Spanish Essential Verbs: 250 Verbs With Conjugation Notes

The infinitive is the easy half. This deck carries the pattern that goes with it.

250 cardsLast updated 2026-08-17

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Knowing that comer means to eat gets you nowhere in a conversation, because Spanish almost never uses the infinitive. What you need at the moment of speaking is the pattern: whether the stem changes, whether the yo form is irregular, whether the verb takes a preposition, whether it behaves like gustar and flips the subject. A vocabulary list that gives you only the meaning leaves exactly that half out, and it is the half that stalls you mid-sentence. This deck covers 250 verbs, and every card carries three things: the English meaning, the conjugation pattern in one line, and an original Spanish sentence with its translation. Cards are tagged by pattern — regular -ar, regular -er/-ir, stem-changing, irregular, reflexive — and by theme, so you can drill only stem-changing verbs, or only the ones you need for travel. Import it and the deck joins your spaced-repetition schedule: the verbs whose pattern you can produce stretch out and disappear, and what stays in front of you is the set you still have to think about.

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What's inside

Showing 100 representative cards from the full 250-card deck.

Front	Back
ser — what does it mean?	to be (permanent qualities, identity, origin). Irregular: soy, eres, es, somos, sois, son.
haber — what does it mean?	to have (auxiliary); there is/are. Irregular: he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han; hay for there is.
hacer — what does it mean?	to do, to make. Irregular: hago; past hice.
decir — what does it mean?	to say, to tell. Irregular: digo; e→i stem change.
querer — what does it mean?	to want, to love. Stem change e→ie: quiero, quieres, quiere.
conocer — what does it mean?	to know (people, places). Irregular yo form: conozco.
ver — what does it mean?	to see. Irregular: veo, ves, ve.
traer — what does it mean?	to bring. Irregular: traigo; past traje.
valer — what does it mean?	to be worth, to cost. Irregular yo form: valgo.
estudiar — what does it mean?	to study. Regular -ar verb.
tomar — what does it mean?	to take, to drink. Regular -ar verb.
pasar — what does it mean?	to pass, to spend time, to happen. Regular -ar verb.
buscar — what does it mean?	to look for. Regular -ar; c→qu before e in preterite.
escuchar — what does it mean?	to listen to. Regular -ar verb.
ayudar — what does it mean?	to help. Regular -ar verb.
contestar — what does it mean?	to answer. Regular -ar verb.
viajar — what does it mean?	to travel. Regular -ar verb.
nadar — what does it mean?	to swim. Regular -ar verb.
cantar — what does it mean?	to sing. Regular -ar verb.
cocinar — what does it mean?	to cook. Regular -ar verb.
lavar — what does it mean?	to wash. Regular -ar verb.
pagar — what does it mean?	to pay. Regular -ar; g→gu before e.
ahorrar — what does it mean?	to save (money, time). Regular -ar verb.
prestar — what does it mean?	to lend. Regular -ar verb.
reservar — what does it mean?	to book, to reserve. Regular -ar verb.
invitar — what does it mean?	to invite. Regular -ar verb.
regalar — what does it mean?	to give as a gift. Regular -ar verb.
llorar — what does it mean?	to cry. Regular -ar verb.
explicar — what does it mean?	to explain. Regular -ar; c→qu before e.
preparar — what does it mean?	to prepare. Regular -ar verb.
empezar — what does it mean?	to begin. Stem change e→ie; z→c before e.
pensar — what does it mean?	to think. Stem change e→ie: pienso, piensas.
perder — what does it mean?	to lose, to miss. Stem change e→ie: pierdo.
preferir — what does it mean?	to prefer. Stem change e→ie: prefiero.
sentar — what does it mean?	to seat, to suit. Stem change e→ie: siento.
recomendar — what does it mean?	to recommend. Stem change e→ie: recomiendo.
dormir — what does it mean?	to sleep. Stem change o→ue and o→u: duermo, durmió.
volver — what does it mean?	to return, to come back. Stem change o→ue: vuelvo.
encontrar — what does it mean?	to find, to meet. Stem change o→ue: encuentro.
mostrar — what does it mean?	to show. Stem change o→ue: muestro.
almorzar — what does it mean?	to have lunch. Stem change o→ue; z→c before e.
pedir — what does it mean?	to ask for, to order. Stem change e→i: pido, pidió.
repetir — what does it mean?	to repeat. Stem change e→i: repito.
conseguir — what does it mean?	to get, to manage to. Stem change e→i; gu→g before o and a.
corregir — what does it mean?	to correct. Stem change e→i; g→j before o and a.
medir — what does it mean?	to measure. Stem change e→i: mido.
reír — what does it mean?	to laugh. Stem change e→i; accent on the i.
beber — what does it mean?	to drink. Regular -er verb.
leer — what does it mean?	to read. Regular -er; i→y in third person preterite.
