CONQUERING THE SPANISH VERB SYSTEM:
THE YO CONNECTION
NANCY T. MÍNGUEZ
DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES
OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY
INTRODUCTION
These handouts are a great tool for the student to easily comprehend how the conjugations work in Spanish. The techniques taught by this system help to quickly grasp and learn the verb types and their conjugations. By dividing the verbs into four main groups, each with its own predictable pattern and all based on the yo conjugation of the present tense, the student can make predictions about the rest of the tenses and will come to rely less on outside sources. These handouts are an incredibly useful instrument for the student to fully embrace verb conjugating naturally.
When in need of a different resource to accurately conjugate verbs immediately, the Verb Conjugator is available. At hand to conjugate over 86 verbs, it is a fast and reliable source to look up a specific verb in a particular tense instantly.
OVERVIEW
The Spanish verb system can be easily divided into four main groups, each with its own predictable pattern and all based on the yo conjugation of the present tense. Once you discover the yo conjugation, you can make predictions about the rest of the tenses and, hopefully, will need to rely less on outside sources.
1. Regular verbs (-ar and -er/-ir), like comprar, aprender, and abrir, form the largest group and are the easiest to learn. These verbs establish the general pattern of operation for all groups, and there are few, if any, irregularities. The regular verbs can be divided into two categories representing each ending group: (a)-arand (b) -er/-ir. Each subsequent group deviates somewhat from this general pattern, with -ir verbs showing the most irregularities.
2. “Shoe” verbs(-ar/-er/-ir), or stem-changing verbs like pensar, volver, and pedir, are verbswhose present tense in both the indicative and subjunctive forms a “shoe” or “boot” pattern when the singular conjugations are listed adjacent to the plural. “Shoe” verbs can be divided into three ending categories: (a)-ar, (b) -er, and (c) -ir. Verbs in this group will not show a stem change in any other tense, except for those in Group 2C that deviate slightly from the pattern established in the other two categories in the present subjunctive and in the third person preterit.
3. “Yo -go” verbs (or “Yo -zco”verbs) are those verbs whose yo form ends in -goor -zco, such as tener, hacer, conocer, and conducir. Only -er/-ir verbs form this group—there are no -ar“yo-go” verbs. We find more irregularities in this group, but most are predictable. Almost all of these verbs (except salir and conocer) are irregular in the preterit tense. Also, the irregularities tend to be similar: all of these verbs have the same ending that differs slightly from the regular preterit, and all reflect a similar change in the stem that repeats in the six conjugations. In all cases, once again, the yo form generates an irregular present subjunctive, and the irregular preterit forms generate the past subjunctive. Many “yo -go” verbs tend to have a similar pattern of irregularities in the future and conditional.
4. “-O no” verbs, or irregular verbs, are those whose yo form does not end in -o. The patterns these verbs follow are generally unpredictable and must be memorized. However, the irregularity that these verbs share—the yo form not ending in -o—draws the student’s attention to the fact that these verbs will typically not follow the normal pattern and may have many irregularities. Since there are only six verbs in this group (ser, estar, dar, ir, saber, and haber), this is not a particular problem.
For each category, you’llsee a pattern represented by a model verb from each group/subgroup, determined by the group and endings (-ar,-er/-ir). On the back of each model page, youcan write all verbs that are in the group and practice the conjugations as needed with one of the “blank” model charts. As you learn other verbs that “behave” like the model (see the “quick reference” for others in any particular group), youcan simply add them to the back of the page and indicate any minor deviation from the norm, such as an irregular past participle or an irregular preterit form. In the end, you will have six pages with the model on the front and all other verbs in that category on the back. You’llneed to make a separate chart for each verb in Group 4, the “-o no” group. Eventually, you’ll be able to establish at a glance to which group any new verb belongs and know exactly how to use it, simply by observing the yo form of the present tense. If it is regular, then you may predict that the verb will not deviate from the regular pattern; if the yo form shows a stem change, then you may predict that it will follow the pattern of the “shoe” verbs; if the yo form ends in -go, then it will most likely follow the patterns established by the other “yo -go” verbs.
