Most Spanish past participles follow the tidy regular pattern, but a small group of very common verbs has irregular participles. The good news: there are only about a dozen of them, and once you know the list, you know them forever. Every compound tense in Spanish (present perfect, pluperfect, future perfect, and so on) will use these same forms.
The core list
Here are the irregular past participles you absolutely must memorize:
| Infinitive | Past Participle | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| abrir | abierto | opened |
| cubrir | cubierto | covered |
| decir | dicho | said |
| escribir | escrito | written |
| freír | frito | fried |
| hacer | hecho | done, made |
| morir | muerto | died |
| poner | puesto | put |
| resolver | resuelto | resolved |
| romper | roto | broken |
| ver | visto | seen |
| volver | vuelto | returned |
These are the ones you will see every day. Short, stubborn, essential.
Examples in context
Los niños han roto el florero.
The kids have broken the vase.
¿Has visto mi teléfono?
Have you seen my phone?
Derivatives follow the base verb
Many Spanish verbs are built from a core verb plus a prefix — and they inherit the irregular participle from their base. For example, descubrir is des- + cubrir, so its participle is descubierto. Once you recognize these prefix patterns, the list gets much longer without any extra memorization.
| Infinitive | Past Participle |
|---|---|
| descubrir | descubierto |
| describir | descrito |
| devolver | devuelto |
| envolver | envuelto |
| componer | compuesto |
| proponer | propuesto |
| suponer | supuesto |
| deshacer | deshecho |
| satisfacer | satisfecho |
| prever | previsto |
| rehacer | rehecho |
Los científicos han descubierto una nueva especie de rana.
The scientists have discovered a new species of frog.
Te he devuelto el dinero que me prestaste.
I have returned to you the money you lent me.
Beethoven ha compuesto algunas de las piezas más famosas de la historia.
Beethoven has composed some of the most famous pieces in history.
Verbs with two participles
A handful of verbs have both a regular and an irregular participle. The irregular one is usually preferred as an adjective, while the regular form hangs on in compound tenses or technical use.
| Infinitive | Regular | Irregular |
|---|---|---|
| freír | freído | frito |
| imprimir | imprimido | impreso |
| proveer | proveído | provisto |
In Latin America, you will mostly hear frito, impreso, and provisto. The regular forms are not wrong, just less common.
He frito las papas para la cena.
I have fried the potatoes for dinner.
El profesor nos ha impreso los exámenes.
The teacher has printed the exams for us.
Ser and ir
Two of the most common Spanish verbs, ser and ir, both have regular participles: sido and ido. You will see them constantly.
Siempre ha sido muy amable con nosotros.
She has always been very kind to us.
Hemos ido al mercado dos veces esta semana.
We have gone to the market twice this week.
Do not overthink them — they just follow the normal -ido rule.
A quick memorization trick
Group the irregulars by their endings. Most of them fall into a handful of visual patterns:
- -cho: dicho, hecho, satisfecho
- -to: abierto, cubierto, escrito, frito, muerto, puesto, resuelto, roto, visto, vuelto
- -so: impreso, provisto
Once you see the groups, the list stops feeling random. Most irregular participles end in -to or -cho, and the ending often gives away which verb family it comes from.
With your participles in hand, move on to the usage page to see when Spanish actually reaches for the present perfect.
Related Topics
- Formation (Haber + Past Participle)A2 — The present perfect in Spanish is built from the present tense of haber plus the past participle of the main verb.
- Regular Past Participles (-ado, -ido)A2 — How to form regular past participles from -ar, -er, and -ir infinitives, including the written-accent rule for vowel stems.
- Usage (Experience, Recent Past)A2 — When to reach for the present perfect — life experience, recent past, and the connection to the present moment.