Irregular Spanish Verbs: 40 You Really Need (A2)

🇪🇸 Spanish · 40 cards · A2 · by Lucía Herrera

These are the forty irregular verbs my students meet in almost every conversation, straight out of my tutoring notebook. Nearly all the trouble comes from three places: verbs that change their stem when it is stressed (poder → puedo, pedir → pido), verbs with an odd yo form only (salgo, conozco, traigo), and verbs with a completely different preterite stem (tuve, dije, supe). Each card gives you the infinitive, one sentence you could actually use today, and a note pointing at exactly which part is irregular. Say the example out loud before you flip the card — the rhythm sticks much better than a conjugation table.

1 / 40
How to use this deck

Flip through the cards, then switch to Quiz. Tap the play button on any row to hear it. The full table below is there to read, print or copy into your own flashcard app.

The Reji iPhone app is being rebuilt and returns to the App Store soon.

All 40 cards

#SpanishEnglishExampleAudio
1ser
Irregular throughout: soy, eres, es, somos, sois, son. Its preterite (fui, fuiste, fue) is identical to that of ir.
to be (identity, qualities, origin)
Mi hermana es más alta que yo.
My sister is taller than me.
2estar
Yo estoy (no accent); estás, está, estáis, están all carry one. Preterite stem estuv-: estuve, estuvo.
to be (location, states, feelings)
Estoy en el metro, llego en diez minutos.
I'm on the subway, I'll be there in ten minutes.
3tener
Yo tengo plus e→ie (tienes, tiene, tienen). Preterite: tuve. 'Tener que + infinitive' = to have to.
to have
Tengo dos hermanos y un perro.
I have two brothers and a dog.
4ir
voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van. Preterite fui, fuiste, fue — the same forms as ser. 'Ir a + infinitive' is the everyday future: voy a comer.
to go
Voy al mercado los sábados por la mañana.
I go to the market on Saturday mornings.
5hacer
Yo hago; preterite hice, hiciste, hizo (note the z). Participle: hecho. Imperative: haz.
to do, to make
¿Qué haces este fin de semana?
What are you doing this weekend?
6poder
o→ue: puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, podéis, pueden. Preterite: pude, pudo.
can, to be able to
No puedo salir hoy, tengo mucho trabajo.
I can't go out today, I have a lot of work.
7querer
e→ie: quiero… but queremos, queréis. Preterite: quise. 'Te quiero' means 'I love you' to family, friends or a partner.
to want; to love
Quiero un café con leche, por favor.
I'd like a coffee with milk, please.
8decir
e→i plus yo digo. Preterite: dije, dijeron. Imperative: di. Participle: dicho.
to say, to tell
Mi madre siempre dice lo mismo.
My mother always says the same thing.
9ver
Yo veo; participle visto; imperfect veía, veías (it keeps the e). Preterite vi, vio, with no written accent.
to see, to watch
¿Ves la tienda de la esquina?
Do you see the shop on the corner?
10dar
Yo doy; preterite di, diste, dio (no written accents).
to give
Te doy mi número por si acaso.
I'll give you my number just in case.
11saber
Yo sé; preterite supe, supo. 'Saber nadar' = to know how to swim. For people and places use conocer.
to know (facts, how to do something)
No sé dónde dejé las llaves.
I don't know where I left the keys.
12venir
Yo vengo plus e→ie (vienes, viene, vienen). Preterite: vine, vino. Imperative: ven.
to come
¿Vienes conmigo a la playa?
Are you coming with me to the beach?
13poner
Yo pongo; preterite puse; participle puesto; imperative pon. Ponerse = to put on (clothes) or to become.
to put, to place
Pongo la mesa mientras tú cocinas.
I'll set the table while you cook.
14salir
Yo salgo; future saldré; imperative sal. 'Salir con alguien' means to date someone.
to go out, to leave
Salgo de la oficina a las seis.
I leave the office at six.
15traer
Yo traigo; preterite traje, trajiste, trajeron (the i of -ieron drops out).
to bring
¿Me traes un vaso de agua?
Could you bring me a glass of water?
16conocer
In the present only the yo form changes: conozco. With people you need the personal a: conozco a tu hermana. In the preterite it usually means 'met': la conocí en Madrid.
to know (people, places), to meet
Conozco un restaurante muy bueno cerca de aquí.
I know a very good restaurant near here.
17haber
The impersonal form is always singular: hay, había, hubo — never 'hayn'. As an auxiliary: he comido, has visto, ha salido.
there to be; to have (auxiliary)
Hay mucha gente en la plaza hoy.
There are a lot of people in the square today.
18pensar
e→ie: pienso, piensas, piensa, pensamos. 'Pensar en' = to think about; 'pensar + infinitive' = to plan to.
