáis...''.
For the verbs ' and ' both options are valid: ''adecuo'' or ''adecúo''.
The ''ui'' diphthong in ' is kept throughout the conjugation despite the fact of the ''i'' getting the stress in forms such as ''cuido'' (written ''without'' stress mark).
Verbs ending in ''-uir'' and ''-oír''
All verbs ending in ''-uir'' (e.g. ', ', ') add a medial ''-y-'' before all endings ''not'' starting with ''i'': ''construyo'', ''construyes'', ''construya''... Taking into account that these verbs also undergo the change of unstressed intervocalic ''i'' to ''y'' (see
orthographic changes above), they have many forms containing ''y''.
This also applies to the forms of ' and ' that do not undergo the
''-ig-'' change: ''oyes'', ''oye'', ''oyen…''
Some regular forms of ', ' and ' are written without stress mark if considered monosyllabic, but may bear it if pronounced as bisyllabic: ''vosotros huis'' or ''huís'' (present), ''yo hui'' or ''huí'' (preterite).
The verb ' loses the
diaeresis before ''y'': ''arguyo'', ''arguyó…'' (gü-gu, -güir).
Other common irregular patterns
Endings starting with ''o/a'' in ''er/ir'' verbs
In ''er'' and ''ir'' verbs, the first person singular of the present indicative and the whole present subjunctive are the only forms whose endings start with ''o/a'' instead of ''e/i''. These two different phonetic environments made Latin forms evolve differently in many verbs, leading to irregularities.
Whenever the first person singular of the present indicative has an irregularity other than diphthongizing, but still ends in ''-o'', the whole present subjunctive shares the same irregularity. For example:
* ': ''hago'', ''haga''... (-hacer, G-Verb)
*': ''luzco'', ''luzca''... (c-zc, -cir)
*': ''quepo'', ''quepa''... (-caber)
* ': ''veo'', ''vea''...; ': ''preveo'', ''prevea''... (-ver)
When the first person singular of the present indicative does not end in ''-o'', the present subjunctive is also irregular, but in a different way:
*': ''soy'', ''sea''... (-ser, Oy-Verb)
*': ''voy'', ''vaya''... (-ir, Oy-Verb)
*': ''he'', ''haya'' (-haber)
*': ''sé'', ''sepa''... (-saber)
G-verbs
Before ''o'' (in the first person singular of the indicative present tense) and ''a'' (that is, in all persons of the present subjunctive), the so-called ''G''-verbs (sometimes "Go-Yo verbs", "Yo-Go" verbs, or simply "Go" verbs) add a medial ''-g-'' after ''l'' and ''n'' (also after ''s'' in ''asir''), add ''-ig-'' when the root ends in a vowel, or substitute ''-c-'' for ''-g-''. This change ''overrides'' diphthongization (''tener'', ''venir'') but ''combines'' with vowel-raising (''decir''). Many of these verbs are also irregular in other ways. For example:
* ': ''yo salgo'', ''tú sales...'' Stem: sal- (-salir)
* ': ''yo valgo'', ''tú vales...'' Stem: val- (-valer)
* ': ''yo pongo'', ''tú pones...'' Stem: pon- (-poner)
* ': ''yo tengo'', ''tú tienes...'' Stem: ten-, tien- (e-ie) (-tener)
* ': ''yo vengo'', ''tú vienes...'' Stem: ven-, vien- (e-ie) (-venir)
* ': ''yo caigo'', ''tú caes...'' Stem: ca-
* ': ''yo traigo'', ''tú traes...'' Stem: tra-
* ': ''yo oigo'', ''tú oyes...'' Stem: o-, oy-
* ': ''yo hago'', ''tú haces...'' Stem: hac-, haz- (-hacer)
* : ''yo satisfago'', ''tú satisfaces''… Stem: satisfac-, satisfaz-
* ': ''yo digo'', ''tú dices...'' Stem: dec-, dic- (e-i) (-decir)
* ': ''yo asgo'', ''tú ases...'' Stem: as-
ZC-verbs
This group of verbs—which originated in the Latin
inchoative verb
An inchoative verb, sometimes called an "inceptive" verb, shows a process of beginning or becoming. Productive inchoative affixes exist in several languages, including the suffixes present in Latin and Ancient Greek, and consequently some Romance ...
s but now includes other verbs as well—substitute ''-zc-'' for stem-final ''-c-'' before ''o'' and ''a''. The group includes nearly all verbs ending in ''-acer'' (except ' and derived verbs), ''-ecer'' (except ' and '), ''-ocer'' (except ' and derived verbs), and ''-ucir''. For example:
* ': ''yo nazco'', ''tú naces...''
* ': ''yo crezco'', ''tú creces...''
* ': ''yo conozco'', ''tú conoces...''
* ': ''yo produzco'', ''tú produces...'' (-ducir)
* ': ''yo yazco/yazgo/yago,'' ''tú yaces...'' (-yacer)
' may alternatively be conjugated with ''-zc-'' ('), ''-g-'' (G-Verb) ('), or a compromise ''-zg-'' (').
