Contents · A2
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At A1, the present covers regular verbs and a few very frequent verbs with forms of their own: ser, estar, ir, tener, querer, hacer. A2 adds the stem-changing verbs, the reflexive verbs that follow them, and two uses of the present: habit and the planned future.
The present of irregular verbs: pienso, puedo, pido, salgo, conozco#
Formation
Irregular verbs in the present take the endings of regular verbs; the irregularity is in the stem and falls into a few patterns. In the first three, the vowel of the stem changes when it is stressed, that is, in the three persons singular and in the third person plural. In the nosotros and vosotros forms, the stress falls on the ending and the stem stays that of the infinitive.
E → ie. The stressed e of the stem becomes ie: pensar gives pienso, piensas, piensa, pensamos, pensáis, piensan. Empezar, cerrar, entender, preferir and querer, already known, are conjugated in the same way. Pensar en means “to think about”: Pienso en mis padres.
| empezar | |
|---|---|
| yo | empiezo |
| tú | empiezas |
| él/ella | empieza |
| nosotros | empezamos |
| vosotros | empezáis |
| ellos/ellas | empiezan |
O → ue. The stressed o of the stem becomes ue: poder gives puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, podéis, pueden. Volver, dormir, encontrar, costar and recordar are conjugated in the same way. Jugar is the only verb whose u becomes ue: juego, juegas, juega, jugamos, jugáis, juegan.
| poder | jugar | |
|---|---|---|
| yo | puedo | juego |
| tú | puedes | juegas |
| él/ella | puede | juega |
| nosotros | podemos | jugamos |
| vosotros | podéis | jugáis |
| ellos/ellas | pueden | juegan |
E → i. A few verbs in -ir change the stressed e of the stem to i: pedir gives pido, pides, pide, pedimos, pedís, piden. Repetir, servir, seguir and vestirse are conjugated in the same way.
| pedir | |
|---|---|
| yo | pido |
| tú | pides |
| él/ella | pide |
| nosotros | pedimos |
| vosotros | pedís |
| ellos/ellas | piden |
The first person in -go. Several verbs take a g in the first person singular only: salir → salgo, poner → pongo, traer → traigo, caer → caigo, like hacer → hago. Tener and venir add the change e → ie to this g: tengo, tienes; vengo, vienes, viene, venimos, venís, vienen. Decir adds the change e → i: digo, dices, dice, decimos, decís, dicen. Oír has oigo, and its i is written y between two vowels: oigo, oyes, oye, oímos, oís, oyen.
| venir | decir | oír | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | vengo | digo | oigo |
| tú | vienes | dices | oyes |
| él/ella | viene | dice | oye |
| nosotros | venimos | decimos | oímos |
| vosotros | venís | decís | oís |
| ellos/ellas | vienen | dicen | oyen |
The first person in -zco. Most verbs in -cer and -cir with a vowel before the c take -zco in the first person singular and are regular elsewhere: conocer → conozco, conoces; conducir → conduzco, conduce. Hacer and decir are exceptions: hago, digo.
Saber, dar, ver. These three verbs are irregular in the first person singular only: sé, with a written accent that distinguishes it from the pronoun se; doy; veo. The other persons are regular: sabes, das, ves; dais and veis, of one syllable, are written without an accent.
| saber | |
|---|---|
| yo | sé |
| tú | sabes |
| él/ella | sabe |
| nosotros | sabemos |
| vosotros | sabéis |
| ellos/ellas | saben |
Construir and reírse. Verbs in -uir add a y before the ending, except in the nosotros and vosotros forms: construyo, construyes, construye, construimos, construís, construyen. In reírse, the e becomes i, which takes a written accent: me río, te ríes, se ríe, nos reímos, os reís, se ríen.
| construir | |
|---|---|
| yo | construyo |
| tú | construyes |
| él/ella | construye |
| nosotros | construimos |
| vosotros | construís |
| ellos/ellas | construyen |
Spelling. Before the -o of the first person, the consonant of the stem is spelt differently so as to keep the sound of the infinitive: coger → cojo, elegir → elijo (with e → i), seguir → sigo. Before e, nothing changes: coges, eliges, sigues. In Spain, coger means “to take” or “to catch” (coger el autobús); in Latin America, tomar is used instead.
| Pattern | Example | nosotros |
|---|---|---|
| e → ie | pienso, piensan | pensamos |
| o → ue; u → ue | puedo, juego | podemos, jugamos |
| e → i | pido, sirve | pedimos |
| first person in -go | salgo, pongo, traigo, oigo | salimos |
| -go and stem change | tengo, tienes; vengo, vienes; digo, dices | tenemos, venimos, decimos |
| first person in -zco | conozco, conduzco | conocemos |
| first person of its own | sé, doy, veo | sabemos, damos, vemos |
| -uir | construyo, construyen | construimos |
| spelling | cojo, elijo, sigo | cogemos |
Use
The present expresses what is repeated, a habit, often with siempre, a veces or todos los días: Siempre duermo ocho horas. With an expression of time (mañana, el sábado, esta noche), it also expresses a planned future, where English uses the present continuous: El sábado vuelvo a Madrid, “I'm going back to Madrid on Saturday”. Ya voy (“I'm coming”) is said in answer to someone who calls you.
