The 12 Most Common Spanish Verbs

While Spanish is one of the easier languages for English speakers to learn, the topic of Spanish verbs and conjugation can be a complicated one. There are a number of factors to take into account when conjugating verbs in Spanish—tense, reflexive verbs, regular and irregular conjugations, and indicative versus subjunctive mood to name a few.  

That said, the best way to master Spanish tenses is by taking a scaffolded approach. In this post, we’ll take a look at the most common Spanish verbs at their most basic level: present tense conjugations of the 12 most common Spanish verbs, according to the Royal Spanish Academy, or RAE. The mission of the RAE is to ensure the stability of the Spanish language in Spain. It’s important to note that no less than 21 similar academies exist in the Spanish-speaking world, meaning the 12 most frequent verbs can greatly vary from country to country.

Spanish conjugation basics

Spanish verb conjugation is unique from English conjugation in that it is considerably more complex and detailed. To begin, it’s important to know that one way that Spanish verbs can be classified is by verb endings: -ar, -er, and -ir. To conjugate a verb in Spanish, you remove the ending from the infinitive form and add the conjugated ending. Here are some examples using three very common Spanish verbs:

• hablar (to speak)
• comer (to eat)
• escribir (to write)

	hablar (to speak)	comer (to eat)	escribir (to write)
yo    I	hablo	como	escribo
tú   you, singular informal	hablas	comes	escribes
él, ella  he, she	habla	come	escribe
usted   you,singular formal	habla	come	escribe
nosotros / nosotras we (nosotras indicating a group composed of females)	hablamos	comemos	escribimos
vosotros / vosotras  you, plural, informal, used only in Spain (vosotras indicating a group composed of females)	habláis	comemos	escribimos
ellos / ellas   they (ellas indicating a group composed of females)	hablan	comen	escriben
ustedes  you, plural, formal in Spain, formal/informal in Latin America	hablan	comen	escriben

Most common Spanish verbs

The Real Academia Española has released several word frequency lists of the Spanish language. In this list of the 1,000 most common forms of words in Spanish, conjugations of the following verbs stand out. In order of frequency, they are: ser, estar, haber, poder, tener, hacer, decir, deber, ir, ver, parecer and dar. 

Similar to English, the conjugations of almost all of these most frequent verbs are irregular, which means they don’t always follow normal conjugation rules. To understand irregular verbs, think of the difference between the words “kick” and “throw.” When you conjugate kick into other tenses, like “kicks”, “kicked”, or “kicking”, the conjugations follow consistent rules that apply to tons of other verbs. This makes it a regular verb. When you conjugate “throw”, though, the past tense version is “threw” instead of “throwed.” It doesn’t follow those consistent rules, which makes it an irregular verb.    

Ser

In a very general sense, ser is used to describe the essence of someone or something, characteristics, occupations, or relationships. For example:

Soy doctor. (“I am a doctor.”)

Ser is also used to describe ownership and time. Here are some examples:

Estos juguetes son de mi hija. (“These toys are my daughter’s.”)

Hoy es lunes. (“It is Monday.”)

yo I	soy
tú you, singular informal	eres
él / ella he / she	es
usted you, singular formal	es
nosotros / nosotras we	somos
vosotros / vosotras you, plural, informal, used only in Spain	sois
ellos / ellas  they	son
ustedes you, plural, formal in Spain, formal/informal in Latin America	son

Estar

Estar is generally used to describe the state in which someone or something finds itself, such as their feelings, location, or physical condition. As an example:

Estoy bien, gracias. (“I am well, thank you.”)

It also works with present participles — also known as gerunds — to form the present progressive tense. Here’s an example:

Están saliendo del tren. (“They are leaving the train,”)

yo I	estoy
tú you, singular informal	estás
él / ella he / she	está
usted you, singular formal	está
nosotros / nosotras we	estamos
vosotros / vosotras you, plural, informal, used only in Spain	estáis
ellos / ellas  they	están
ustedes you, plural, formal in Spain, formal/informal in Latin America	están

Haber

Used as an auxiliary verb that goes before other verbs, haber is used in the perfect tenses. An English equivalent is “to have.” Here’s an example sentence: 

He comprado un teléfono nuevo. (“I have bought a new phone.”) 

A special form of this verb, hay, is used to express “there is” and “there are” in Spanish. For example:

Hay café en la cocina. (“There is coffee in the kitchen.”)

yo I	he
tú you, singular informal	has
él / ella he / she	ha
usted you, singular formal	ha
nosotros / nosotras we	hemos
vosotros / vosotras you, plural, informal, used only in Spain	habéis
ellos / ellas  they	han
ustedes you, plural, formal in Spain, formal/informal in Latin America	han

Poder

Poder is best translated as “to be able to.” In English, an equivalent would be to say that one “can do something.” Here’s an example:

¿Puede repetir, por favor? (“Can you repeat that, please?”)  

yo I	puedo
tú you, singular informal	puedes
él / ella he / she	puede
usted you, singular formal	puede
nosotros / nosotras we	podemos
vosotros / vosotras you, plural, informal, used only in Spain	podéis
ellos / ellas  they	pueden
ustedes you, plural, formal in Spain, formal/informal in Latin America	pueden

Tener

To express possession, use tener. Tener is also used to express obligation and age. Here are a few examples:

Tiene un gato. (“She has a cat.”)

