Unlock the Power of 109 Common Spanish Verbs

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If you want to improve your conversation skills in Spanish, learning the most common Spanish verbs is a perfect place to start. A strong foundation of essential Spanish verbs, such as ayudar (to help) and vivir (to live) will empower you to have meaningful conversations about hobbies, travel, food, daily routines, and more.

While verbs are often considered the most important parts of speech in Spanish, they don’t work alone. Rosetta Stone Tutoring offers a perfect opportunity to practice combining verbs with other common Spanish words to express yourself effectively. 

How to use verbs in Spanish

Memorizing Spanish verb infinitives is just the first step in mastering essential Spanish verbs. To form complete sentences, you conjugate verbs based on who you’re talking to or about.

For example, you would use the tú form to speak directly to your friend Carlos and the él form to talk about him in the third person.

• Carlos, ¿quieres ir a la playa conmigo? = Carlos, do you want to go to the beach with me? 
• Carlos quiere ir a la playa conmigo. = Carlos wants to go to the beach with me. 

To hold basic conversations, you also need to know how to conjugate verbs in different tenses, indicating when an action occurs. With 18 Spanish verb tenses, conjugating can seem overwhelming at first. If you’re a beginner, you’ll primarily focus on mastering the three simple tenses: present, past, and future. To see how to conjugate verbs in other tenses, you can consult an authoritative Spanish conjugation resource like SpanishDictionary.com. 

Spanish verbs in the present tense

Conjugate verbs in the simple present tense to state general facts, describe routines, and discuss things currently happening. 

As with all other tenses, there are regular and irregular verbs. For regular verbs in the present tense, drop the -AR, -ER, or -IR and add the endings outlined in the table below. 

For example, here’s what the verb entrar (to enter) looks like in the present tense.

Irregular verbs follow different conjugation patterns. You’ll learn how to conjugate the most common present tense irregulars later in this guide. 

Spanish verbs in the preterite tense

The preterite tense is used to describe actions completed at a point in the past. Regular verbs are conjugated by dropping the -AR, -ER, or -IR and adding these endings.

Here’s how the common Spanish verb comer (to eat) is conjugated in the preterite tense.

Spanish verbs in the future tense 

The simple future tense in Spanish is used to talk about what will happen. To conjugate regular verbs in the future tense, add the following endings to the infinitive. All -AR, -ER, and -IR verbs have the same endings in the simple future tense.

Check out how the Spanish verb recibir (to receive) is conjugated in the future tense.

Most common regular verbs in Spanish 

Once you know the verb endings for the present, preterite, and future tenses, you can conjugate the common regular verbs below using the endings provided to describe what someone does, did, or will do. 

Spanish verbs for physical activities and hobbies 

Use the following Spanish action verbs to talk about leisure activities and pastimes. 

Imagine you’re having a conversation about your physical activities with a friend. You could conjugate these infinitives to say: 

• Corro tres millas cada mañana. = I run three miles every morning. 
• El año que viene montaré en bicicleta a través de Australia. = Next year I will ride my bike across Australia. 

Spanish verbs for school 

Here are some Spanish verbs commonly used in an academic setting. 

* Explicar is regular in the present and future tenses and all preterite forms except the yo form where the c changes to a q: expliqué (I explained). Leer is regular in the present and future tenses and all preterite forms except the third person forms where a y is added: leyó (he/she read)/leyeron (they read).

When having a conversation about school in Spanish, you could say: 

• Pedro no estudió para el examen. = Pedro didn’t study for the exam. 
• Aprenderemos mucho en la clase de historia. = We will learn a lot in history class. 

Common Spanish reflexive verbs 

Many reflexive verbs in Spanish are related to personal care, indicating that someone is performing an action on or for themselves, but other verbs can also be reflexive. 

These verbs follow the same regular verb patterns but require the appropriate reflexive pronoun in front of the verb.

• Me cepillo los dientes dos veces al día. = I brush my teeth two times a day. 
• ¿A qué hora te levantaste? = What time did you get up? 

Spanish verbs for the household

You can use these regular Spanish verbs in everyday household activities and routines. They help you describe your daily chores, mealtimes, and leisure activities.

Suppose you’re talking to your mom in Spanish about your chores. You could use these verbs in the preterite tense to state what you already did or the future tense to say what you will do in the future.

• Barrí el piso anoche antes de acostarme. = I swept the floor last night before bed. 
• Se derrramó jugo en el refrigerador. Lo limpiaré más tarde. = Juice spilled in the fridge. I will clean it later. 