correr — what does it mean?	to run. Regular -er verb.
responder — what does it mean?	to answer, to respond. Regular -er verb.
prometer — what does it mean?	to promise. Regular -er verb.
temer — what does it mean?	to fear. Regular -er verb.
escribir — what does it mean?	to write. Regular -ir; irregular past participle escrito.
recibir — what does it mean?	to receive. Regular -ir verb.
decidir — what does it mean?	to decide. Regular -ir verb.
compartir — what does it mean?	to share. Regular -ir verb.
insistir — what does it mean?	to insist. Regular -ir verb; takes en.
sufrir — what does it mean?	to suffer. Regular -ir verb.
existir — what does it mean?	to exist. Regular -ir verb.
imprimir — what does it mean?	to print. Regular -ir; alternative participle impreso.
llamarse — what does it mean?	to be called. Reflexive; regular -ar.
vestirse — what does it mean?	to get dressed. Reflexive; stem change e→i.
acostarse — what does it mean?	to go to bed. Reflexive; stem change o→ue.
irse — what does it mean?	to leave, to go away. Reflexive form of ir.
ponerse — what does it mean?	to put on, to become. Reflexive form of poner.
preocuparse — what does it mean?	to worry. Reflexive; takes por.
enfadarse — what does it mean?	to get angry. Reflexive; takes con.
casarse — what does it mean?	to get married. Reflexive; takes con.
olvidarse — what does it mean?	to forget. Reflexive; takes de.
quejarse — what does it mean?	to complain. Reflexive; takes de.
despedirse — what does it mean?	to say goodbye. Reflexive; stem change e→i; takes de.
merecer — what does it mean?	to deserve. Irregular yo form: merezco.
ofrecer — what does it mean?	to offer. Irregular yo form: ofrezco.
conducir — what does it mean?	to drive. Irregular: conduzco; past conduje.
destruir — what does it mean?	to destroy. Irregular: destruyo.
caber — what does it mean?	to fit. Irregular: quepo; past cupe.
desear — what does it mean?	to wish, to desire. Regular -ar verb.
olvidar — what does it mean?	to forget. Regular -ar verb; often used reflexively.
considerar — what does it mean?	to consider. Regular -ar verb.
rechazar — what does it mean?	to reject. Regular -ar; z→c before e.
mejorar — what does it mean?	to improve. Regular -ar verb.
parar — what does it mean?	to stop. Regular -ar verb.
vaciar — what does it mean?	to empty. Regular -ar; accent on the i in some forms.
entregar — what does it mean?	to hand in, to deliver. Regular -ar; g→gu before e.
apagar — what does it mean?	to turn off. Regular -ar; g→gu before e.
descansar — what does it mean?	to rest. Regular -ar verb.
durar — what does it mean?	to last. Regular -ar verb.
desaparecer — what does it mean?	to disappear. Irregular yo form: desaparezco.
obtener — what does it mean?	to obtain. Conjugated like tener: obtengo.
proponer — what does it mean?	to propose. Conjugated like poner: propongo.
llover — what does it mean?	to rain. Stem change o→ue; third person only.
probar — what does it mean?	to try, to taste. Stem change o→ue: pruebo.
proteger — what does it mean?	to protect. Regular -er; g→j before o and a.
gustar — what does it mean?	to be pleasing to. Used with indirect object pronouns.
doler — what does it mean?	to hurt. Stem change o→ue; used with indirect object pronouns.
apetecer — what does it mean?	to feel like. Irregular yo form; used with indirect object pronouns.
actuar — what does it mean?	to act. Accent on the u: actúo, actúas.
evitar — what does it mean?	to avoid. Regular -ar verb.
nacer — what does it mean?	to be born. Irregular yo form: nazco.

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What is in the deck?

94 regular -ar verbs, 40 regular -er and -ir verbs, 43 stem-changing verbs, 45 irregular verbs and 28 reflexive verbs, 250 in total. One verb per card, so no verb appears twice.

Are full conjugation tables included?

No, and that is deliberate. A full table of six forms across fourteen tenses is a reference you look things up in, not something a flashcard can drill. Each card gives the pattern instead — which vowel changes, which yo form breaks, which preposition follows — because that is the part you have to recall while speaking. Keep a conjugator open for the tables.

Which Spanish does it use?

Peninsular Spanish, including the vosotros form where a conjugation line shows it. The verbs themselves are common across the Spanish-speaking world, and where a Latin American preference is strong the note says so.

Is this enough on its own?

It covers the verb layer, which is the part most learners are missing when they stall. Import it and open it daily, and the only verbs that come up are the ones whose pattern you cannot yet produce. Spend the time that frees up on speaking practice and on reading real Spanish.

Editorial method and sources

Memly's editors use the primary sources below to check scope and terminology, then independently write and review the cards.

Instituto Cervantes: Spanish grammar A1-A2