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A1 · Updated 

Spanish irregular yo verbs: tengo, hago, salgo

A small group of very common verbs is irregular in one form only, the yo of the present: hago, pongo, salgo, conozco. Everything else is regular. Learn the pattern in -go and -zco and twenty verbs fall into place.

The short answer

Some verbs are irregular only in yo. Many end in -go: hacer, hago, poner, pongo, salir, salgo, tener, tengo, venir, vengo, decir, digo. Verbs in -cer and -cir take -zco: conocer, conozco. A few are one-offs: sé, doy, veo, quepo.

How to remember it

Only yo breaks, the rest follow the rules

-gohacer, poner, salir, traer, caer, valerHago la cena
-go + stem changetener, venir, decirTengo, tienes
-zcoverbs in vowel + -cer, -cirConozco Madrid
One-offssaber, dar, ver, caberNo sé
Everyone elseregularHaces, hace, hacemos

The forms

The yo form and the rest

verbyotú, él, nosotros...
hacerhagohaces, hace, hacemos, hacéis, hacen
ponerpongopones, pone, ponemos, ponéis, ponen
salirsalgosales, sale, salimos, salís, salen
traertraigotraes, trae, traemos, traéis, traen
conocerconozcoconoces, conoce, conocemos...
sabersésabes, sabe, sabemos, sabéis, saben
dardoydas, da, damos, dais, dan
verveoves, ve, vemos, veis, ven

16 sentences that show the difference

Everyday Spanish, the kind you would actually say. The label under each one says which part of the rule it shows.

Where English gets in the way

English irregular verbs change in the past, go, went, and almost never in the present. In Spanish the most common verbs break in the present, and only in the first person, which is the form a learner uses most when talking about themselves.

The mistake to avoid

Haco, poneo, conoco, built by applying the regular ending. It is hago, pongo, conozco. The opposite mistake is just as common: carrying the -g into the other forms, hagas for haces.

The cases that break the rule

Tengo, tienes

Tener, venir and decir have both changes: -go in yo, and a stem change in tú, él and ellos. Tengo, tienes, vengo, vienes, digo, dices.

Oigo, oyes

Oír is -go in yo and puts a y between vowels: oigo, oyes, oye, oímos, oís, oyen.

Hacer, haces

The -go is only in yo. Haces, hace and hacen are completely regular, which is the point of this group.

Conozco

The -zco group is every verb in vowel + -cer or -cir: conocer, parecer, ofrecer, conducir, traducir, producir. Hacer and decir are not in it because they end in -go.

Sé

Sé needs its accent to tell it apart from the pronoun se. No sé, I do not know, se llama Ana, her name is Ana.

Ver, veo

Ver keeps the e of the old verb veer in yo, veo, and drops it everywhere else: ves, ve, vemos.

Irregular yo verbs exercises

8 sentences to fill in. Type your answer and check it, or read them straight through with the answers showing. Accents count here, the way they count in the language.

  1. Yo ___ los deberes por la tarde. (hacer)

    I do my homework in the afternoon.

    hago · Hacer is -go in yo.

  2. Yo ___ de trabajar a las seis. (salir)

    I finish work at six.

    salgo · Salir, -go in yo.

  3. No ___ a nadie aquí. (conocer)

    I do not know anyone here.

    conozco · Vowel + -cer, so -zco.

  4. No ___ dónde está. (saber)

    I do not know where it is.

    sé · Sé, with an accent.

  5. ¿Tú qué ___ esta noche? (hacer)

    What are you doing tonight?

    haces · Only yo is irregular. Tú is regular, haces.

  6. Yo ___ el postre. (traer)

    I will bring dessert.

    traigo · Traer, -igo in yo.

  7. Siempre ___ la verdad. (decir, yo)

    I always tell the truth.

    digo · Decir: -go and e to i together.

  8. Desde aquí ___ el mar. (ver, yo)

    I can see the sea from here.

    veo · Ver keeps an e in yo: veo.

More exercises, from Don Quixote

8 more, these ones straight out of the course: the inn, the windmills, Rocinante and the road. Same rule, older Spanish.

  1. Yo ___ de mi pueblo esta noche. (salir)

    I am leaving my village tonight.

    salgo · Salir, -go in yo.

  2. Yo ___ a buscar aventuras. (venir)

    I come to look for adventures.

    vengo · Venir, -go in yo.

  3. No ___ a ese caballero. (conocer)

    I do not know that knight.

    conozco · -zco in yo.

  4. Yo ___ gigantes, Sancho. (ver)

    I see giants, Sancho.

    veo · Ver: veo.

  5. Yo no ___ leer, señor. (saber)

    I cannot read, sir.

    sé · Knowing how to do something is saber: no sé leer.

  6. Yo ___ pan y queso en las alforjas. (traer)

    I have bread and cheese in the saddlebags.

    traigo · Traer: traigo.

  7. Yo te ___ una ínsula, Sancho. (dar)

    I give you an island, Sancho.

    doy · Dar: doy.

  8. Yo ___ la lanza aquí. (poner)

    I put the lance here.

    pongo · Poner: pongo.

Common questions

What are yo-go verbs?

Verbs whose yo form in the present ends in -go: hago, pongo, salgo, traigo, caigo, valgo, tengo, vengo, digo, oigo. The rest of their present is regular, or only stem-changing.

Why is it conozco and not conoco?

Verbs ending in a vowel plus -cer or -cir add a z before the c in yo to keep the sound: conozco, parezco, conduzco, traduzco.

Are these verbs irregular in other tenses?

Many are, in their own ways: hice, puse, tuve, dije in the preterite. The yo form of the present also passes to the whole present subjunctive: haga, ponga, conozca.

Why does sé have an accent?

To tell I know apart from the pronoun se. Sé la respuesta, I know the answer. Se levanta, he gets up.

Is hacer irregular in all forms?

Not in the present. Only hago is irregular, the rest is haces, hace, hacemos, hacéis, hacen.

What does me caigo mean?

I fall, from caerse. Me caigo de sueño is a common way of saying I am so tired I could drop.

Which yo verbs should I learn first?

Tengo, hago, voy, soy, estoy, sé, digo, salgo, pongo, conozco. Those ten cover most of what you say about yourself at A1.

Is dar irregular?

Only in yo, doy, like voy, soy and estoy. The rest is regular: das, da, damos, dais, dan.

The things to remember

The book this comes from

Cover of Don Quixote in Easy Spanish.

Don Quixote in Easy Spanish: the whole novel retold in Spanish you can actually read, in 58 short episodes, with the hard words glossed in the margin. It is where every Don Quixote sentence on this page comes from.

In EPUB and PDF with its audiobook, and a second novel in the same Spanish. See the books.

Where the course teaches this

2 lessons build it up, each one inside a chapter of the story rather than in the abstract. Free to read, with the vocabulary, the audio and the exercises.

Next to this one

The points that sit closest to this one, and that a student usually meets around the same time.