to think
Pienso que tienes razón.
I think you're right.
19empezar
e→ie, plus z→c in the yo form of the preterite: empecé. Comenzar works the same way and sounds slightly more formal.
to start, to begin
La película empieza a las ocho.
The film starts at eight.
20cerrar
e→ie: cierro, cierras, cierra, cerramos. Its opposite, abrir, is regular in the present.
to close, to shut
La farmacia cierra a las diez.
The pharmacy closes at ten.
21entender
e→ie: entiendo, entiendes, entendemos. Comprender means the same but sounds more formal in speech.
to understand
No entiendo nada de este ejercicio.
I don't understand anything in this exercise.
22perder
e→ie: pierdo, pierdes, perdemos. Perderse = to get lost. 'Perder el tren' = to miss the train.
to lose; to miss (a train, a chance)
Siempre pierdo el paraguas en el autobús.
I always lose my umbrella on the bus.
23volver
o→ue; irregular participle vuelto. 'Volver a + infinitive' = to do something again: vuelve a llamar.
to come back, to return
Vuelvo a casa sobre las siete.
I get home around seven.
24contar
o→ue: cuento, cuentas, contamos. 'Contar con alguien' = to count on someone.
to tell (a story); to count
Cuéntame qué pasó ayer.
Tell me what happened yesterday.
25encontrar
o→ue: encuentro, encuentras, encontramos. Encontrarse con alguien = to run into someone.
to find
No encuentro mis gafas por ninguna parte.
I can't find my glasses anywhere.
26recordar
o→ue: recuerdo, recuerdas, recordamos. No preposition: recuerdo algo, not 'recuerdo de algo' (that's acordarse de algo).
to remember
No recuerdo su apellido.
I don't remember his last name.
27costar
o→ue, normally only in the third person: cuesta, cuestan. 'Me cuesta levantarme' = it's hard for me to get up.
to cost; to be hard for someone
¿Cuánto cuesta este abrigo?
How much does this coat cost?
28dormir
o→ue in the present, o→u in the third person of the preterite: durmió, durmieron. Dormirse = to fall asleep.
to sleep
Los fines de semana duermo hasta tarde.
On weekends I sleep in.
29jugar
The only u→ue verb: juego, juegas, jugamos. In Spain 'jugar al fútbol'; in Mexico and much of Latin America you'll hear 'jugar fútbol', without al.
to play (a game, a sport)
Mis hijos juegan al fútbol en el parque.
My kids play football in the park.
30pedir
e→i: pido, pides, pedimos; preterite pidió. Pedir = ask for something; preguntar = ask a question.
to ask for, to order
Vamos a pedir una pizza grande.
Let's order a large pizza.
31seguir
e→i, and the u disappears in yo sigo. 'Seguir + gerund': sigo estudiando = I'm still studying.
to follow; to keep (doing)
Sigue todo recto hasta el semáforo.
Keep going straight until the traffic light.
32servir
e→i: sirvo, sirves, servimos. '¿Para qué sirve?' = What's it for?
to serve; to be useful
Este cuchillo no sirve para nada.
This knife is useless.
33repetir
e→i: repito, repites, repetimos; preterite repitió. At the table it also means to have seconds.
to repeat
¿Puedes repetir la pregunta, por favor?
Can you repeat the question, please?
34sentirse
Reflexive, e→ie: me siento, te sientes, nos sentimos; preterite me sentí, se sintió. Without se, sentir means to feel something or to be sorry: lo siento.
to feel (a certain way)
Hoy me siento mucho mejor, gracias.
I feel much better today, thanks.
35vestirse
e→i: me visto, te vistes, nos vestimos. 'Vestirse de negro' = to dress in black.
to get dressed
Me visto rápido y salimos.
I'll get dressed quickly and we'll go.
36oír
oigo, oyes, oye, oímos, oís, oyen. Oír = to hear; escuchar = to listen on purpose. '¡Oye!' means 'Hey!' (informal).
to hear
No te oigo bien, hay mucho ruido.
I can't hear you well, there's a lot of noise.
37caerse
Yo me caigo; third person preterite se cayó, se cayeron. 'Se me cayó el móvil' = I dropped my phone.
to fall, to fall down
Ten cuidado, te vas a caer.
Be careful, you're going to fall.
38conducir
Yo conduzco; preterite conduje, condujeron. Standard in Spain; in Mexico and most of Latin America people say manejar.
to drive
Conduzco con cuidado cuando llueve.
I drive carefully when it rains.
39doler
o→ue and used like gustar: me duele la espalda, me duelen los pies. Spanish uses the article, not 'mi'.
to hurt, to ache
Me duele la cabeza desde ayer.
My head has been hurting since yesterday.
40reírse
me río, te ríes, se ríe, nos reímos, se ríen; preterite me reí, se rio (the RAE now writes it without an accent). 'Reírse de alguien' = to laugh at someone, 'reírse con alguien' = to laugh along with them.
to laugh
Nos reímos mucho con sus historias.
We laugh a lot at his stories.
Lucía Herrera
Native Spanish · Speaks English, Portuguese