CONQUERING THE SPANISH VERB SYSTEM: THE YO CONNECTION
Group 1: Regular Verbs (-ar, -er/-ir)
(Since -irverbs differ ONLY in the nosotros and vosotros forms of the present indicative, it is not necessary to have a separate page for them.After the present tense, -ir verbs have the same endings as -er verbs.)
Regular verbs form the largest and most predictable group of verbs. This group establishes the basic pattern from which other groups may deviate slightly. There are very few irregularities in this group, and you should indicate any irregularities next to the verb on the list on the back of the model page—e.g., andar (irregular preterit > anduve). It is important to learn well the patterns established by the regular verbs.See “Quick Reference” for other common verbs in this groupon page 14 of this handout.
Remember:Conjugate verbs in Spanish by taking the stem and affixing the proper ending for the subject and tense. The six conjugations represent first (yo), second (tú) and third (usted, él, ella) persons singular, and first (nosotros), second (vosotros), and third (ustedes, ellos) persons plural.
Conjugate reflexive verbs (e.g., lavarse)exactly the same wayyou would conjugate any other verb. Be sure to include the respective reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se), which always precedes the verb that you are conjugating—e.g., me lavo, te lavas, se lava, etc.See “Reflexive commands” on page 13of this handout.
MODELS:COMPRAR (SHOWN), COMER, ESCRIBIR
Present Tense
Indicative MoodSubjunctive Mood
(Yo formof present indicative +opposite vowel)
Singular Plural Singular Plural
comprocompramoscomprecompremos
comprascompráiscomprescompréis
compracomprancompre compren
Preterit Tense
Singular Plural
comprécompramos
comprastecomprasteis
comprócompraron
Imperfect Tense
Indicative MoodSubjunctive Mood
(Formed from third person plural preterit)
Singular Plural Singular Plural
comprabacomprábamoscompraracompráramos
comprabascomprabaiscomprarascomprarais
comprabacomprabancompraracompraran
Future Tense:infinitive + -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án= compraré (I will buy), etc.
Conditional Tense:infinitive + -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían =compraría(I would buy), etc.
Compound Tenses
Progressive:estar(any tense, indicative or subjunctive)+ present participle (stem + -ando/-iendo)=Estoy (estaba,estaré, estaría) comprando/comiendo/escribiendo(I am [was, will be, would be] buying/eating/writing)
Perfect:haber + past participle (stem + -ado/-ido [some verbs are irregular—e.g.,escribirescrito])= haber comprado/comido/escrito(to have bought/eaten/written)
Present Perfect:present tense ofhaber + past participle (stem + -ado) = he comprado (I have bought)
Indicative MoodSubjunctive Mood
Singular Plural Singular Plural
he compradohemos compradohaya compradohayamos comprado
hashabéishayashayáis
hahanhayahayan
Pluperfect:imperfect tense of haber + past participle = había comprado (I had bought)
Indicative MoodSubjunctive Mood
Singular Plural Singular Plural
habíacompradohabíamoscompradohubieracompradohubiéramoscomprado
habíashabíaishubierashubierais
habíahabíanhubierahubieran
Future Perfect:future tense (no subjunctive) of haber + past participle = habré comprado(I will have bought)
Singular Plural
habré compradohabremos comprado
habráshabréis
habráhabrán
Conditional Perfect: conditional tense (no subjunctive) of haber + past participle = habría comprado(I would have bought)
Singular Plural
habría compradohabríamoscomprado
habríashabríais
habríahabrían
CONQUERING THE SPANISH VERB SYSTEM: THE YO CONNECTION
Group2A/2B: "Shoe" Verbs (-ar and -er)
Since e will alwayschange to ie, and o will alwayschange to ue, it is not necessary to separate these verbs according to their different stem changes. See “Quick Reference” for other common verbs in these groups.
