Grammar reference
Spanish Irregular Verb Patterns
Spanish has 363 irregular verbs across 11 distinct patterns. Most irregularities follow predictable rules — learn the pattern once and you can handle dozens of verbs at once.
Stem-changing verbs: e → ie
Verbs whose stem vowel e changes to ie in all present-tense forms except nosotros and vosotros — the…
See all verbs →Stem-changing verbs: o → ue
Verbs whose stem vowel o changes to ue in stressed present-tense forms — another "boot verb" pattern…
See all verbs →Stem-changing verbs: e → i
A smaller group of -ir verbs whose stem vowel e changes to i — not just in the present tense but als…
See all verbs →Spelling-change verbs: -car
Verbs ending in -car change c to qu before the letter e — preserving the hard /k/ sound in the prete…
See all verbs →Spelling-change verbs: -gar
Verbs ending in -gar insert a u after g before the letter e — preserving the hard /g/ sound in the p…
See all verbs →Spelling-change verbs: -zar
Verbs ending in -zar change z to c before the letter e — a spelling convention that affects the pret…
See all verbs →Spelling-change verbs: -cer / -cir
Verbs ending in a vowel + -cer or -cir insert a z before the c in the yo present form — a unique cha…
See all verbs →Spelling-change verbs: -uir
Verbs ending in -uir (but not -guir or -quir) insert a y between the stem and any ending that does n…
See all verbs →Go-verbs (irregular yo present)
A group of common verbs whose yo present-tense form ends in -go — one of the most useful irregular p…
See all verbs →Fully irregular verbs
Verbs that deviate so significantly from standard patterns across multiple tenses that they must be …
See all verbs →Reflexive verbs
Verbs that express actions performed on oneself — conjugated with reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, no…
See all verbs →Why learn irregular patterns?
Most learners try to memorise every irregular verb form individually. A better approach: learn the 11 patterns above. Once you recognise that querer, entender, and pensar all follow the e→ie pattern, you can predict their present-tense forms without memorising each one separately.
Of the 363 irregular verbs in this database, fewer than 35 are so unpredictable they require individual attention. The rest fit neatly into the patterns above.
Ready to practise these irregular forms?