Tienen que ir a trabajar. (“They have to go to work.”)

Tengo cuarenta años. (“I am forty years old.”)

yo I	tengo
tú you, singular informal	tienes
él / ella he / she	tiene
usted you, singular formal	tiene
nosotros / nosotras we	tenemos
vosotros / vosotras you, plural, informal, used only in Spain	tenéis
ellos / ellas  they	tienen
ustedes you, plural, formal in Spain, formal/informal in Latin America	tienen

Hacer

This verb is usually translated as “to do” or “to make,” but it’s very flexible. While it certainly is used in those circumstances, it can also express the concept of time passing. Take a look at these examples:

Hago mis impuestos en marzo. (“I do my taxes in March.”)

Hace una hora que llegó. (“He arrived an hour ago.”)

yo I	hago
tú you, singular informal	haces
él / ella he / she	hace
usted you, singular formal	hace
nosotros / nosotras we	hacemos
vosotros / vosotras you, plural, informal, used only in Spain	hace
ellos / ellas  they	hace
ustedes you, plural, formal in Spain, formal/informal in Latin America	hacen

Decir

Decir means “to say” or “to tell.” Be careful not to confuse this with the verb hablar, which means “to talk.” You most often use decir when you talk about communicating information to another person, unlike hablar, which emphasizes the action of speaking.

¿Como se dice esto en español? (“How do you say this in Spanish?”)

yo I	digo
tú you, singular informal	dice
él / ella he / she	dice
usted you, singular formal	dice
nosotros / nosotras we	decimos
vosotros / vosotras you, plural, informal, used only in Spain	decís
ellos / ellas  they	dicen
ustedes you, plural, formal in Spain, formal/informal in Latin America	dicen

Deber

Like tener, deber expresses obligation. But, in the case of deber, your obligation is stronger. It often has a moral component.  

Me debes por esto. (“You owe me for this.”)

yo I	debo
tú you, singular informal	debes
él / ella he / she	debe
usted you, singular formal	debe
nosotros / nosotras we	debemos
vosotros / vosotras you, plural, informal, used only in Spain	debéis
ellos / ellas  they	deben
ustedes you, plural, formal in Spain, formal/informal in Latin America	deben

Ir

Used to express movement, ir basically translates into “to go.” It is also used in the construction “ir + a + infinitive” to give a version of the future tense in Spanish. In English, we use the word “going” in a similar way. Here’s an example sentence:

Él te va a llamar más tarde. (“He is going to call you later”)

yo I	voy
tú you, singular informal	vas
él / ella he / she	va
usted you, singular formal	va
nosotros / nosotras we	vamos
vosotros / vosotras you, plural, informal, used only in Spain	vais
ellos / ellas  they	van
ustedes you, plural, formal in Spain, formal/informal in Latin America	van

Ver

Ver means “to see” in Spanish. It is a passive action, versus the more active action expressed with the verb mirar, which means “to watch” or “to look.” 

Veo un colibrí. (“I see a hummingbird.”)

yo I	veo
tú you, singular informal	ves
él / ella he / she	ve
usted you, singular formal	ve
nosotros / nosotras we	vemos
vosotros / vosotras you, plural, informal, used only in Spain	veis
ellos / ellas  they	ven
ustedes you, plural, formal in Spain, formal/informal in Latin America	ven

Parecer

When you want to say that something seems like something else, you use the verb parecer. It is often used to express the idea of feeling or thinking that something is a certain way. For example:

Pareces cansado hoy. (“You seem tired today.”)

yo I	parezco
tú you, singular informal	pareces
él / ella he / she	parece
usted you, singular formal	parece
nosotros / nosotras we	parecemos
vosotros / vosotras you, plural, informal, used only in Spain	parecéis
ellos / ellas  they	parecen
ustedes you, plural, formal in Spain, formal/informal in Latin America	parece

Dar

Dar is an easy one to remember, as it means “to give.” For example:

Dan dinero a la caridad. (“They give money to charity.”)

yo I	doy
tú you, singular informal	das
él / ella he / she	da
usted you, singular formal	da
nosotros / nosotras we	damos
vosotros / vosotras you, plural, informal, used only in Spain	dais
ellos / ellas  they	dan
ustedes you, plural, formal in Spain, formal/informal in Latin America	dan

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