Verbs with Irregular First Persons

Notes:

  1. The written lesson is below.
  2. 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 conozco

conducir (to drive)
yo conduzco

crecer (to grow)
yo crezco

traducir (to translate)
yo traduzco

establecer (to establish)
yo establezco

producir (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 escojo

dirigir (to direct)
yo dirijo

emerger (to emerge)
yo emerjo

fingir (to pretend)
yo finjo

3. For verbs that end in -guir, change the gu to g for the yo form:

seguir (to follow)
yo sigo

conseguir (to get)
yo consigo

distinguir (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