A surprising number of Spanish verbs look irregular on paper but are not — they change their spelling only to keep the sound of the stem consistent across the whole conjugation. Once you understand that Spanish spelling is a code for pronunciation, these "irregularities" stop being a memory burden and become predictable adjustments. This page surveys the main patterns: -car, -gar, -zar, -ger, -gir, -guir, and -uir.
Why spelling changes exist
Spanish spelling is famously regular, but the price of that regularity is that the same letter does not always represent the same sound. The letter c is pronounced as /k/ before a, o, u (casa, copa, cuna) but as /θ/ before e, i in peninsular Spanish (cena, cima). The letter g is /g/ before a, o, u (gato, gota) but a harsh /x/ before e, i (gente, gigante). So when a verb stem ends in c-, g-, or z- and the conjugation forces a vowel change, the spelling has to compensate to preserve the original sound.
In peninsular Spanish, this matters even more than in Latin America because the c/z spellings encode a real phonological contrast — the interdental /θ/ — that has been lost in Latin American seseo. A speaker from Madrid pronounces empecé with a tongue between the teeth ([emˈpeθe]); a speaker from Mexico pronounces it with /s/ ([emˈpese]). The spelling change from z to c before -e is not cosmetic in Spain: it tracks an actual sound that learners must hear and produce. See pronunciation/c-z-s-distincion for the full sound story.
-car verbs: c → qu before -e
Verbs ending in -car (sacar, buscar, tocar, explicar, practicar) end in the sound /k/. To keep that /k/ when a personal ending starts with -e (the yo preterite and the entire present subjunctive), the c must be rewritten as qu.
| Form | Sacar (preterite) | Sacar (present subjunctive) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | saqué | saque |
| tú | sacaste | saques |
| él / ella / usted | sacó | saque |
| nosotros / nosotras | sacamos | saquemos |
| vosotros / vosotras | sacasteis | saquéis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | sacaron | saquen |
If you wrote *sacé, you would be saying /saˈθe/ in Madrid (with the interdental theta) — a different word entirely. The qu is the only way to write /k/ before an e.
Ayer saqué dinero del cajero, pero ya no me queda nada.
I took money out of the ATM yesterday, but I have nothing left.
Quiero que busques las llaves antes de salir de casa.
I want you to look for the keys before leaving the house.
¿Toqué algo que no debía? El ordenador está raro.
Did I touch something I shouldn't have? The computer is acting weird.
-gar verbs: g → gu before -e
Verbs ending in -gar (llegar, pagar, jugar, apagar, entregar) end in /g/. To preserve that /g/ before -e, you must write gu. Without the u, the g would soften to /x/ — a completely different sound.
| Form | Llegar (preterite) | Llegar (present subjunctive) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | llegué | llegue |
| tú | llegaste | llegues |
| él / ella / usted | llegó | llegue |
| nosotros / nosotras | llegamos | lleguemos |
| vosotros / vosotras | llegasteis | lleguéis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | llegaron | lleguen |
Llegué tarde otra vez porque el metro estaba parado.
I arrived late again because the metro was stopped.
Espero que pagues la cuenta tú esta vez, que la última invité yo.
I hope you pay the bill this time — I treated last time.
Cuando juguéis al fútbol, tened cuidado con las plantas del jardín.
When you play football, be careful with the plants in the garden.
-zar verbs: z → c before -e
Verbs ending in -zar (empezar, almorzar, cruzar, alcanzar, abrazar) carry the /θ/ sound in peninsular Spanish. By a long-standing Spanish spelling convention, z is essentially never written before e or i: that job is reserved for c. So empezar becomes empecé in the yo preterite — the sound is identical, the spelling just follows the rule.
| Form | Empezar (preterite) | Empezar (present subjunctive) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | empecé | empiece |
| tú | empezaste | empieces |
| él / ella / usted | empezó | empiece |
| nosotros / nosotras | empezamos | empecemos |
| vosotros / vosotras | empezasteis | empecéis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | empezaron | empiecen |
(Empezar also has the stem change e → ie in the present indicative and subjunctive — that is a separate phenomenon stacked on top of the spelling change.)
Empecé el curso de alemán en septiembre, pero lo dejé en noviembre.
I started the German course in September, but I dropped it in November.
Almorcé en aquel bar de la esquina y me senté tres horas.
I had lunch in that bar on the corner and sat there for three hours.
Aunque crucemos la frontera de noche, llegaremos a Lisboa al amanecer.
Even if we cross the border at night, we'll reach Lisbon at dawn.
-ger and -gir verbs: g → j before -a / -o
Verbs in -ger and -gir (coger, recoger, proteger, escoger; dirigir, exigir, fingir, elegir) have a soft /x/ sound — the same as the Spanish j. The problem is the reverse of the llegar pattern: when the personal ending starts with -a or -o, the g would become a hard /g/. To keep the soft sound, Spanish substitutes j.
| Form | Coger (present indicative) | Coger (present subjunctive) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | cojo | coja |
| tú | coges | cojas |
| él / ella / usted | coge | coja |
| nosotros / nosotras | cogemos | cojamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | cogéis | cojáis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | cogen | cojan |
The only forms with j are the ones where the ending begins with -a or -o — the yo present (cojo) and the entire present subjunctive (coja, cojas, coja, cojamos, cojáis, cojan). Everywhere else the original g stays because the next vowel is e or i, which keeps the soft sound automatically.
Yo cojo el autobús número siete para ir a clase.
I take the number seven bus to get to class.
Cojamos un taxi, que llegamos tarde y llueve a cántaros.
Let's grab a taxi — we're late and it's pouring.