Repeat same exercise for Group 2A: “Shoe” Verbs (-ar). The endings will be the same asGroup 1: Regular Verbs (-ar).
NOTE: There is a separate page for Group 2C: “Shoe” Verbs(-ir), since these verbs show changes that Groups 2A and 2B do not.
MODELS: 2A PENSAR / 2BVOLVER(SHOWN)
eie oue
By placing the present indicative next to the subjunctive, the student can see the "shoe" pattern and how the pattern is carried into the subjunctive but disappears in the past tenses.
Present Tense
Indicative MoodSubjunctive Mood
Singular PluralSingularPlural
(The “shoe”-pattern stem change carries over.)
vuelvovolvemosvuelvavolvamos
vuelvesvolvéisvuelvasvolváis
vuelvevuelvenvuelvavuelvan
Preterit Tense
Singular Plural
(Nostem change in past tenses)
volvívolvimos
volvistevolvisteis
volvióvolvieron
Imperfect Tense
Indicative MoodSubjunctive Mood
Singular PluralSingularPlural
(Formed from third person plural preterit)
volvíavolvíamosvolvieravolviéramos
volvíasvolvíaisvolvierasvolvierais
volvíavolvíanvolvieravolvieran
These verbs will generally be regular in future and conditional tenses.
Future Tense:infinitive + -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án = volveré (I will return), etc.
Conditional Tense:infinitive + -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían = volvería (I would return), etc.
Compound Tenses
Progressive:estar + present participle (stem + -ando/-iendo) =estoy volviendo (I am returning)
Present Perfect: present tense of haber + past participle (stem + -ido[volver (irregular)vuelto]) =he vuelto(I have returned)
Indicative MoodSubjunctive Mood
Singular Plural Singular Plural
he vueltohemos vueltohaya vueltohayamos vuelto
hashabéishayashayáis
hahanhayahayan
Pluperfect:imperfect tense of haber + past participle = había vuelto (I had returned)
Indicative MoodSubjunctive Mood
Singular Plural Singular Plural
habíavueltohabíamos vueltohubieravueltohubiéramosvuelto
habíashabíaishubierashubiérais
habíahabíanhubierahubieran
Future Perfect:future tense (no subjunctive) of haber + past participle = habrévuelto(I will have returned)
Conditional Perfect:conditional tense (no subjunctive) of haber + past participle = habría vuelto(I would have returned)
See Group 1 for the conjugations of future perfect and conditional perfect tenses.
CONQUERING THE SPANISH VERB SYSTEM: THE YO CONNECTION
Group 2C: "Shoe" Verbs (-ir): e > i, i e > ie, i o > ue, u
The verbs in this group follow the same basic “shoe” pattern as the -ar and -er verbs in Groups 2A and 2B. However, the verbs in this group change in ways that the other two groups donot and require a model of their own. Again, it is not necessary to separate the different stem changes, since e will always change to i (or ie for a few verbs), and o will always change to ue. In this group, you will see that the "shoe" pattern appears only in the indicative, but the change in the yo form is carried throughout the subjunctive, unlike Groups 2A and 2B. Also unlike 2A and 2B, there is a stem change in the preterit and in the present participle, as indicated by the second vowel in parentheses (e > i, i). See “Quick Reference” for other common verbs in this group.
MODEL: PEDIR (e > i, i)
Indicative MoodSubjunctive Mood
Singular PluralSingularPlural
Present Tense
*The stem change carries over to all conjugations.
pidopedimospidapidamos
pidespedíspidaspidáis
pidepidenpidapidan
Although the "shoe” pattern does not carry into the past tenses, observe that with all of these verbs—like verbs in all the groups—the change in the third person preterit carries over to all forms of the imperfect subjunctive.
