Mastering Spanish Verbs 24: Essential Conjugations and Tips

Spanish Verbs 24: A Complete Guide to the Most Used VerbsLearning verbs is the backbone of communicating in any language. In Spanish, verbs carry grammatical information about person, number, tense, mood, and sometimes aspect — all within a single word. This guide focuses on 24 of the most used Spanish verbs, their meanings, principal conjugations, common irregularities, and practical examples and tips to help you internalize them. Whether you’re a beginner building foundations or an intermediate learner aiming for fluency, mastering these verbs will dramatically increase your ability to understand and speak Spanish.

Why these 24 verbs matter

These 24 verbs appear frequently in everyday conversation, writing, media, and instruction. They include auxiliaries, high-frequency regular verbs, and several irregular verbs that form the core of many expressions and compound tenses. By learning them well, you get a large coverage of common Spanish sentences with relatively few words.

The list below includes infinitive — English meaning — notes on irregularity — and conjugation highlights for present indicative, preterite (simple past), imperfect, present subjunctive, and the present perfect (using haber). Where a verb follows regular patterns, I’ll note the pattern rather than list every form.

The 24 verbs (grouped by type)

Auxiliary and highly functional verbs

1. ser — to be (essential/permanent characteristics)

   • Irregular. Present: soy, eres, es, somos, sois, son.
   • Preterite: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron.
   • Present subjunctive: sea, seas, sea, seamos, seáis, sean.
   • Present perfect: he sido (I have been).

2. estar — to be (temporary states/locations)

   • Irregular. Present: estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están.
   • Preterite: estuve, estuviste, estuvo, estuvimos, estuvisteis, estuvieron.
   • Present subjunctive: esté, estés, esté, estemos, estéis, estén.
   • Present perfect: he estado.

3. haber — to have (auxiliary; also “there is/are” as hay)

   • Irregular. Used as auxiliary for compound tenses.
   • Present (auxiliary): he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han.
   • Impersonal: hay (there is/are), preterite hubo (there was/were).
   • Present subjunctive: haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan.

4. tener — to have, to possess; also idiomatic (“to be X years old” -> tener años)

   • Stem-changing e → ie in present (tengo in 1st person).
   • Present: tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tenéis, tienen.
   • Preterite: tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvisteis, tuvieron.
   • Present subjunctive: tenga, tengas, tenga, tengamos, tengáis, tengan.
   • Present perfect: he tenido.

5. hacer — to do, to make

   • Irregular. Present: hago, haces, hace, hacemos, hacéis, hacen.
   • Preterite: hice, hiciste, hizo, hicimos, hicisteis, hicieron.
   • Present subjunctive: haga, hagas, haga, hagamos, hagáis, hagan.
   • Present perfect: he hecho.

Common action verbs (regular and irregular)

1. ir — to go

   • Irregular. Present: voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van.
   • Preterite: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron (same as ser preterite — context matters).
   • Present subjunctive: vaya, vayas, vaya, vayamos, vayáis, vayan.
   • Present perfect: he ido.

2. poder — can, to be able to

   • Stem-changing o → ue. Present: puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, podéis, pueden.
   • Preterite irregular: pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudisteis, pudieron.
   • Present subjunctive: pueda, puedas, pueda, podamos, podáis, puedan.
   • Present perfect: he podido.

3. decir — to say, to tell

   • Irregular with “digo” and stem changes: digo, dices, dice, decimos, decís, dicen.
   • Preterite: dije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, dijisteis, dijeron.
   • Present subjunctive: diga, digas, diga, digamos, digáis, digan.
   • Present perfect: he dicho.

4. querer — to want, to love

   • Stem-changing e → ie. Present: quiero, quieres, quiere, queremos, queréis, quieren.
   • Preterite irregular: quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisisteis, quisieron.
   • Present subjunctive: quiera, quieras, quiera, queramos, queráis, quieran.
   • Present perfect: he querido.

5. venir — to come

   • Stem-changing e → ie in present; 1st person vengo.
   • Present: vengo, vienes, viene, venimos, venís, vienen.
   • Preterite: vine, viniste, vino, vinimos, vinisteis, vinieron.
   • Present subjunctive: venga, vengas, venga, vengamos, vengáis, vengan.
   • Present perfect: he venido.

Everyday verbs for doing, making, saying, moving

1. ver — to see

   • Irregular yo: veo. Regular otherwise in present.
   • Preterite: vi, viste, vio, vimos, visteis, vieron.
   • Present subjunctive: vea, veas, vea, veamos, veáis, vean.
   • Present perfect: he visto.

2. dar — to give

   • Irregular yo: doy. Present: doy, das, da, damos, dais, dan.
   • Preterite: di, diste, dio, dimos, disteis, dieron.
   • Present subjunctive: dé, des, dé, demos, deis, den (note accent).
   • Present perfect: he dado.

3. saber — to know (facts), to taste

   • Irregular yo: sé. Stem irregular in some tenses.
   • Preterite: supe, supiste, supo, supimos, supisteis, supieron.
   • Present subjunctive: sepa, sepas, sepa, sepamos, sepáis, sepan.
   • Present perfect: he sabido.

4. comer — to eat (regular -er model)

   • Regular in most tenses. Present: como, comes, come, comemos, coméis, comen.
   • Preterite: comí, comiste, comió, comimos, comisteis, comieron.
   • Present subjunctive: coma, comas, coma, comamos, comáis, coman.
   • Present perfect: he comido.

