Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs are those verbs whose conjugation differs from the paradigm of the
other verbs in the language (that is, regular verbs).
This special condition may be due to different linguistic reasons, generally of a
historical nature, and consist of different changes in the way the verb is conjugated.
These alternations or variations are due in Spanish to changes in pronunciation
(phonetic alternations) that become the norm over time, or to the historical
conjunction of different roots in the same verb (heteroclite alternations).
For example, the verb «pedir» changes its vowel in the first person of the present
indicative (pido), while the verb «ir» obeys three different roots when conjugated: voy,
fui, iré.
In general, the main irregular verbs present the following types of alterations in their
lexical root:
Use of several roots for the same verb, as in ir – fui – voy – irá, three totally
different forms for the same verb.
Diphthongization of a root vowel, as occurs in mover – muevo, in which a
diphthong is created by adding the “u”.
Weakening of a root vowel, as occurs in pedir – pido, in which the strong vowel
“e” is changed to a weak one, “i”.
Change of a root vowel, as occurs in dormir – durmamos.
Addition or change of a consonant to the last vowel of the root, as occurs in
huir – huyo, in which the consonant “y” is added, or in coger – cojo, in which
the consonant “g” is changed to “j”.
Addition or change of a consonant in the root, as occurs in conocer – conozco,
in which the consonant “z” is added, or in hacer – hago, in which the consonant
“c” is changed to “g”.
Elimination of some fragment of the root, as occurs in hacer – haré, in which
the intermediate “ce” is lost (present in other conjugations such as haces).
Subject Decir → dir- Hacer → har-
Yo Diría Haría
Tú Dirías harías
Él, ella, usted Diría Haría
Nosotros/as Diríamos Haríamos
Vosotros/as Diríais haríais
Ellos/as, ustedes dirían harían
This is a table that shows a verb that its own root changes completely (for verb Decir,
the root ‘Dec’ changes for ‘dir’) then is added the simple conditional vowel, to make it
a conditional verb.
Exercise: try to use the correct verb for the next sentences.
Muevo, mover, moví.
Yo ______ el candelabro hacia otro lugar más seguro.
Correr, Correríamos, Corrimos, Corramos.
El pasado lunes _______ en la competencia anual y perdimos. Tenemos que _______
más seguido.
Leer, leyó, leería.
Si Ángela usara mejores anteojos _______ mucho mejor.
Answers
Yo muevo/moví el candelabro hacia otro lugar más seguro.
El pasado lunes corrimos en la competencia anual y perdimos. Tenemos que correr más
seguido.
Sin Ángela usara mejores anteojos leería mucho mejor.
Simple Conditional
The simple conditional is a tense of the indicative mood that is used in Spanish
especially to express recommendations, wishes or hypotheses.
Also, this verb is acompanied with a simple verb in the sentence. For example “Tendría
que preguntar”. In this phrase, the verb “tener” in simple conditional is acompanied
with the verb “preguntar”.
Lets read this conversation for a better appreciation:
—Buenas tardes. ¿Le gustaría pagar menos en su factura de la luz?
—Pues no lo sé…, supongo. ¿Qué tendría que hacer?
—Muy simple: si contratara nuestra tarifa, ahorraría dinero todos los meses.
—Quizá debería consultarlo con mi nieta primero.
How do you conjugate the simple conditional in Spanish?
To conjugate a verb in the simple conditional, you must add the endings -ía, -ías, -ía, -
rían, -íais, -ían to the infinitive of a verb. The endings are always the same, regardless of
whether the infinitive ends in -ar, -er or -ir.
Example in the next table
-ar -er -ir
Subject Endings
Hablar Aprender vivir
Yo -ía Hablaría Aprendería Viviría
Tú -ías Hablarías Aprenderías Vivirías
Él, ella, usted -ía Hablaría Aprendería Viviría
Nosotros/as -íamos Hablaríamos Aprenderíamos Viviríamos
Vosotros/as -íais Hablaríais Aprenderíais Viviríais
Ellos/as,
-ían hablarían aprenderían vivirían
ustedes
Some verbs adds a ‘d’ to the Word, for example “poner”. Yo ponDría, tú ponDrías.
Some verbs lose a vocal, for example “saber”. This verb lose the ‘e’. yo sabría, tú
sabrías.
Exercise:
1. use the verb “ir” to make a sentence in past, present, future and irregular
future (simple conditional) using the subject “tú” or “she/he”.
Answer: using “fuiste/fue” for past, “vas/va” for present, “irás/irá” for future,
“irías/iría” for simple conditional.
2. Whrite the correct verb in the next table, using the subject “yo” (I).
Simple
Verb Past Present Future
conditional
Correr
Mentir
Caber
Calentar
Answer
Simple
Verb Past Present Future
conditional
Correr Corrí Corro Correré Correría
Mentir Mentí Miento Mentiré Mentiría
Caber Cupe Quepo Cabré Cabría
Calentar Calenté Caliento Calentaré Calentaría
