Irregular Verbs in Spanish: 5 Ways to Memorize Them

Tener, ser, ir, hacer. The verbs your kid needs in every single Spanish sentence are the ones that refuse to follow the rules. That is what makes irregular verbs in Spanish so frustrating before the Friday quiz. The good news: they come in groups. The short answer: learn them by group, say them out loud, 5 a day, cover the answers.

Irregular Verbs in Spanish: 5 Ways to Memorize Them

1. Start with the yo-go verbs. A whole group only changes in the "I" form, and it ends in -go: tengo (I have), hago (I do), pongo (I put), salgo (I leave), digo (I say). Learn the pattern once, and five verbs fall into place.

2. Draw the boot. Stem-changing verbs like pensar change in every form except nosotros and vosotros: pienso, piensas, piensa, pensamos, piensan. On the verb chart, the changed forms make the shape of a boot. Many Spanish teachers call them boot verbs for that reason.

3. Say them out loud, like a chant. "Soy, eres, es, somos, son." Three times in a row, in rhythm. The sound sticks, and your kid starts to hear when a form is off.

4. 5 verbs a day. Small portions work best: 5 new verbs plus a quick look at yesterday's, about 10 minutes. The whole chart the night before the quiz is too much for anyone.

5. Cover the answers. Your kid covers the conjugations and says them from memory, then checks. Pulling words out of memory is what makes them stick, more on that here.

The Yo-Go Verbs

One group, one ending:

Practice the Unit's Vocabulary With an App

Next to the verb chart, every unit brings new vocabulary. With VocaScan, an iOS app for the iPhone, your child photographs the vocabulary page and the app turns it into a quiz in both directions. Weak words get their own quiz, and if you enter the quiz date, reminders arrive 7, 3 and 1 day before.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the fastest way to memorize Spanish irregular verbs?

Learn them in groups (yo-go verbs, boot verbs), say them out loud, 5 a day, always with the answers covered.

Which Spanish verbs are irregular?

Most of the everyday ones: ser, estar, ir, tener, hacer, decir, poner. That is why they are worth the effort.

Present tense or preterite first?

Follow the order of the class. Most Spanish programs start with the present tense.