Irregular Yo Form in Spanish Present

In Spanish, there are some verbs that have an irregular yo form in the Spanish Present (Presente) and the rest of the Present forms follow the patterns of regular verbs.

In this article, we are going to see these irregular yo forms with example sentences and you will be able to practice them with our exercises.

Irregular Yo Form with G

Some Spanish verbs that take the letter g in the Present yo form are hacer (to do, to make), poner (to put), valer (to be worth), salir (to go out), caer (to fall) or traer (to bring).

Hacer, poner, salir and valer drop the –er ending and add –go in the yo form. The rest of the forms follow the regular pattern for –er or –ir verbs.

Hacer	Poner	Salir	Valer
Hago Haces Hace Hacemos Hacéis Hacen	Pongo Pones Pone Ponemos Ponéis Ponen	Salgo Sales Sale Salimos Salís Salen	Valgo Vales Vale Valemos Valéis Valen

Todos los días hago ejercicio en el gimnasio.

Every day I do exercise in the gym.

Normalmente no pongo las toallas en este armario.

I usually don’t put the towels in this closet.

Esta noche salgo con mis amigos. ¿Te apetece venir?

Tonight I am going out with my friends. Do you feel like coming with us?

Mi madre siempre me dice que valgo mucho.

My mother always tells me that I worth very much.

Caer and traer drop the –er ending and add –igo to form the yo form. They take an additional –i– because the verb stem ends in a vowel. The rest of the forms follow the regular pattern for –er verbs.

Caer	Traer
Caigo Caes Cae Caemos Caéis Caen	Traigo Traes Trae Traemos Traéis Traen

Quita estas cajas. No llevo las gafas e igual caigo al suelo.

Take these boxes away. I am not wearing the glasses and I may fall to the floor.

Hace mucho calor aquí, así que traigo un ventilador.

It is very hot here, so I am bringing a fan.

Irregular Yo Form: G into J

All Spanish verbs that end with –ger or –gir change –g– into –j– to form the Present yo form. For example, proteger (to protect), escoger (to choose) or dirigir (to lead).

Proteger	Escoger	Dirigir
Protejo Proteges Protege Protegemos Protegéis Protegen	Escojo Escoges Escoge Escogemos Escogéis Escogen	Dirijo Diriges Dirige Dirigimos Dirigís Dirigen

Yo siempre protejo a mis hermano pequeños.

I always protect my younger brothers.

No escojo este vestido porque no me gusta el color.

I don’t choose this dress because I don’t like the color.

Yo dirijo una empresa internacional con éxito.

I lead an international company successfully.

Irregular Yo Form: C into ZC

In Spanish, some verbs whose infinitives end with –cer or –cir form the Present yo form by changing –c– into –zc-. For instance, conocer (to know), ofrecer (to offer) or traducir (to translate).

Conocer	Ofrecer	Traducir
Conozco Conoces Conoce Conocemos Conocéis Conocen	Ofrezco Ofreces Ofrece Ofrecemos Ofrecéis Ofrecen	Traduzco Traduces Traduce Traducimos Traducís Traducen

Yo no conozco a ese chico. ¿Me lo presentas?

I don’t know that boy. Will you introduce me to him?

Te ofrezco un descuento que no te puedes perder.

I offer you a discount you cannot miss.

Esta tarde traduzco el contrato, no te preocupes.

This afternoon I’ll translate the contract, don’t worry.

Irregular Yo Form: C into Z

A very few verbs change –c– into –z– to form the yo form of the Spanish Present. This change only happens with some verbs ending with –cer, such as vencer (to win), convencer (to convince) or ejercer (to exercise).

Vencer	Convencer	Ejercer
Venzo Vences Vence Vencemos Vencéis Vencen	Convenzo Convences Convence Convencemos Convencéis Convencen	Ejerzo Ejerces Ejerce Ejercemos Ejercéis Ejercen

Soy una jugadora profesional y siempre venzo en los partidos.

I am a professional player and I always win the games.

A menudo convenzo a mis amigos para ir a la playa de noche.

I often convince my friends to go to the beach at night.

Ejerzo libremente mi derecho a votar cada cuatro años.

I exercise freely my right to vote every four years.

Irregular Yo Form: Completely Irregular

There are some verbs that are completely irregular in the Present yo form. For example, dar (to give) and estar (to be) take –oy in this form and additionally take written accents in some forms.

Dar	Estar
Doy Das Da Damos Dais Dan	Estoy Estás Está Estamos Estáis Están

Siempre te doy tomates y pepinos de mi huerto.

I always give you tomatoes and cucumbers from my vegetable garden.

Hoy estoy cansada. No he dormido bien.

I am tired today. I haven’t slept well.

Saber (to know), caber (to fit) or ver (to see) are also completely irregular verbs in the Present yo form.

Saber	Caber	Ver
Sé Sabes Sabe Sabemos Sabéis Saben	Quepo Cabes Cabe Cabemos Cabéis Caben	Veo Ves Ve Vemos Veis Ven

No sé cuántas personas vendrán a la reunión.

I don’t know how many people will come to the meeting.

No quepo en este vestido. Necesito comprar otro.

I don’t fit in this dress. I need to buy another one.

Veo a Julia a lo lejos. ¿La puedes ver tú también?

I can see Julia in the distance. Can you see her too?

Exercises

Let’s practice the irregular yo forms in Spanish Present tense with these exercises.

Irregular Yo Form with G

Irregular Yo Form: G into J

Irregular Yo Form: C into ZC

Irregular Yo Form: C into Z

Irregular Yo Form: Completely Irregular

Exercises

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

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Irregular Yo Form with G

Irregular Yo Form: G into J

Irregular Yo Form: C into ZC

Irregular Yo Form: C into Z

Irregular Yo Form: Completely Irregular

Exercises

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

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