Preterit Tense
**The stem changesinthe third person of all verbs in this group.
pedípedimos
pedistepedisteis
**pidió **pidieron
Imperfect Tense
***Always formed from the third person pluralpreterit
pedíapedíamospidierapidiéramos
pedíaspedíaispidieraspidierais
pedíapedíanpidierapidieran
These verbs will generally be regular in future and conditional tenses.
Future Tense: infinitive + -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án = pediré (I will request), etc.XXXX
Conditional Tense: infinitive + -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían = pediría (I would request), etc.XXXX
Compound Tenses
Progressive:estar + present participle (stem**** + -iendo) = estoy pidiendo(I am requesting); estaba pidiendo (I was requesting), etc.
****ONLYverbs in this group—and a couple in other groups (e.g., venirand poder)—will show the same stem change in the present participle as in the preterit.
Indicative MoodSubjunctive Mood
Singular PluralSingularPlural
Present Perfect:present tense of haber + past participle(stem + -ido)=he pedido(I have requested)
he pedidohemos pedidohaya pedidohayamos pedido
hashabéishayashayáis
hahanhayahayan
Pluperfect:imperfect tense of haber + past participle =había pedido (I had requested)
habíapedidohabíamos pedidohubierapedidohubiéramos pedidohabías habíais hubieras hubierais
habíahabíanhubierahubieran
Future Perfect: future tense (no subjunctive) of haber + past participle = habrépedido (I will have requested)
Conditional Perfect:conditional tense (no subjunctive) of haber + past participle = habría pedido(I would have requested)
CONQUERING THE SPANISH VERB SYSTEM: THE YO CONNECTION
Group 3: “Yo -go” Verbs
The first person present tense of the verbs in this group ends with -go. There are two subgroups that affect ONLY the present tense: -go + “shoe” (verbs have a stem change in the present tense) and -go “alone” (verbs that do not have a stem change). These subgroups do not affect any of the other tenses. The “yo-go” group also includes "yo -zco" verbs like conocer and conducir since the yo form affects the subjunctive formation in the same way. The -ucir verbs will have the same irregularities in the preterit tense. Typical verbs in this group are decir, poner, hacer, venir, and any derivatives thereof (e.g.,imponer, intervenir, entretener, mantener, reconocer, introducir, etc.). No-ar verbs fall into this group. See “Quick Reference” for other common verbs in this group.
MODELS: TENER(e> ie) HACER
Present Tense
Indicative MoodSubjunctive Mood
-go+ "shoe"-go “alone”(Formed from yo form of present indicative)
Singular PluralSingularPluralSingularPluralSingularPlural
tengotenemoshagohacemostengatengamoshagahagamos
tienestenéishaces hacéistengastengáishagashagáis
tienetienenhacehacentengatenganhaga hagan
Preterit Tense
These verbs tend to have irregular i-stems or u-stems but have the same endings, which are slightly different from regular verbs in the first and third person singular. The verb salir, among other verbs like conocer, is regular in this tense. Since the endings are not stressed as they are in the other groups, these verbs do not have written accents.
Singular PluralSingularPlural
tuvetuvimoshicehicimos
tuvistetuvisteishicistehicisteis
tuvo **tuvieronhizo **hicieron
Imperfect Tense
All forms are regular in the indicativeimperfect tense.**Always formed from the third person plural preterit
Indicative MoodSubjunctive Mood
Singular PluralSingularPluralSingular PluralSingular Plural
teníateníamoshacíahacíamostuviera tuviéramoshiciera hiciéramos
teníasteníaishacíashacíaistuvieras tuvieraishicieras hicierais
teníateníanhacíahacíantuviera tuvieranhiciera hicieran
Future/Conditional Tenses:Since the conditional mirrors the future tense, any changes in the future tense will be applied to the conditional tense.These verbs tend to be slightly irregular with a d-stem or other variation; however, "yo -zco" verbs will be regular in these tenses—e.g., conoceré, conduciré, etc.
tenertendré/tendría, etc.ponerpondré/ pondría, etc.venirvendré/ vendría, etc.
caber > cabré, etc. hacerharé/ haría, etc.decir > diré / diría, etc.
