Verbs are the engine that makes any language work. You can’t build sentences or express what you want to say without them. If you want to speak Spanish fluently, you need to learn Spanish verbs!
Spanish verbs come in all shapes and sizes. There are regular verbs, irregular verbs, stem-changing verbs, and auxiliary verbs. Then, there are all the tenses: present, past, future, and more!
This article provides a handy list of common Spanish verbs and a basic explanation of how to conjugate them. We’ll also point you to resources that can help you learn even more verbs.
Understanding Spanish Verb Conjugation
Spanish verbs change or “conjugate” to show tense (when the action happened), mood (the speaker’s attitude), person (who performed the action), and number (singular or plural). Understanding how verbs change form is essential to speaking and writing in Spanish.
The Basics of Conjugation
Spanish verbs fall into three categories, depending on how their infinitive form ends: -ar, -er, and -ir. Here are a few examples:
- Hablar – to speak
- Comer – to eat
- Vivir – to live
Regular Verb Conjugation in the Present Tense
The present tense is used to describe actions that are happening now, or that happen habitually.
-ar Verbs
To conjugate a regular -ar verb in the present tense, drop the -ar ending from the infinitive and add the appropriate ending for each person:
Hablar (to speak):
- Yo hablo (I speak)
- Tú hablas (You speak – informal)
- Él/Ella/Usted habla (He/She/You speak – formal)
- Nosotros/Nosotras hablamos (We speak)
- Vosotros/Vosotras habláis (You speak – informal plural, used in Spain)
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes hablan (They/You speak – formal plural)
-er Verbs
To conjugate a regular -er verb in the present tense, drop the -er ending from the infinitive and add the appropriate ending for each person:
Comer (to eat):
- Yo como (I eat)
- Tú comes (You eat – informal)
- Él/Ella/Usted come (He/She/You eat – formal)
- Nosotros/Nosotras comemos (We eat)
- Vosotros/Vosotras coméis (You eat – informal plural, used in Spain)
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes comen (They/You eat – formal plural)
-ir Verbs
To conjugate a regular -ir verb in the present tense, drop the -ir ending from the infinitive and add the appropriate ending for each person:
Vivir (to live):
- Yo vivo (I live)
- Tú vives (You live – informal)
- Él/Ella/Usted vive (He/She/You live – formal)
- Nosotros/Nosotras vivimos (We live)
- Vosotros/Vosotras vivís (You live – informal plural, used in Spain)
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes viven (They/You live – formal plural)
Common Irregular Verbs and Their Conjugations
Spanish verbs can be tricky, especially the irregular ones. Regular verbs follow predictable patterns, but irregular verbs? Not so much. They’re the rebels of the verb world, breaking all the rules. This often means you just have to memorize them, unfortunately.
Key Irregular Verbs: ser and estar (“to be”)
Spanish actually has two verbs that translate to “to be” in English: ser and estar. They’re both incredibly common, and knowing how to use them correctly is essential.
Ser (to be)
Here’s the present tense conjugation of ser:
- yo: soy
- tú: eres
- él/ella/usted: es
- nosotros: somos
- vosotros: sois
- ellos/ellas/ustedes: son
Ser is used for describing permanent characteristics, origin, identity, and more. Think of it as describing what something is at its core.
Estar (to be)
And here’s estar in the present tense:
- yo: estoy
- tú: estás
- él/ella/usted: está
- nosotros: estamos
- vosotros: estáis
- ellos/ellas/ustedes: están
Estar is used for temporary states, location, feelings, and conditions. It’s about how something is right now, at this moment.
This is a tricky topic, so check out our article about Ser vs. Estar for a deeper dive into the nuances of these two important verbs.
Other Important Irregular Verbs
Besides ser and estar, here are a few other common irregular verbs you’ll want to learn:
Tener (to have)
Present tense conjugation:
- yo: tengo
- tú: tienes
- él/ella/usted: tiene
- nosotros: tenemos
- vosotros: tenéis
- ellos/ellas/ustedes: tienen
Tener means “to have,” but it’s also used in many common expressions, like tener hambre (to be hungry).
Ir (to go)
Present tense conjugation:
- yo: voy
- tú: vas
- él/ella/usted: va
- nosotros: vamos
- vosotros: vais
- ellos/ellas/ustedes: van
Ir means “to go” and is often used to express future actions using the construction ir + a + infinitive (e.g., Voy a comer – I am going to eat).