Spanish verbs related to family and relationships

You can use many regular verbs in Spanish to talk about interactions between family and friends.

For example, you could use many of these regular verbs to talk about the holidays.

• Siempre celebramos la Navidad en la casa de nuestra abuela. = We always celebrate Christmas at our grandmother’s house.
• Mi hermanito no recibió un regalo de Papá Noel el año pasado. = My little brother didn’t get a gift from Santa last year. 

Spanish verbs for traveling 

These regular Spanish verbs are helpful when traveling in Spanish-speaking countries or talking about your travels in Spanish. 

* The c in buscar changes to a qu in the preterite tense yo form: busqué (I looked for). Similarly, the g in pagar changes to gu in the preterite tense yo form: pagué (I paid).

Here are some examples to show how to use regular travel-related verbs in context.

• Visitaron el zócalo de Oaxaca. = They visited the zocalo in Oaxaca. 
• Viajaré al extranjero algún día. = I will travel abroad some day. 

Spanish verbs like gustar (to like)

Spanish gustar and verbs like gustar can be tricky for English speakers to learn. While the majority follow regular verb conjugation, they are typically only conjugated in the third person based on the object being “liked,” “loved,” etc. 

To use verbs like gustar correctly, you must use a Spanish indirect object pronoun in front of the verb.

• A Juanita le encantan las empanadas. = Juanita loves empanadas. 
• ¿Te gustó la película? = Did you like the movie? 

Most common irregular verbs in Spanish

There are hundreds of irregular verbs in Spanish, but not all of them are commonly used. Learn 10 of the most common irregular Spanish verbs and how to conjugate them in the present, preterite, and future. 

1. Ser (to be)

The verb ser is one of the most important verbs in Spanish. Mastering its conjugations will enable you to give descriptions, describe someone’s characteristics, tell time, and more.

2. Estar (to be) 

Although ser and estar both translate as “to be,” they’re used in different contexts. Memorizing the irregular conjugations of estar helps you speak about the location of a person or object, an action in progress, or someone’s physical or emotional state.

3. Ir (to go)

Another fundamental verb in Spanish, the irregular verb ir is used to express movement and direction. It’s commonly used with the preposition a to talk about plans or where someone is going. 

4. Hacer (to do/to make)

The verb hacer describes the weather and tasks, such as hacer la tarea (to do homework) or hacer quehaceres (to do chores).

5. Tener (to have)

A versatile irregular verb in Spanish, tener is used to express possession, age, and physical and emotional states such as tener hambre (to be hungry). 

6. Poder (to be able to)

The verb poder is essential for expressing ability and permission. 

Poder is a stem-changing verb in the present tense, requiring an o:ue change in all forms except nosotros and vosotros. Below are more common Spanish verbs that follow this pattern. 

*The verb jugar has a u:ue stem change. 

7. Decir (to say/to tell)

Learning to use decir can help you convey messages and opinions in Spanish. 

Decir is a stem-changing verb in the present tense, requiring an e:i change in all forms except nosotros and vosotros. Below are other common e:i verbs in Spanish.

8. Querer (to want/to love)

Querer is used to express desires, intentions, and affections.

Querer is a stem-changing verb in the present tense. It changes the stem vowel from e to ie in all forms except nosotros and vosotros. Below are other common e:i stem-changing verbs in Spanish. 

* The z in empezar changes to a c in the preterite tense yo form: empecé (I began).

9. Dar (to give)

Learning the conjugations of dar helps you express actions of giving. You can use it in practical expressions like dar de comer (to feed) and dar una caminata (to take a walk).

10. Saber (to know)

Knowing the irregular conjugations of saber enables you to express knowledge and facts.

While saber expresses knowledge of facts and information, the irregular verb conocer expresses familiarity with people, places, and things. Saber vs.conocer is a common point of confusion for Spanish learners, but once you learn their conjugations, you can practice using them in context.

Unlike saber, conocer is regular in the preterite and future tenses. In the present tense, it’s only irregular in the yo form: conozco (I know). 

Expand your knowledge of Spanish verbs with Rosetta Stone  

As a beginner, knowing more than 100 Spanish verbs gives you a great start to building a strong foundation in the language. However, simply memorizing verb lists isn’t enough to achieve fluency. 

Imagine you’re at un mercado al aire libre (an open-air market) in Spain. Knowing the infinitives of Spanish verbs won’t be enough to haggle with a vendor or ask for directions! Rosetta Stone’s Live Lessons help you learn verbs through authentic context and practice, enabling you to use them in real-life scenarios.