Verbs with Irregular First Persons
Notes:
- The written lesson is below.
- Links to quizzes, tests, etc. are to the left.
The following verbs have irregular forms for the first person singular of the present tense:
- caber (to fit)
- yo quepo
- caer (to fall)
- yo caigo
- conducir (to drive)
- yo conduzco
- conocer (to know, to be acquainted with)
- yo conozco
- escoger (to choose)
- yo escojo
- dirigir (to direct)
- yo dirijo
- hacer (to do, to make)
- yo hago
- poner (to put, to place)
- yo pongo
- saber (to know something – a fact)
- yo sé
- salir (to leave)
- yo salgo
- seguir (to follow)
- yo sigo
- traer (to bring)
- yo traigo
- valer (to be worth)
- yo valgo
- ver (to see)
- yo veo
In addition to memorizing the above listed verbs, you should familiarize yourself with the following three rules:
1. For verbs that end in -cer and -cir, change the c to zc for the yo form:
conocer (to know)
yo conozcoconducir (to drive)
yo conduzcocrecer (to grow)
yo crezcotraducir (to translate)
yo traduzcoestablecer (to establish)
yo establezcoproducir (to produce)
yo produzco
2. For verbs that end in -ger and -gir, change the g to j for the yo form:
escoger (to choose)
yo escojodirigir (to direct)
yo dirijoemerger (to emerge)
yo emerjofingir (to pretend)
yo finjo
3. For verbs that end in -guir, change the gu to g for the yo form:
seguir (to follow)
yo sigoconseguir (to get)
yo consigodistinguir (to distinguish)
yo distingo
It is extremely important that you learn these verbs, because material covered later assumes that you have mastered this. At times, learning the irregular verbs may seem daunting, but it’s not as bad as it seems. Your best tool is your verb flashcards, which should be separate from any other flashcards you might be using. Add the following 14 verb flashcards to your collection:
Verb Flashcards
Complete List
caber (to fit)
yo quepo
caer (to fall)
yo caigo
conducir (to drive)
yo conduzco
conocer (to know, to be acquainted with)
yo conozco
escoger (to choose)
yo escojo
dirigir (to direct)
yo dirijo
hacer (to do, to make)
yo hago
poner (to put, to place)
yo pongo
saber (to know something – a fact)
yo sé
salir (to leave)
yo salgo
seguir (to follow)
yo sigo
traer (to bring)
yo traigo
valer (to be worth)
yo valgo
ver (to see)
yo veo