Compound Tenses
Progressive: Most of the present participlesfor these verbs are regular (e.g., haciendo, teniendo, conduciendo), except viniendo anddiciendo, which have stem changes similar to other irregular -ir verbs.
Perfect Aspect: Some past participles for these verbs are irregular, but the patterns are not predictable.
hacerhechoBUT tenertenido
decir >dichoBUT venirvenido
COMMANDS
Since commands are related to the subjunctive(>yo prs. + opposite vowel),
most of the forms come directly from the subjunctive (see boxes). SUBJUNCTIVE
______
Singular Plural
Group 1
Regular -ar (comprar)nosotros affirm./neg. (no) compremos informal affirm. compra(> 3rd p. prs. ind.) comprad(inf. drop -r,+ -d)
informal neg.no compresno compréis
formal affirm./neg.(no) compre(no) compren
Regular -er/-ir (comer)nosotros affirm./neg. (no) comamos informal affirm. come(> 3rd p. prs. ind.) comed(inf. drop -r,+ -d)
informal neg.no comasno comáis
formal affirm./neg.(no) coma(no) coman
______
Group 2
a) “Shoe” -ar(pensar)ienosotros affirm./neg. (no) pensemos informal affirm. piensa(> 3rd p. prs. ind.) pensad(inf. drop -r, + -d)
informal neg.no piensesno penséis
formal affirm./neg.(no) piense(no) piensen
b) “Shoe” -er (volver) > uenosotros affirm./neg. (no) volvamos informal affirm. vuelve (> 3rd p prs. ind.) volved(inf. drop -r, + -d)
informal neg.no vuelvasno volváis
formal affirm./neg.(no) vuelva(no) vuelvan
c) “Shoe” -ir(pedir) > i nosotros affirm./neg.(no) pidamos informal affirm. pide(> 3rd p. prs. ind.) pedid(inf. drop -r, + -d)
informal neg.no pidasno pidáis
formal affirm./neg.(no) pida(no) pidan
______
Group 3
"Yo -go" (tener)nosotros affirm./neg. (no) tengamos irregular informal affirm. ten(> stem of inf.) tened(inf. drop -r,+ -d)
informal neg.no tengasno tengáis
formal affirm./neg.(no) tenga(no) tengan
______
Group 4
"-Ono" (These verbs follow similar patterns but are not predictable; they should be memorized.)
REFLEXIVE COMMANDS
Since commands are related to the subjunctive,
most forms come directly from the subjunctive (see boxes). SUBJUNCTIVE
______
Singular Plural
Group 1
Regular -ar (lavarse)nosotros affirm./neg. lavémonos/
no nos lavemos
informal affirm.lávate(> 3rd p. prs. ind.)lavaos(inf. drop -r, NO -d)
informal neg.no te lavesno os lavéis
formal affirm./neg.lávese / no se lave lávense / no se laven
Regular -er/-irRepeat same pattern.
______
Group 2
(a) Shoe -ar(acostarse)ue nosotros affirm./neg. acostémonos /
no nos acostemos informal affirm. acuéstate acostaos
(> 3rd p. prs. ind.)(inf. drop -r, NO -d)
informal neg.no te acuestesno os acostéis
formal affirm./neg.acuéstese acuéstense
no se acueste no seacuesten
(b) Shoe -er Repeat same pattern.
(c) Shoe -ir Repeat same pattern.
______
Group 3
"Yo -go" (ponerse)nosotros affirm./neg.pongámonos /
no nos pongamos
irregularinformal affirm.ponte(> stem of inf.) poneos(inf. drop -r, NO -d
informal neg.note pongasno ospongáis
formal affirm./neg. póngase pónganse
no se pongano se pongan