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Spanish grammar lessons › Level A1 › The Spanish present tense and stem-changing verbs

Irregular yo forms: hago, pongo, salgo, traigo, conozco

Verbs that are regular except in the yo form: hago, pongo, salgo, conozco.

Part of the free A1 Spanish course. Press the speaker next to an example to hear it.

Irregular only in "I"

Some very common verbs are perfectly regular, except in the yo form. Learn the yo form, and the rest follows the normal pattern from Present tense of -ar verbs (hablar) and Present tense of -er and -ir verbs (comer, vivir).

Verbyotúél / ella / ustednosotrosvosotrosellos / ustedes
hacer (to do, to make)hagohaceshacehacemoshacéishacen
poner (to put)pongoponesponeponemosponéisponen
salir (to go out, to leave)salgosalessalesalimossalíssalen
traer (to bring)traigotraestraetraemostraéistraen
conocer (to know a person or place)conozcoconocesconoceconocemosconocéisconocen

Three groups

  • -go: hacer → hago, poner → pongo, salir → salgo, traer → traigo, caer → caigo. The same -go appears in tener, venir, decir (Tener, venir, decir: irregular in two ways).
  • -zco: most verbs ending in a vowel + -cer or -cir: conocer → conozco, conducir → conduzco (to drive), traducir → traduzco (to translate), parecer → parezco (to seem), ofrecer → ofrezco (to offer).
  • One of a kind: ver → veo, dar → doy (to give: doy, das, da, damos, dais, dan), saber → sé (I know: see Saber or conocer).
  • Hago los deberes por la tarde.I do my homework in the afternoon.
  • ¿Qué haces?What are you doing?
  • Pongo la mesa.I set the table.
  • Salgo de casa a las ocho.I leave home at eight.
  • Los viernes salgo con mis amigos.On Fridays I go out with my friends.
  • Hoy traigo el postre.I'm bringing dessert today.
  • Conozco un restaurante muy bueno.I know a very good restaurant.
  • ¿Conocéis Madrid?Have you been to Madrid?
  • Conduzco un coche pequeño.I drive a small car.
  • Doy clases de inglés.I teach English classes.
  • Mis padres salen mucho.My parents go out a lot.

Hacer: a very busy verb

Hacer means both "to do" and "to make": hacer la compra (to do the shopping), hacer la cena (to make dinner), hacer deporte (to do sport), hacer una pregunta (to ask a question). It also describes the weather: hace calor (The weather: hace calor, llueve, está nublado).

Salir: leaving and going out

Salir de = to leave a place: salgo del trabajo. Salir con = to go out with someone (also "to date").

Conocer + a person needs the "personal a": Conozco a tu hermano (The personal a: Veo a María).

Latin America

In most of Latin America "to drive" is manejar (manejo un carro pequeño); conducir is understood everywhere. Plural "you" is ustedes hacen, salen, conocen.

Common mistakes

  • Yo haco / yo hace → Yo hago.
  • Yo conoco → Yo conozco. Yo salo → Yo salgo.
  • Tú hagas / él pongue → Tú haces, él pone. Only yo is irregular.
  • Pregunto una pregunta → Hago una pregunta.

Practice

  1. Los domingos _____ (hacer) deporte.
    On Sundays I do sport.
    Show the answer

    hago

  2. ¿Dónde _____ (poner, yo) las maletas?
    Where shall I put the suitcases?
    Show the answer

    pongo — Spanish uses the present to ask 'shall I…?'.

  3. Yo _____ del trabajo a las cinco.
    I leave work at five.
    Options: salgo · salo · sale · salga
    Show the answer

    salgo

  4. Tú _____ la cena hoy, ¿vale?
    You're making dinner today, OK?
    Options: haces · hagas · hago · hace
    Show the answer

    haces — Only yo is irregular: tú haces.

In the app, this lesson is taught one idea at a time with the examples read aloud, followed by questions that explain the rule when you get one wrong. It then comes back for review on later days, until you've answered it correctly on three separate days.
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