Dirijo un equipo de quince personas y, sinceramente, es agotador.
I lead a team of fifteen people, and honestly, it's exhausting.
-guir verbs: lose the silent u before -a / -o
Verbs ending in -guir (seguir, conseguir, perseguir, distinguir, extinguir) carry the sound /g/, written gu before e or i to keep it hard. But when the next vowel is a or o, the u is no longer needed — and Spanish drops it. So seguir becomes sigo in the yo present indicative, not *siguo.
| Form | Seguir (present indicative) | Seguir (present subjunctive) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | sigo | siga |
| tú | sigues | sigas |
| él / ella / usted | sigue | siga |
| nosotros / nosotras | seguimos | sigamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | seguís | sigáis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | siguen | sigan |
(Seguir also has the stem change e → i, hence sigo rather than *sego.)
Sigo trabajando en la misma empresa desde hace ocho años.
I've been working at the same company for eight years.
Aunque no consiga la beca, no voy a abandonar la carrera.
Even if I don't get the scholarship, I'm not going to drop out of my degree.
-uir verbs: insert a y before -a, -e, -o
Verbs ending in -uir (construir, destruir, incluir, contribuir, huir, concluir, atribuir) have a vowel -i- as the last sound of the stem (constru-i-r). When a personal ending starts with another vowel that is not stressed i (so: a, e, o), Spanish inserts a y to break up the vowel cluster and give the form a clear consonantal anchor.
| Form | Construir (present indicative) | Construir (present subjunctive) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | construyo | construya |
| tú | construyes | construyas |
| él / ella / usted | construye | construya |
| nosotros / nosotras | construimos | construyamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | construís | construyáis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | construyen | construyan |
Note that the nosotros and vosotros present indicative forms (construimos, construís) do not insert the y — the ending starts with stressed -i, which already sounds different from a glide. The y only appears where it is phonetically useful.
Construyo modelos de aviones desde que era un crío.
I've been building model planes since I was a kid.
No incluyáis a Marta en el grupo de WhatsApp, que ya no trabaja con nosotros.
Don't add Marta to the WhatsApp group — she doesn't work with us anymore.
Vosotros looks reassuringly normal
Because Spanish spelling changes only fire before specific endings (-e, -a, -o), the vosotros form usually looks like the regular pattern — the vosotros ending starts with the same theme vowel as the infinitive (-áis, -éis, -ís).
| Verb | Vosotros present | Note |
|---|---|---|
| sacar | sacáis | no change — ending starts with á |
| llegar | llegáis | no change |
| empezar | empezáis | no change (z stays before á) |
| coger | cogéis | no change (g stays before é) |
| dirigir | dirigís | no change (g stays before í) |
| seguir | seguís | no change (u stays before í) |
| construir | construís | no change (no y inserted before í) |
Where vosotros does show the change is in the present subjunctive, the negative imperative, and the yo/3rd-person preterite contexts that trigger the rule — saquéis, lleguéis, empecéis, cojáis, dirijáis, sigáis, construyáis. If you remember "the spelling changes when the ending vowel changes color," the vosotros row clicks into place.
No saquéis fotos en este museo, está prohibido.
Don't take photos in this museum — it's not allowed.
Cuando lleguéis a Sevilla, llamadnos para tomar algo.
When you (all) get to Seville, give us a call so we can grab a drink.
Common mistakes
❌ Ayer sacé dinero del banco.
Incorrect — *sacé* would be pronounced with /θ/ in Madrid, a different sound.
✅ Ayer saqué dinero del banco.
Correct — *qu* preserves the /k/ sound of *sacar* before *-é*.
❌ Espero que llegen pronto.
Incorrect — without the *u*, the *g* would soften to /x/.
✅ Espero que lleguen pronto.
Correct — *gu* keeps the hard /g/ sound.
❌ Empezé a estudiar a las ocho.
Incorrect — Spanish never writes *z* directly before *e*.
✅ Empecé a estudiar a las ocho.
Correct — *z* becomes *c* before *-e*.
❌ Yo cogo el metro todos los días.
Incorrect — *cogo* would be pronounced with hard /g/, a different sound.
✅ Yo cojo el metro todos los días.
Correct — *g* becomes *j* before *-o* to keep the soft /x/ sound.
❌ No siguo en esa empresa.
Incorrect — *seguir* drops the silent *u* before *-a, -o*.
✅ No sigo en esa empresa.
Correct — the *u* disappears, leaving just *g* before *-o*.
Key takeaways
These changes are not exceptions — they are the regular rules of Spanish orthography applied consistently to verb stems. If you understand that c stands for /k/ before a, o, u but /θ/ before e, i (in Spain), and that g stands for /g/ before a, o, u but /x/ before e, i, every "irregularity" on this page is predictable. Practice the patterns once and they will stop looking weird forever.
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Start learning Spanish→Related Topics
- Cambios ortográficos: -car, -gar, -zarA2 — Why -car, -gar, and -zar verbs look completely regular in the present indicative — and why they suddenly need a c→qu, g→gu, or z→c spelling change as soon as you cross into the preterite or the subjunctive.
- Cambios ortográficos: -ger, -girA2 — Why verbs like coger, recoger, dirigir and exigir swap their g for a j in the yo form — and why coger is one of the most useful, completely unembarrassing verbs in peninsular Spanish.
- Distinción: la /θ/ peninsular vs el seseoA2 — The signature sound of peninsular Spanish — the interdental /θ/ (like English 'th' in 'think') for c before e/i and z, kept distinct from /s/. The phonemic contrast that makes casa /ˈkasa/ (house) and caza /ˈkaθa/ (hunt) different words in Madrid but homophones across Latin America.