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¡Hola! Welcome to Spanish class. Today, we will explore how some verbs break the normal rules in the present tense.
In Spanish, regular verbs follow strict patterns when we conjugate them. However, irregular verbs change their spellings in unexpected ways. For example, the verb tener (to have) — teh-NEHR — changes its stem and its endings depending on who is doing the action.
The most common irregular verb is ser (to be) — SEHR. It does not look anything like a regular -er verb. Instead of keeping the stem 's-', it changes completely to soy (I am), eres (you are), and es (he/she/it is).
Another group of irregulars are the 'Yo-go' verbs like hacer (to do/make) — ah-SEHR. These verbs are totally regular, except in the first-person 'yo' form where they end in '-go'. Yo hago (I do) is irregular, but tú haces (you do) follows the regular pattern.
Analyze the sentence "Yo tener quince años" and correct the verb to state "I am fifteen years old" accurately in Spanish.
- Identify the subject of the sentence, which is "Yo" (I).
- Recall the infinitive verb being used: "tener" (to have) — teh-NEHR.
- Determine if "tener" is regular or irregular. It is irregular in the "yo" form and changes to "tengo" (I have) — TEHN-goh.
- Replace the infinitive "tener" with the correct conjugated form "tengo".
- Write the complete, correct sentence: "Yo tengo quince años" (I am fifteen years old).
