Presente irregular (1): acciones habituales

Pilar talks with Nina about her daily routine, a perfect excuse to practise the irregular present tense in Spanish. Listen to how the verbs change while they describe habitual actions.

Learn the use of the irregular present in Spanish (presente irregular) with The Spanish Sessions. Free Spanish videolessons online.

Key points

We use the present tense to talk about habits and routines: me levanto a las siete.
Many common verbs change their stem in the present: e>ie (empiezo), o>ue (vuelvo, me acuesto), e>i (me visto).
Other verbs are irregular only in the yo form: hago, salgo, pongo.
Nosotros and vosotros usually keep the regular stem: empezamos, volvemos.

Frequent doubts

Which irregular verbs are used to describe a routine?

Very often: despertarse (me despierto), empezar (empiezo), volver (vuelvo), acostarse (me acuesto), vestirse (me visto), hacer (hago) and salir (salgo).

Why are there so many reflexive verbs in routines?

Because many daily actions are done to oneself: me levanto, me ducho, me visto, me acuesto.

Where can I practise more?

In the A1 grammar exercises and tests on the irregular present (e>ie, o>ue, e>i).

Part of Spanish Sessions, the YouTube channel of the teachers at Tilde Madrid — more than 3 million views.

Watch on YouTube

Key points

Frequent doubts

Keep practising