The position of siempre and of other expressions of time is presented in “Saying when and where: siempre, primero, encima de”.
- ¿A qué hora cierra la farmacia?What time does the chemist's close?
- Mis hijos duermen en la misma habitación.My children sleep in the same room.
- En el restaurante siempre pido pescado.At the restaurant I always order fish.
- Los viernes salgo con mis compañeros de trabajo.On Fridays I go out with my colleagues.
- No conozco a tu hermano.I don't know your brother.
- Mañana vengo a las diez.I'm coming at ten tomorrow.
Difference from English
English has no stem changes of this kind: “I think”, “we think”. In Spanish, the changes fall into regular patterns, and a verb known to be an e → ie verb has six predictable forms. English “to ask” has two translations: pedir to ask for a thing (Pido la cuenta), preguntar to ask a question. English “to know” has two as well: conocer for a person or a place (Conozco a Ana), saber for a fact or a skill (Sé nadar). Venir expresses movement towards the place where the speaker is: “I'm coming to your house” is voy a tu casa. A planned future is in the simple present, never with estar + gerund: “I'm leaving tomorrow” is Mañana salgo.
Common mistakes
Piensamos ir a la playa.→ Pensamos ir a la playa.In the nosotros form, the stress falls on the ending: the stem does not change.Yo sabo nadar.→ Yo sé nadar.The first person of saber is sé, with a written accent.No conoco a tu madre.→ No conozco a tu madre.Conocer takes -zco in the first person.No sé a tu hermana.→ No conozco a tu hermana.To know a person is conocer.Le pido dónde vive.→ Le pregunto dónde vive.To ask a question is preguntar.Esta tarde vengo a tu casa.→ Esta tarde voy a tu casa.To go to the place of the person you are talking to, ir is used.
Remember
The stem changes under the stress: pienso, but pensamos. A first person in -go or -zco is learnt with the infinitive: salir, salgo; conocer, conozco.
Practise
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Reflexive verbs and the body: me acuesto, me lavo las manos#
Formation
A reflexive verb follows the pattern of its stem, with the reflexive pronoun placed before the conjugated verb: acostarse (o → ue) gives me acuesto, te acuestas, se acuesta, se acuestan, but nos acostamos, os acostáis; despertarse (e → ie) gives me despierto, nos despertamos; vestirse (e → i) gives me visto, se viste; sentarse gives me siento, se sienta.
| acostarse | |
|---|---|
| yo | me acuesto |
| tú | te acuestas |
| él/ella | se acuesta |
| nosotros | nos acostamos |
| vosotros | os acostáis |
| ellos/ellas | se acuestan |
→ See also: Reflexive verbs and the body: me acuesto, me lavo las manos (A1)
Use
With a reflexive verb, a part of the body or an item of clothing takes the definite article (el, la, los, las), not the possessive adjective: the reflexive pronoun already shows whose it is. Me lavo las manos means “I wash my hands”, Se pone el sombrero “he puts on his hat”, Se quita los zapatos “he takes off his shoes”. When each person has only one of these things, the noun usually stays in the singular: Los niños se lavan la cara por la mañana, “the children wash their faces in the morning”.
The same rule applies with doler (“Gustar with every person, and verbs like it: encantar, importar, molestar, doler”) and with verbs that refer to another person's body: La madre le lava el pelo al niño, “the mother washes the boy's hair”.
- Los sábados me acuesto muy tarde.On Saturdays I go to bed very late.
- ¿A qué hora os despertáis?What time do you wake up?
- Mi hermano se viste en cinco minutos.My brother gets dressed in five minutes.
- Antes de comer, me lavo las manos.Before eating, I wash my hands.
- Hace frío: ponte el abrigo.It's cold: put your coat on.
Difference from English
English uses the possessive with the body and with clothes: “I wash my hands”, “she takes off her shoes”. Spanish uses the definite article, since the reflexive pronoun already names the owner: me lavo las manos, se quita los zapatos. Many of these verbs are reflexive in Spanish but not in English: acostarse is “to go to bed”, despertarse “to wake up”, vestirse “to get dressed”, ponerse “to put on”. Without the pronoun, the verb refers to another person: acuesto a los niños, “I put the children to bed”.
Common mistakes
Me lavo mis manos.→ Me lavo las manos.With a reflexive verb, a part of the body takes the definite article.Mi padre se pone su sombrero.→ Mi padre se pone el sombrero.An item of clothing takes the article too.Nos acuestamos a las once.→ Nos acostamos a las once.In the nosotros form, the stem of acostarse does not change.
In short
| Point | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| e → ie | under the stress; not in nosotros, vosotros | pienso, pensamos |
| o → ue | under the stress; jugar: u → ue | puedo, juego |
| e → i | verbs in -ir | pido, pedimos |
| first person | -go, -zco, sé, doy, veo | salgo, conozco |
| spelling | the sound of the infinitive is kept | cojo, elijo, sigo |
| reflexive verbs | same pattern as the simple verb | me acuesto, nos acostamos |
| body, clothes | definite article, no possessive | Me lavo las manos. |
| habit | present, often with siempre | Siempre duermo bien. |
| planned future | present + expression of time | Mañana vuelvo. |
Practise
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