10 Important Spanish Verbs You Need To Know + Examples

Not all verbs are equally important. And every language has its own royalty when it comes to verbs. The ones we’ll see in this video are those of important Spanish verbs.

We’ll focus on ten verbs. And we’ll study them by reviewing a bunch of chunks to see them in action.

You NEED to Know these 10 Super Important Spanish Verbs

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In this Spring Spanish video, Maura will tell you everything you need to know about these important Spanish verbs.

By the way, have you already subscribed to our Spring Spanish YouTube channel? No? Then it’s final time!

1. Ser (to be – permanent qualities)

Let’s group “ser” and “estar” for those of you who have English as a reference. This way you can separate them a bit.

Ser: it’s about more “permanent” states like nationality, appearance, personality, and those things.

Let’s see examples:

Spanish	English
Yo soy venezolana.	I am Venezuelan.
¿Tú, de dónde eres?	Where are you from?
Mi gato es muy gracioso.	My cat is very funny.

2. Estar (to be – temporary states)

Estar: it’s about more “temporary” states. Things that change faster and more easily like location and emotional or physical state.

For example:

Spanish	English
Yo estoy en mi casa.	I am at home.
¿Tú, dónde estás?	Where are you?
Mi gato está durmiendo.	My cat is sleeping.

All the -ing forms in English like: sleeping, eating, talking, are -ando, -endo in Spanish, like:

durmiendo,
comiendo,
hablando.

These continuous actions always include the verb “estar“. That’s how essential this verb is.

Look at more examples of continuous actions:

Spanish	English
Estoy trabajando, ahora te llamo.	I’m working, I’ll call you back.
Estás haciendo mucho ruido, para porfis.	You’re making too much noise, please stop.
Estamos pensando en irnos de vacaciones pronto.	We are thinking of going on vacation soon.

3. Tener (to have)

The verb tener talks about material and abstract things that you can possess. That is, things that can be yours or someone else’s.

For example:

Spanish	English
Tengo demasiados zapatos negros.	I have too many black shoes.
Ella no tiene carro, seguro viene en taxi.	She doesn’t have a car, I’m sure she’s coming by cab.
¿Ustedes tienen una carpa que me puedan prestar?	Do you have a tent I can borrow?

Now, there are “weird” things that you can “have”. Things that are feelings or physical states, for example:

Spanish	English
Tengo mucho frío o mucho calor.	I am very cold or very hot.
Tengo dolor de cabeza.	I have a headache.
Tengo mucho miedo.	I am very afraid.

4. Hacer (to do/make)

Hacer” is an irregular verb with a bit of a weird conjugation for “yo. It is used every day very often, though.

Like:

Spanish	English
Hoy hago ejercicio, pase lo que pase.	I’m exercising today, no matter what.
Hace tiempo que no hacemos una cena grupal.	It’s been a while since we’ve had a group dinner.
Quiero ir a hacerme las uñas.	I want to go and get my nails done.

This might sound a bit strange, but “painting” or “fixing” your nails is said with “hacerme las uñas“.

5. Poner (to put/place)

Poner” is one of those verbs that natives overuse a lot. That is, we use it as a generic for many things. So you’ll hear it very often in all kinds of contexts.

Like:

Spanish	English
¿Dónde pongo las bolsas?	Where do I put the bags?
Pon música, porfa.	Play music, please.
No me pongas esa cara.	Don’t give me that face.

CHUNK ALERT!

Let’s talk about this last one “poner caras“.
If I tell you “no me pongas esa cara” it’s because you’re making some expression that I don’t like. The expression can be positive or negative, it doesn’t matter. The point is that I don’t want you to look at me like that.
So I tell you: no me pongas esa cara.

6. Poder (can/to be able to)

“Poder” does quite logical things. It always talks about the ability or possibility of something happening.

For example:

Spanish	English
Hoy no puedo salir, quizás mañana.	I can’t go out today, maybe tomorrow.
¿Puedes terminar el reporte esta semana?	Can you finish the report this week?
No podemos vivir quejándonos de todo.	We can’t live complaining about everything.

Sometimes we use it like this. It’s not that you can’t, but that you “shouldn’t”.

7. Decir (to say/tell)

We’ll tell you something curious about “decir“.

Maura: As a Venezuelan, I say that written things “dicen” (say) something. So, for me, this whiteboard “dice” (says) hello. But in Spain, where I live, people would say that this whiteboard “pone” (puts) hello.

Other things we say with “decir” are:

Spanish	English
Dime, ¿qué pasó?	Tell me, what happened?
Carla dice que la llames más tarde.	Carla says to call her later.
No me digas que no fuiste a la fiesta.	Don’t tell me, you didn’t go to the party.

If someone calls you, you can answer by saying “dime“.

This “no me digas” is an expression. Don’t read it literally. It’s just an expression of surprise or disbelief.

8. Ir (to go)

“Ir” is super irregular. Most of the time it’s conjugated with “v” like:

Spanish	English
Yo voy al gimnasio al final de la tarde.	I go to the gym in the late afternoon.
Ellas van conmigo a clases de yoga.	They go with me to yoga classes.
Nosotras vamos a la playa todos los veranos.	We go to the beach every summer.

Also, it’s the verb used to construct the most common future in Spanish.

Like:

Spanish	English
Voy a salir con Carla esta noche.	I’m going out with Carla tonight.
¿Vas a ir al médico mañana?	Are you going to the doctor tomorrow?
Ustedes van a terminar rompiendo algo.	You guys are gonna end up breaking something.

9. Dar (to give)

“Dar” is used for physical things and abstract things alike.

important spanish verbs explained by female teacher maura

For example:

Spanish	English
Eso es mío, dámelo.	That’s mine, give it to me.
Avísame si no te da tiempo de comprar la cena.	Let me know if you don’t have time to buy dinner.
El equipo lo dio todo en la competencia.	The team gave their all in the competition.

Also, it’s used with emotions or feelings to describe reactions, like:

Spanish	English
Me da mucho miedo ver esa película.	I’m too scared to watch that movie.
Nos dio lástima que se acabaran las galletas.	We were sorry when the cookies ran out.
Me dio de todo cuando anunciaron al ganador.	I was all over the place when they announced the winner.

“Me dio de todo” is an open expression that can mean positive or negative emotions.

It’s simply used to express that you felt many things at once.

10. Querer (to want/to love)

The most common use of “querer” is to talk about desires, for example:

Spanish	English
Quiero que llegue el verano ya.	I want summer to come now.
No queremos seguir perdiendo tiempo.	We don’t want to waste any more time.
¿Ustedes quieren algo de beber?	Do you guys want something to drink?

But, we also use “querer” as a synonym for “amar” (to love). But it’s lighter than “amar“. “Querer” is like a step before “amar“.

Like:

Spanish	English
¡Les quiero mucho!	I love you very much!
En mi trabajo todos nos queremos y nos cuidamos.	In my work we all love each other and take care of each other.
Ellos se quieren mucho, pero no sé si están enamorados.	They love each other very much, but I don’t know if they are in love.

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