Irregular forms in the future, conditional and imperative
Some ''-er'' and ''-ir'' verbs (most ''G-''verbs plus ', ', ' and ') also change their stem in the future and conditional tenses. This involves
syncope:
* Just dropping the infinitive ''e'': ' → ''habré''..., ' → ''sabré''..., ' → ''podré''..., ' → ...
* Dropping the infinitive ''e/i'' and padding the resulting ''*-lr-/*-nr-'' with an
epenthetic
In phonology, epenthesis (; Greek ) means the addition of one or more sounds to a word, especially in the first syllable ('' prothesis''), the last syllable ('' paragoge''), or between two syllabic sounds in a word. The opposite process in whi ...
''-d-'': ' → ''tendré''..., ' → ..., ' → ..., ' → ..., ' → ...
* Dropping the infinitive ''-ce-'' or ''-ec-'': ' → ''haré''..., ' → ''desharé''..., ' → ''diré''...
** ', ' and ' may share this irregularity (''prediré''...) or, more commonly, use the regular forms (''predeciré''). For ' and ' only the regular forms are used (''bendeciré''...).
Many of these verbs also have shortened ''tú'' imperative forms (
apocope
In phonology, apocope () is the omission (elision) or loss of a sound or sounds at the end of a word. While it most commonly refers to the loss of a final vowel, it can also describe the deletion of final consonants or even entire syllables.
...
): ''tener'' → ', ''contener'' → ', ''poner'' → ', ''disponer'' → ', ''venir'' → ', ''salir'' → ', ''hacer'' → ', ''decir'' → '. However, all verbs derived from ''decir'' are regular in this form: ''bendice'', ''maldice'', ''desdícete'', ''predice'', ''contradice''.
Anomalous stems in the preterite and derived tenses
Some verbs (including most ''G''-verbs and most verbs ending in ) have a somewhat different stem in the
preterite
The preterite or preterit ( ; abbreviated or ) is a grammatical tense or verb form serving to denote events that took place or were completed in the past; in some languages, such as Spanish, French, and English, it is equivalent to the simple p ...
. These stems are very old and often are found in
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
as well. The same irregular stem is also found in the imperfect subjunctive (both in ''-ra'' and ''-se'' forms) and the future subjunctive. These stems are anomalous also because:
* they are stressed in the first and third persons singular, ending in unstressed ''-e'' and ''-o'' respectively (while in all other cases the preterite is stressed on the suffix).
* the rest of the endings are the usual for ''-er/-ir'' verbs, even for the ''-ar'' verbs ' and '.
* in the verbs with ''-je'' preterite (', ', and most verbs ending in ) unstressed ''i'' is dropped between the ''j'' and a vowel: , ... This does not happen with regular or vowel-raising ''-ger/-jer/-gir/-jir'' verbs (' > , ' > , ' > , ' > ).
Examples:
* ': ''yo estuve'', ''tú/vos estuviste(s)'', ''él estuvo...'', ''ellos estuvieron''; ''yo estuviera...''
* ': ''yo anduve'', ''tú/vos anduviste(s)'', ''él anduvo...'', ''ellos anduvieron''; ''yo anduviera...''
* ': ''yo tuve'', ''tú/vos tuviste(s)'', ''él tuvo...'', ''ellos tuvieron''; ''yo tuviera...''
* ': ''yo hube'', ''tú/vos hubiste(s)'', ''él hubo...'', ''ellos hubieron''; ''yo hubiera...''
* ': ''yo cupe'', ''tú/vos cupiste(s)'', ''él cupo...'', ''ellos cupieron''; ''yo cupiera...''
* ': ''yo supe'', ''tú/vos supiste(s)'', ''él supo...'', ''ellos supieron''; ''yo supiera...''
* ': ''yo vine'', ''tú/vos viniste(s)'', ''él vino...'', ''ellos vinieron''; ''yo viniera...''
* : ''yo quise'', ''tú/vos quisiste(s)'', ''él quiso''…, ''ellos quisieron''; ''yo quisiera''…
* ': ''yo pude'', ''tú/vos pudiste(s)'', ''él pudo...'', ''ellos pudieron''; ''yo pudiera...''
* ': ''yo puse'', ''tú/vos pusiste(s)'','' él puso...'', ''ellos pusieron''; ''yo pusiera...''
* ': ''yo hice'', ''tú/vos hiciste(s)'', ''él hizo...'', ''ellos hicieron''; ''yo hiciera...''
* : ''yo satisfice'', ''tú/vos satisficiste(s)'', ''él satisfizo''…, ''ellos satisficieron; yo satisficiera''…
* : ''yo traje'', ''tú/vos trajiste(s)'', ''él trajo''…, ''ellos trajeron''; ''yo trajera''…
* ': ''yo reduje'', ''tú/vos redujiste(s)'', ''él redujo...'', ''ellos redujeron''; ''yo redujera...''
* ': ''yo dije'', ''tú/vos dijiste(s)'', ''él dijo...'', ''ellos dijeron''; ''yo dijera...''