Native Spanish speaker from Valencia, now in Mexico City. I tutor Spanish online and keep a notebook of the words my students trip over. Every deck here comes from that notebook.

Published

Questions about this deck

Which Spanish irregular verbs should I learn first?
Start with ser, estar, tener, ir, hacer and poder — they appear in almost every sentence and several of them build other structures (ir a + infinitive for the future, tener que for obligation, estar + gerund for actions in progress). Once those are automatic, move on to the stem-changing groups (querer, poder, pedir) and the verbs whose only oddity is the yo form (salgo, pongo, conozco, traigo).
What is a stem-changing verb in Spanish?
It is a verb whose stem vowel changes when the stress falls on it: e→ie (pensar → pienso), o→ue (volver → vuelvo), e→i (pedir → pido), and u→ue in jugar (juego). The change happens in all present-tense forms except nosotros and vosotros, which keep the original vowel: pensamos, volvemos, pedimos. Teachers call them 'boot verbs' because the changed forms draw a boot shape in the conjugation table.
Are these verbs irregular in every tense?
No. Many are irregular only in the present — pensar, cerrar, contar and volver are perfectly regular in the preterite (pensé, volví). Others have a separate irregular preterite stem: tener → tuve, estar → estuve, decir → dije, saber → supe, traer → traje, conducir → conduje. The -ir stem changers (pedir, dormir, sentir) change only in the third person of the preterite: pidió, durmió, sintió.
What is the difference between saber and conocer?
Saber is for facts, information and skills: sé su número, sé cocinar, no sé si viene. Conocer is for being familiar with people, places and things: conozco a tu hermana, conozco Valencia. In the preterite they shift meaning: supe = I found out, conocí = I met (for the first time).
Tags:verbsconjugationgrammar

More Spanish decks: spanish verbs

A1

100 Most Common Spanish Verbs (with yo & tú forms)

The 100 Spanish verbs you will hear every day, each with its meaning, the yo and tú present-tense forms, and a short natural example. For A1 beginners.

100 cards · by lucia
A1

Spanish -AR Verbs: 50 Essentials for Beginners

The 50 most useful Spanish -AR verbs for A1 learners, with natural example sentences plus notes on stem changes, spelling quirks and Spain vs Latin America usage.

50 cards · by lucia
A1

Spanish -ER Verbs: 40 Essentials for Beginners

40 common Spanish -ER verbs with present-tense notes, natural example sentences and clear warnings about the irregular ones. Built for A1 learners.

40 cards · by lucia
A1

Spanish -IR Verbs: 40 Essential Verbs for Beginners

40 common Spanish -IR verbs with example sentences, from regular ones like vivir and abrir to irregulars like ir, decir and dormir. For A1 learners.

40 cards · by lucia
A2

Spanish Reflexive Verbs: 40 Everyday Verbs for A2

40 common Spanish reflexive verbs with natural example sentences: daily routine, feelings, mistakes and life events, plus notes on stem changes and regional use.

40 cards · by lucia
A2

Spanish Stem-Changing Verbs (e→ie, o→ue, e→i)

40 common Spanish stem-changing verbs grouped by pattern (e→ie, o→ue, e→i), with present-tense forms, natural examples and usage notes for A2 learners.

40 cards · by lucia
A1

100 Basic Spanish Words for Beginners (A1)

The 100 most useful Spanish words for beginners (A1): greetings, pronouns, core verbs, question words, everyday nouns, adjectives and connectors, with examples.

100 cards · by lucia
A1

Colors in Spanish: 25 Words with Gender Rules

Learn 25 Spanish color words for beginners: basic colors, shades like celeste and turquesa, plus light/dark combinations and gender agreement notes.

25 cards · by lucia