VERBS WITH SPELLING

CHANGES
AND IRREGULAR
Present Tense
 Verbs that have an irregular YO form
Infinitive English (yo) form
caber to fit quepo
caer to fall caigo
dar to give doy
There are other verbs that
are made up of these words estar to be estoy
with a prefix like (des-, dis-, hacer to make/do hago
com-, con-) placed before the poner to put pongo
infinitive. These have the
same “yo” form WITH the saber to know (facts) sé
prefix attached. salir to leave/exit salgo
traer to bring traigo
e.g. componer - compongo
valer to be worth valgo
ver to see veo
tener to have tengo
venir to come vengo
Verbs with spelling changes in the “yo”
form:
◦ Verbs that end in –ECER and –UCIR, change the C to ZC in the “yo” form.
e.g. CONOCER – CONOC
yo conozco nosotros conocemos
tú conoces vosotros conocéis
él/ella/ud conoce ellos/ellas/uds conocen
Spelling Changes in the “yo” form cont’d
◦ Verbs ending in –GER and –GIR change the G to J before adding the O.
e.g. COGER – COG
yo cojo nosotros cogemos
tú coges vosotros cogéis
él/ella/usted coge ellos/ellas/ustedes cogen
e.g. EXIGIR – EXIG
yo exijo nosotros exigimos
tú exiges vosotros exigís
él/ella/usted exige ellos/ellas/ustedes exigen
Spelling changes in the “yo” form cont’d
◦ Verbs ending in –GUIR, drop the U before adding the O in the “yo” form.
e.g. DISTINGUIR – DISTING
yo distingo nosotros distinguimos
tú distingues vosotros distinguís
él/ella/usted distingue ellos/ellas/ustedes distinguen
Spelling Changes cont’d
◦ Verbs ending in –CER and –CIR change the C to Z before adding the O in the “yo” form. The difference
between this and the other category of verbs with a similar ending is that this happens when there is a
consonant before the C.
e.g. CONVENCER – CONVENC
yo convenzo nosotros convencemos
tú convences vosotros convencéis
él/ella/ud convence ellos/ellas/uds convencen
 COMMON
IRREGULAR
VERBS
Verbs that are completely irregular in the
present tense
◦ DECIR – to say ◦ IR – to go

yo digo nosotros decimos yo voy nosotros vamos

tú dices vosotros decís tú vas vosotros vais
él /ella/ ud dice ellos/as/uds dicen él /ella/ud va ellos/as/uds van
Irregular cont’d
◦ OÍR – to hear ◦ SER – to be

yo oigo nosotros oímos yo soy nosotros somos

tú oyes vosotros oís tú eres vosotros sois
él/ella/ud oye ellos/as/uds oyen él/ella/ud es ellos/as/uds son
Irregular cont’d
◦ TENER – to have ◦ VENIR – to come

yo tengo nosotros tenemos yo vengo nosotros venemos

tú tienes vosotros tenéis tú vienes vosotros venís
él/ella/ud tiene ellos/as/uds tienen él/ella/ud viene ellos/as/uds vienen