Appendix: Irregular and Problematic Verb Stems in the Present Tense

The purpose of this tool is to help you find the meaning of unusual verb forms, those that would not usually be found in a dictionary. Both the infinitive and the meaning are provided.

Verbs whose infinitives you should be able to construct and look up are NOT included in this list. These are:

Verbs with an -ie- or -ue- in the stressed syllable. These diphthongs are changed back to -e- or -o- (or -u-, in the case of jugar) to create the infinitive.
Verbs with a consonantal change at the end of the stem. The only consonants involved are c, g, gu, gü, j, qu, and z. As previously discus sed, the sound with which the stem ends does not change; what changes is the way that sound is written before certain vowels.
- A g before a or o in the present becomes gu before the an infinitive beginning with e or i. (consigo conseguir)
- A j before a or o in the present becomes g before the an infinitive beginning with e or i. (elijo eligir)
- A z before a or o in the present becomes c before the an infinitive beginning with e or i. (venzo vencer)
Compound verbs, made up of a prefix followed by another, more common verb. Any irregularities of the root verb are incorporated in the compound verb. Bendecir is made of bien + decir. (Guess what? The -ie- of bien becomes -e- since, in the compound verb, it is no longer the stressed syllable.) Its first person singular in the present tense is therefore bendigo. With the verb form despido (1s present tense), can you tell what the root verb is within it, and thus find its infinitive? Click here for the answer.

Many verbs combine a "really irregular" form with other peculiarities. Also, verbs frequently have both irregular and regular forms in the same tense. For example, tengo is fully irregular, tienes, tiene, and tienen have a diphthong in the stem, but tenemos and tenéis are completely regular. This table does not include the regular or the diphthong forms.

If the irregularity is found only in the first person singular, it is indicated as "1s pres." If it is found in multiple forms of the present tense, usually those with the stress on the stem (the three singulars and the third person plural) it is marked simply "pres."

Abbreviations used: p = plural; pres = present; s = singular; str = forms with stress on stem (singulars and 3rd person plural).

Form	Infinitive	Meaning	Description
adquiero	adquirir	to acquire	str pres
aparezco	aparecer	to appear	1s pres
arguyo	argüir	to argue	str pres
asgo	asir	to sieze	1s pres
caigo	caer	to fall	1s pres
conduzco	conducir	to guide or to drive a vehicle	1s pres
conozco	conocer	to be acquainted with	1s pres
consigo	conseguir	to obtain	1s pres.
consigo	Consigo is also a pronoun, unrelated to the verb.
corrijo	corregir	to correct	1s pres
dice, dices, dicen	decir	to say	23s 3p pres
digo	decir	to say	1s pres
doy	dar	to give	1s pres
elijo	elegir	to elect	1s pres
engrandezco	engrandecer	to make great	1s pres
eres	ser	to be	2s pres
es	ser	to be	3s pres
estás, está, están	estar	to be	23s 3p pres
estoy	estar	to be	1s pres
fluyo	fluir	to flow	str pres
frío	freír	to fry	str pres
gimo	gemir	to moan	str pres
ha	haber	to have (auxiliary only)	3s pres
hago	hacer	to do or make	1s pres
han	haber	to have (auxiliary only)	3p pres
has	haber	to have (auxiliary only)	2s pres
hay	haber	there is or there are (special form)	3sp pres
he	haber	to have (auxiliary only)	1s pres
hemos	haber	to have (auxiliary only)	1p pres
huelo	oler	to smell (to detect an odor, not to give off an odor)	str pres
huyo	huir	to flee	str pres
influyo	influir	to influence	str pres
luzco	lucir	to shine	1s pres
mido	medir	to measure	str pres
nazco	nacer	to be born	1s pres
oigo	oír	to hear	1s pres
oyes, oye, oyen	oír	to hear	23s 3p pres
pido	pedir	to ask for	str pres
plazco	placer	to please	1s pres
pongo	poner	to put	1s pres
pudro	podrir or pudrir	to rot	str pres
quepo	caber	to fit into	1s pres
raigo	raer	to scrape	1s pres
riño	reñir	to scold	str pres
río	reír	to laugh	str pres
salgo	salir	to leave	1s pres
sé	saber	to know (a fact or skill, not a person)	1s pres
sé	Sé is also a command form of ser.
sigo	seguir	to follow	str pres
sirvo	servir	to serve	str pres
sois	ser	to be	2p pres
somos	ser	to be	1p pres
son	ser	to be	3p pres
sonrío	sonreír	to smile	str pres
soy	ser	to be	1s pres
tengo	tener	to have	1s pres
traigo	traer	to bring	1s pres
va	ir	to go	3s pres
vais	ir	to go	2p pres
valgo	valer	to be worth	1s pres
vamos	ir	to go	1p pres
van	ir	to go	3p pres
veo	ver	to see	1s pres
voy	ir	to go	1s pres
yazco	yacer	to lie (on the ground)	1s pres
yergo	erguir	to erect	str pres
yerro	errar	to err	str pres

Answer: The infinitive of despido is despedir.