Hacer (to do/make)
Present tense conjugation:
- yo: hago
- tú: haces
- él/ella/usted: hace
- nosotros: hacemos
- vosotros: hacéis
- ellos/ellas/ustedes: hacen
Hacer means “to do” or “to make” and is used in a wide variety of contexts.
Exploring Stem-Changing Verbs
One of the quirks of Spanish verbs is that some of them change their stems when you conjugate them. These “stem-changing verbs” can trip up language learners, but they’re not too hard to master once you understand the basic patterns.
What is a stem-changing verb?
In certain conjugations, the stem (or the root) of the verb changes. There are three main types of stem changes:
- e to ie
- o to ue
- e to i
Examples of stem-changing verbs
Here are examples of each type of stem-changing verb:
- e to ie: pensar (to think): pienso, piensas, piensa, pensamos, pensáis, piensan
- o to ue: poder (to be able to): puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, podéis, pueden
- e to i: pedir (to ask): pido, pides, pide, pedimos, pedís, piden
Common stem-changing verbs
Some other common stem-changing verbs include querer (to want), dormir (to sleep), and volver (to return). Recognizing these patterns will help you become more fluent in Spanish. Once you know that a verb stem changes, it’s just a matter of memorizing which one!
100 essential Spanish verbs
If you’re trying to learn Spanish, it’s helpful to have a list of common verbs at your fingertips. Here’s a list of 100 Spanish verbs you can use in everyday conversation, broken down into smaller, easy-to-read sections.
Verbs of being
- Ser – To be (permanent)
- Estar – To be (temporary)
- Parecer – To seem
- Quedar – To stay
- Resultar – To result
Verbs of action
- Hacer – To do, to make
- Tener – To have
- Poner – To put
- Decir – To say, to tell
- Ir – To go
- Ver – To see
- Dar – To give
- Saber – To know (facts)
- Querer – To want
- Llegar – To arrive
- Deber – Should, ought to
- Creer – To believe
- Hablar – To speak
- Buscar – To look for
- Llamar – To call
- Trabajar – To work
- Usar – To use
- Intentar – To try
- Comenzar – To begin
- Empezar – To start
- Estudiar – To study
- Escribir – To write
- Leer – To read
- Abrir – To open
- Cerrar – To close
- Subir – To go up
- Bajar – To go down
- Recibir – To receive
- Aceptar – To accept
Verbs of motion
- Andar – To walk
- Correr – To run
- Viajar – To travel
- Volver – To return
- Regresar – To come back
Verbs of communication
- Contar – To count, to tell
- Explicar – To explain
- Preguntar – To ask
- Responder – To answer
- Añadir – To add
- Cantar – To sing
Verbs of emotion
- Gustar – To like
- Amar – To love
- Odiar – To hate
- Sentir – To feel
- Preocupar – To worry
- Molestar – To bother
- Alegrar – To gladden
- Sorprender – To surprise
Verbs of thought
- Pensar – To think
- Recordar – To remember
- Olvidar – To forget
- Imaginar – To imagine
- Suponer – To suppose
- Considerar – To consider
Other useful verbs
- Poder – To be able to
- Pasar – To happen, to pass
- Conocer – To know (people/places)
- Encontrar – To find
- Pedir – To ask for, to order
- Servir – To serve
- Necesitar – To need
- Comer – To eat
- Beber – To drink
- Vivir – To live
- Escuchar – To listen
- Esperar – To wait, to hope
- Ganar – To win, to earn
- Perder – To lose
- Ayudar – To help
- Cumplir – To fulfill
- Ocurrir – To occur
- Producir – To produce
- Resolver – To resolve
- Cambiar – To change
- Guardar – To save, to keep
- Importar – To matter
- Merecer – To deserve
- Ofrecer – To offer
- Permitir – To permit
- Reconocer – To recognize
- Sacar – To take out
- Terminar – To finish
- Tocar – To touch, to play (an instrument)
- Aprender – To learn
- Abrir – To open
- Cerrar – To close
- Cubrir – To cover
- Dividir – To divide
- Existir – To exist
The Bottom Line
We’ve covered a lot of ground here, from the basics of verb conjugation to the trickier aspects of irregular and stem-changing verbs. Hopefully, this list has given you a solid foundation for understanding and using Spanish verbs effectively.
Remember, learning verbs is an ongoing journey. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t master everything overnight. There are tons of great resources available to help you along the way, including online dictionaries, language learning apps, and practice exercises.
The key is to keep practicing and expanding your vocabulary. The more you use Spanish verbs, the more comfortable and confident you’ll become. ¡Buena suerte!