5. vivir — to live (regular -ir model)

   • Regular. Present: vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, vivís, viven.
   • Preterite: viví, viviste, vivió, vivimos, vivisteis, vivieron.
   • Present subjunctive: viva, vivas, viva, vivamos, viváis, vivan.
   • Present perfect: he vivido.

Useful modal/interaction verbs

1. poner — to put, to place

   • Irregular yo: pongo. Present: pongo, pones, pone, ponemos, ponéis, ponen.
   • Preterite: puse, pusiste, puso, pusimos, pusisteis, pusieron.
   • Present subjunctive: ponga, pongas, ponga, pongamos, pongáis, pongan.
   • Present perfect: he puesto.

2. parecer — to seem, to appear

   • Regular-ish with irregular yo: parezco. Present: parezco, pareces…
   • Preterite: parecí, pareciste, pareció, parecimos, parecisteis, parecieron.
   • Present subjunctive: parezca, parezcas, parezca, parezcamos, parezcáis, parezcan.
   • Present perfect: he parecido.

3. dejar — to leave, to let

   • Regular -ar. Present: dejo, dejas, deja, dejamos, dejáis, dejan.
   • Preterite: dejé, dejaste, dejó, dejamos, dejasteis, dejaron.
   • Present subjunctive: deje, dejes, deje, dejemos, dejéis, dejen.
   • Present perfect: he dejado.

4. seguir — to follow, to continue

   • Stem-changing e → i in present: sigo, sigues, sigue, seguimos, seguís, siguen.
   • Preterite: seguí, seguiste, siguió, seguimos, seguisteis, siguieron (note e→i change in 3rd person preterite).
   • Present subjunctive: siga, sigas, siga, sigamos, sigáis, sigan.
   • Present perfect: he seguido.

5. encontrar — to find

   • Stem-changing o → ue. Present: encuentro, encuentras, encuentra, encontramos, encontráis, encuentran.
   • Preterite: encontré, encontraste, encontró, encontramos, encontrasteis, encontraron.
   • Present subjunctive: encuentre, encuentres, encuentre, encontremos, encontréis, encuentren.
   • Present perfect: he encontrado.

Communication, thought, and perception

1. pensar — to think

   • Stem-changing e → ie. Present: pienso, piensas, piensa, pensamos, pensáis, piensan.
   • Preterite: pensé, pensaste, pensó, pensamos, pensasteis, pensaron.
   • Present subjunctive: piense, pienses, piense, pensemos, penséis, piensen.
   • Present perfect: he pensado.

2. volver — to return, to come back

   • Stem-changing o → ue. Present: vuelvo, vuelves, vuelve, volvemos, volvéis, vuelven.
   • Preterite: volví, volviste, volvió, volvimos, volvisteis, volvieron.
   • Present subjunctive: vuelva, vuelvas, vuelva, volvamos, volváis, vuelvan.
   • Present perfect: he vuelto.

3. contribuir — to contribute

   • Regular with spelling/orthographic adjustments only in some forms: contribuyo (1st person present: contribuyo), contribuiste, contribuyó…
   • Present subjunctive: contribuya, contribuyas…
   • Present perfect: he contribuido.
   • Useful because many compound verbs and participles derive from -uir verbs.

4. usar — to use

   • Regular -ar verb, high frequency. Present: uso, usas, usa, usamos, usáis, usan.
   • Preterite: usé, usaste, usó, usamos, usasteis, usaron.
   • Present subjunctive: use, uses, use, usemos, uséis, usen.
   • Present perfect: he usado.

Tips for learning and practicing these verbs

• Learn verbs in chunks: group by irregular pattern (e.g., e→ie, o→ue, irregular yo forms). This reduces memorization load.
• Drill the present indicative first; it unlocks many conversational needs. Once comfortable, add preterite and present perfect for past narration.
• Use high-frequency phrases to practice — e.g., “tengo que” (I have to), “voy a” (I’m going to + infinitive), “hay que” (one must/it’s necessary), “me gusta” (I like).
• Flashcards with infinitive on one side and conjugated forms + an example sentence on the back work well. Spaced repetition (SRS) helps retention.
• Pay special attention to verbs that use ser vs. estar (ser for identity/permanent traits; estar for location/temporary states) and to haber as auxiliary vs. hay as impersonal.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

• Mixing ser and estar: practice contrasting pairs with sample sentences (Soy médico vs. Estoy cansado).
• Confusing preterite vs. imperfect: preterite for completed actions, imperfect for habitual/background actions. Example: Ayer comí pizza (I ate pizza yesterday — completed). Cuando era niño, comía pizza todos los sábados (I used to eat pizza every Saturday).
• Forgetting irregular yo forms (pongo, hago, doy, pongo, sé). Drill first-person singular separately.
• Using infinitive after conjugated verbs incorrectly — remember verbs like “gustar” use indirect object pronouns (me gusta, me gustan).

Practice activities (short)

• Write 10 sentences describing yesterday using 6 different verbs from the list in preterite.
• Record yourself telling a 1-minute story using at least 8 different verbs from the list.
• Make 10 “must-do” sentences using “tener que + infinitive” and 10 plans using “ir a + infinitive.”

Quick reference: endings and one-liners

• Regular -ar present: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an.
• Regular -er present: -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en.
• Regular -ir present: -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en.
• Present perfect formation: he/has/ha/hemos/habéis/han + past participle (ar → -ado; er/ir → -ido). Example: he hablado, he comido, he vivido.

Master these 24 verbs and you’ll cover a large portion of everyday Spanish usage. If you want, I can: provide printable conjugation charts, create spaced-repetition flashcards for these verbs, or make a tailored 14-day practice plan. Which would you like?