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Chapter 5 of 7

Irregular Verbs and Useful Constructions

Beyond the regular patterns, several common verbs are irregular and need to be learned individually. Tener (to have) is conjugated yo tengo, tú tienes, él/ella/usted tiene, nosotros tenemos, ellos/ustedes tienen. It is also used in many idiomatic expressions where English uses "to be": tener hambre (to be hungry), tener sed (to be thirsty), tener sueño (to be sleepy), tener miedo (to be afraid), and tener razón (to be right). Ir (to go) is conjugated yo voy, tú vas, él/ella/usted va, nosotros vamos, ellos/ustedes van. Ir also combines with a and an infinitive to express the near future, similar to English "going to": Voy a estudiar means "I am going to study," and Vamos a comer means "we are going to eat."

Two more important irregulars are hacer (to do/make) and the stem-changing verbs querer and poder. Hacer conjugates as yo hago, tú haces, él/ella/usted hace, nosotros hacemos, ellos/ustedes hacen; only the yo form (hago) is irregular. Querer (to want/love) and poder (to be able to) change their stems in most forms: quiero, quieres, quiere, queremos, quieren for querer and puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, pueden for poder, with the nosotros form reverting to the regular stem (queremos, podemos). These verbs also open up a wide range of expressions, since Spanish uses hacer for many common weather phrases.

Spanish also distinguishes between two verbs that both mean "to know." Saber refers to knowing facts or learned skills and is conjugated yo sé, tú sabes, él sabe, nosotros sabemos, ellos saben. Conocer refers to being familiar with people, places, or things and is conjugated yo conozco, tú conoces, él conoce, nosotros conocemos, ellos conocen. So Saber español means "to know Spanish" as a skill, while Conocer España means "to know Spain" as a place you have visited.

All chapters
  1. 1Greetings and Basic Courtesy
  2. 2Numbers and Time Expressions
  3. 3Colors and Articles
  4. 4Pronouns and the Two "To Be" Verbs
  5. 5Irregular Verbs and Useful Constructions
  6. 6Everyday Vocabulary: Food and Family
  7. 7Practical Phrases: Travel, Weather, and Directions

Drill it

Reading is not remembering. These come from the Spanish Basics deck:

Q

How do you say "Hello" in Spanish?

Hola – The most common and universal Spanish greeting, used in both formal and informal contexts.

Q

How do you say "Goodbye" in Spanish?

Adiós – Used to say farewell. For a more casual "see you later," you can say Hasta luego.

Q

How do you say "Please" in Spanish?

Por favor – Literally "as a favor." It is essential for polite requests in any Spanish-speaking country.

Q

How do you say "Thank you" in Spanish?

Gracias – The standard way to express gratitude. For extra emphasis, say Muchas gracias (Thank you very much).