Other Irregular Yo Forms | Spanish (Latin America) Grammar

Beyond the -go and -zco families, a handful of very common verbs have unique yo forms that don't fit any group. They are worth memorizing individually.

The four to know

Infinitive	Meaning	Yo form
ver	to see	veo
saber	to know (a fact)	sé
dar	to give	doy
caber	to fit	quepo

Two of these — saber and caber — have truly one-of-a-kind yo forms that you will not see anywhere else in the language.

Ver — to see

Ver keeps the e of its original stem ve- in the yo form, giving veo.

Subject	Conjugation
yo	veo
tú	ves
él / ella / usted	ve
nosotros / nosotras	vemos
ellos / ellas / ustedes	ven

Yo veo una película cada fin de semana.

I watch a movie every weekend.

¿Ves ese edificio alto?

Do you see that tall building?

Saber — to know

Saber has the famous one-letter yo form sé, written with an accent to distinguish it from se (the reflexive pronoun).

Subject	Conjugation
yo	sé
tú	sabes
él / ella / usted	sabe
nosotros / nosotras	sabemos
ellos / ellas / ustedes	saben

Yo sé la respuesta.

I know the answer.

No sé qué hacer.

I don't know what to do.

💡

Saber means "to know a fact" or "to know how to do something." For knowing a person or place, use conocer. Compare: Sé tocar el piano ("I know how to play piano") vs. Conozco a un pianista ("I know a pianist").

Dar — to give

Dar looks like a regular -ar verb everywhere except in the yo form, where it becomes doy.

Subject	Conjugation
yo	doy
tú	das
él / ella / usted	da
nosotros / nosotras	damos
ellos / ellas / ustedes	dan

Yo doy clases de guitarra.

I give guitar lessons.

Ellos dan propina al mesero.

They give a tip to the waiter.

Caber — to fit

Caber has the unusual yo form quepo. Everywhere else, it looks like a regular -er verb.

Subject	Conjugation
yo	quepo
tú	cabes
él / ella / usted	cabe
nosotros / nosotras	cabemos
ellos / ellas / ustedes	caben

No quepo en este asiento.

I don't fit in this seat.

💡

Quepo is rare enough that many learners never use it, but it does come up — especially when trying on clothes or squeezing into tight spaces. It's a fun one to have in your pocket.

Common mistakes

❌ Yo so la respuesta.

Wrong: the yo form of saber is sé, not so.

✅ Yo sé la respuesta.

Correct: sé with an accent (distinguishes it from se).

❌ Yo se cocinar.

Wrong: missing the accent changes the meaning to the reflexive pronoun.

✅ Yo sé cocinar.

Correct: the accent on sé marks it as the verb saber.

❌ Yo do clases de guitarra.

Wrong: the yo form of dar is doy, not do.

✅ Yo doy clases de guitarra.

Correct: doy ends in -oy, like soy, voy, estoy.

❌ Yo cabo en este asiento.

Wrong: caber has the unique yo form quepo.

✅ Yo quepo en este asiento.

Correct: quepo is the only form that changes.