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Looking at common formation patterns of irregular verbs in the present simple tense (o changes to ue / e changes to ie / e changes to i). |
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A look at some other present simple irregular verbs that are irregular in the first person singular only. |
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A look at other present simple irregular verbs that follow the formation patterns of both one and two above. |
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A special look at how the verb ir - (to go) is formed in the present simple. |
| What you can learn from this lesson | |
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To recognise potential verb conjugation patterns of irregular verbs in the present simple tense by identifying the structure of the base form and then applying a rule. |
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To learn the verb conjugations of a selection of important verbs in the present simple tense that are considered more irregular and less defined by rule (ir / tener / hacer / salir). |
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To appreciate and understand that verb conjugation is as much about memorising verb formations than applying defined rules. To encourage the use of verb tables. |
Affiliates |
TEACH ME SPANISH |
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TELL ME MORE SPANISH |
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PART 1
In the first part of this lesson we will look at common formation patterns that exist with some irregular verbs in the present simple tense.
Radical-changing verbs
This is the term often given to irregular verbs that have specific stem changes when a certain letter is present in the stem and which is stressed when pronounced. There are three types.
1 |
Some verbs that have an ‘o’ in the stem change to ‘ue’ |
2 |
Some verbs that have a ‘e’ in the stem change to ‘ie’ |
3 |
Some verbs that have an ‘e’ in the stem change to ‘i’ |
Look at the following examples. Notice that the nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/vosotras forms of the verbs do not have stem changes.
Where ‘o’ changes to ‘ue’
| personal pronoun | costar | poder | dormir |
| (to cost) | (to be able) | (to sleep) | |
| yo | cuesto | puedo | duermo |
| tú | cuestas | puedes | duermes |
| él/ella/usted | cuesta | puede | duerme |
| nosotros/nosotras | costamos | podemos | dormimos |
| vosotros/vosotras | costáis | podéis | dormís |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | cuestan | pueden | duermen |
Where ‘e’ changes to ‘ie’
| personal pronoun | calentar | perder | preferir |
| (to heat) | (to lose) | (to prefer) | |
| yo | caliento | pierdo | prefiero |
| tú | calientas | pierdes | prefieres |
| él/ella/usted | calienta | pierde | prefiere |
| nosotros/nosotras | calentamos | perdemos | preferimos |
| vosotros/vosotras | calentáis | perdéis | preferís |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | calientan | pierden | prefieren |
Where ‘e’ changes to ‘i’
| personal pronoun | pedir | seguir |
| (to order - food) | (to follow / continue) | |
| yo | pido | sigo |
| tú | pides | sigues |
| él/ella/usted | pide | sigue |
| nosotros/nosotras | pedimos | seguimos |
| vosotros/vosotras | pedís | seguís |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | piden | siguen |
PART 2
The second part of this lesson looks at irregular verbs in the present simple tense where the stem change only occurs in the 1st person singular ( yo )
Two common examples of this type of irregularity occur with the verbs hacer, (to do/to make) and salir (to leave).
| personal pronoun | hacer | |
| (to do / make) | ||
| yo | hago | (it is only in the first person singular that the stem changes) |
| tú | haces | |
| él/ella/usted | hace | |
| nosotros/nosotras | hacemos | |
| vosotros/vosotras | hacéis | |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hacen |
Yo no hago
mucho. = I don’t do much.
| personal pronoun | salir | |
| (to leave ) | ||
| yo | salgo | (it is only in the first person singular that the stem changes) |
| tú | sales | |
| él/ella/usted | sale | |
| nosotros/nosotras | salimos | |
| vosotros/vosotras | salís | |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | salen |
Yo no salgo
mucho = I don’t go out much
PART 3
The third part of this lesson looks at irregular verbs in the present simple tense that incorporate the irregularities described in both parts one and two of this lesson.
Here both a consonant change occurs in the first person singular ( yo ) and vowel changes occur in the second person singular (tú), the third person singular (él/ella/usted) and the third person plural (ellos/ellas/ustedes). Two common verbs where these irregularities take place are tener, (to have) and venir, (to come).
| personal pronoun | tener | |
| (to have) | ||
| yo | tengo | (additional consonant ‘g’)
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| tú | tienes | (vowel replacement ‘e’ to ‘ie’) |
| él/ella/usted | tiene | (vowel replacement ‘e’ to ‘ie’) |
| nosotros/nosotras | tenemos | |
| vosotros/vosotras | tenéis | |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | tienen | (vowel replacement ‘e’ to ‘ie’)
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¿Cuántos años
tiene usted? - How old are you?
(Yo) tengo ochenta y
cinco años - I’m eighty five
years old
Venir (to come)
| personal pronoun | venir | |
| (to come) | ||
| yo | vengo | (additional consonant ‘g’)
|
| tú | vienes | (vowel replacement ‘e’ to ‘ie’) |
| él/ella/usted | viene | (vowel replacement ‘e’ to ‘ie’) |
| nosotros/nosotras | venimos | |
| vosotros/vosotras | venís | |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | vienen | (vowel replacement ‘e’ to ‘ie’)
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¿(Tú) vienes aquí mucho? - Do you come here much?
Si (yo) vengo dos
veces cada semana - Yes I come twice
a week.
PART 4
In this part of the lesson we will look at the verb ir (to go). This verb is a good example of a verb in the present simple tense which is highly irregular. The combination of stems and endings of this verb are unique.
Ir (to go)
| personal pronoun | ir |
| (to go) | |
| yo | voy |
| tú | vas |
| él/ella/usted | va |
| nosotros/nosotras | vamos |
| vosotros/vosotras | váis |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | van |
¿(Tú) vas a la piscina
mucho? - Do you go swimming much?
No. (Yo) voy solo una vez cada mes! - No. I go only once a month!
The present simple formation of the verb ir with ‘a’ after it (voy a / va a / vas a etc) is also used when talking about the future. For more information take a look at the separate lesson on the future tense.
'Ir' can also be used reflexively, (irse - meaning to leave). Take a look at the lesson on reflexive verbs for more details.
me voy = I’m going or I’m leaving
voy = used by itself it can mean I’m coming.
Alan, ven acá por favor -
Alan come her please.
voy voy -
I’m coming I’m coming.
That concludes the lesson on the present simple tense with
irregular verbs. If you have not done so already watch the actual video for
this lesson and then try one of the associated quizzes to test your
understanding.