The verb in modern Spanish has a regular ''-er'' verb preterite (''yo vi'', ''tú viste'', ''él vio'' – note the lack of written accent on monosyllables), but in archaic texts the irregular preterite forms ''yo vide'', ''él vido'', etc. are sometimes seen.
Irregular past participles
A number of verbs have irregular past participles, sometimes called "strong" because the change is in the root, rather than an ending. This includes verbs which are irregular in many other ways, such as ' and ', but for some other verbs this is their only irregularity (such as ' and '), while some very irregular verbs (such as ' and ') have regular past participles. Examples:
* ' → ', ' → '
* ' → ', ' → ', ' → '
* ' → ', ' → '
* ' → ', ' → '
* ' → ', ' → ', ' → '
Most of these verbs have derivatives with the same irregularity. For example, alongside ''volver'' → ''vuelto'' and ''poner'' → ''puesto,'' there are ' → ' and ' → '; alongside ' → ' there is ' → ' (but note ' → ', ' → ' are regular, though they also have the adjectival forms ' and '). Similarly ', ', ', ', etc. ''Solver'' is obsolete, but its derivatives ' and ' (', ') are in common use. The participle of ' is ' in some regions, but ' in others.
There are three verbs that have both a regular and an irregular past participle. Both forms may be used when conjugating the compound tenses and the passive voice with the auxiliary verbs ' and ', but the irregular form is generally the only one used as an adjective:
* ' → ' or ', but ''papas fritas''.
* ' → ' or ', but ''papeles impresos''.
* ' → ' or ', but ''una despensa bien provista'' is far more usual than ''una despensa bien proveída''.
A number of other "strong" past participles, such as ', ', ', and a number of others, are obsolete for general use, but are occasionally used in Spain (and to a much lesser extent in
Spanish America
Spanish America refers to the Spanish territories in the Americas during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The term "Spanish America" was specifically used during the territories' Spanish Empire, imperial era between 15th and 19th centur ...
) among educated, style-conscious writers, or in linguistic archaisms such as proverbs (
refranes).
Others
The verbs ' (to be) and ' (to go) both exhibit irregularities in the
present
The present is the period of time that is occurring now. The present is contrasted with the past, the period of time that has already occurred; and the future, the period of time that has yet to occur.
It is sometimes represented as a hyperplan ...
,
imperfect
The imperfect ( abbreviated ) is a verb form that combines past tense (reference to a past time) and imperfective aspect (reference to a continuing or repeated event or state). It can have meanings similar to the English "was doing (something)" o ...
and
preterite
The preterite or preterit ( ; abbreviated or ) is a grammatical tense or verb form serving to denote events that took place or were completed in the past; in some languages, such as Spanish, French, and English, it is equivalent to the simple p ...
forms (note that these two verbs have the same preterite ''fui''). Together with ' (to see) and ' (to foresee), they are the only four verbs with irregular imperfect indicative. Their ''tú'' imperative forms are ''sé'', ''ve'' (for both ''ir'' and ''ver'', although ' is more common than ''ver'' in commands), and ''prevé''. Their ''vos'' imperative forms are ''sé'', ''andá'' (the verb ' replaces ''ir''), ''ve'' and ''prevé''.
Note that whenever the preterite is irregular, the imperfect subjunctive (''-ra'' and ''-se'' forms) and the dated future subjunctive (''-re'') share the same irregularity; indeed, these tenses may always be correctly formed by substituting the appropriate endings for the ''-ron'' ending of the third person plural preterite: ''fueron'' > ''fuera/fuese...''; ''fuere...''.
The verbs ' (to give) and ' (to be) both exhibit irregularities in the present indicative and present subjunctive because their stems cannot be stressed (in ''dar'' the stem is just ''d-'', in ''estar'' it was originally ''st-''). The form ''dé'' is so written to distinguish it from the preposition '. Both verbs are also irregular in the preterite and derived tenses: ''dar'' follows the pattern of regular ''-er/-ir'' verbs, while ''estar'' has an
anomalous preterite stem and follows the corresponding common pattern:
Notes
* ¹ Vulgar or profane.
* ² Vulgar or profane depending on context.
References
External links
Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy It features a ''Conjugar'' button in each verb entry.
OnomaSpanish conjugator. It provides information about the irregularities and conjugates invented verbs.
Common irregular Spanish verbs and audio examplesSpanish verb conjugatordon Quijote Spanish School
Online Spanish verb conjugationFree online Spanish verb conjugation
Spanish conjugationSpanish conjugator. 12,000 verbs conjugated.
Diccionario panhispánico de dudasdecimos.netA Spanish verb conjugator, partly based on this Wikipedia article, that explains each conjugated form step by step.
List of all Spanish irregular verbsComplete list of over 270 Spanish irregular verbs.
{{Language verbs
Irregular verbs
A regular verb is any verb whose Verb conjugation, conjugation follows the typical pattern, or one of the typical patterns, of the language to which it belongs. A verb whose conjugation follows a different pattern is called an irregular verb. Th ...
Indo-European verbs