Irregular Verbs in Present Tense (Part 4)

In this topic we will we will learn and practice using more Irregular Spanish Verbs in Present Tense.

The majority of Spanish verbs in Present Tense are Regular Verbs. ‘Regular’ signifies that such verbs follow the same pattern and are conjugated (endings changed) in the same way. We learned the conjugation rules for Regular Verbs earlier in the course. This is great, but unfortunately there are also Irregular Spanish Verbs in Present Tense.

Irregular verbs do not follow the same one-size-fits-all, easy-to-learn patterns as the Regular verbs. With Irregular verbs you have to remember each specific conjugation. There are Irregular verbs in every tense (present, past, future, etc). In this topic we will look specifically at Irregular Spanish Verbs in Present Tense.

With Irregular Verbs it is helpful to group them into five categories. Each category is a collection of similarly Irregular Verbs that follow the same conjugation pattern. In this topic we will analyse the second of these categories.

Irregular Spanish verbs in the present tense that change I to Y

All of these verbs follow the same pattern of switching I to Y for all persons except Nosotros/as and Vosotros/as when conjugated in Present Tense.

Construir: To build
Destruir: To destroy
Oír: To hear
Incluir: To include
Concluir: To conclude

Let’s look more closely at one of these verbs…

Construir (To build)

(Yo) construyo: I build
(Tú) construyes: You build (informal)
(Usted) construye: You build (formal)
(Él/ella) construye: He/She builds
(Nosotros/as) construimos: We build
(Vosotros/as) construís: You build (group/informal)
(Ustedes) construyen: You build (group/formal)
(Ellos/as) construyen: They build

Here are some example sentences using this type of irregular Spanish verbs:

Alberto construye cosas fantásticas con Lego: Alberto builds fantastic things with Lego.
Mi tío es albañil y construye casas preciosas: My uncle is a builder and builds beautiful houses.
Cuando destruyen edificios antiguos me enfado: When they destroy old buildings I get angry.
Si bebes mucho alcohol destruyes tu vida: If you drink a lot of alcohol, you destroy your life.
¿Oyes ese ruido?: Do you hear that noise?
Mi abuelo no oye mucho: My grandfather doesn’t hear much.
Este juego incluye instrucciones en diez idiomas: This game includes instructions in ten languages.
El precio de este hotel incluye desayuno y comida: The price of this hotel includes breakfast and lunch.
El presidente siempre concluye su discurso con frases positivas: The president always concludes his speech with positive phrases.
La presentation concluye con un resumen de los puntos más importantes: The presentation concludes with a summary of the most important points.

Coming across Irregular Verbs for the first time can be a frustrating experience. You have just learned the clear and consistent patterns for conjugating regular verbs and then you learn that there are many other rogue verbs knocking about.

Don’t worry, give yourself time. Don’t expect to remember the Irregular Verbs right away. Little by little you will become more familiar with them as you see and hear them more as will have happened with Ser, Estar, Tener, and Querer.