Most Common Regular Ir Verbs in Spanish | Forms You’ll Use Every Day

Regular -ir verbs follow one pattern: drop -ir and add -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en.

Regular -ir verbs are the steady part of Spanish. Learn one set of endings and you can say a lot, fast. This article gives you a high-use list of regular -ir verbs, shows the endings you’ll meet in the tenses people learn first, and adds practice loops that fit into a busy day.

It’s written for people who want usable Spanish, not a wall of grammar terms. You’ll get meanings, short model sentences, and small checks you can do while speaking so you catch mistakes before they snowball.

How Regular -Ir Verbs Work In Spanish

A regular verb keeps the same stem inside a tense, then changes only the ending to match the subject. With -ir verbs, you usually remove -ir and attach endings to the stem.

Find The Stem In Ten Seconds

Take vivir (to live). Remove -ir. The stem is viv-. Now attach the present endings and you get vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, vivís, viven.

Lock In The Present Endings Once

Present tense endings for regular -ir verbs:

• yo -o
• tú -es
• él/ella/usted -e
• nosotros/nosotras -imos
• vosotros/vosotras -ís
• ellos/ellas/ustedes -en

That’s the core pattern. Once it’s in your ear, you can conjugate new regular verbs on the fly.

Check The Official Model When You’re Unsure

If you want the formal template used in Spanish reference works, the Real Academia Española lists the regular conjugation models (amar, temer, partir). The page Modelos de conjugación verbal shows the full tables used as models, and regular -ir verbs follow the same pattern type as partir.

When you need tense names and how Spanish classifies them, the RAE’s grammar chapter on verbs can clear up labels and forms: “El verbo” (Nueva gramática básica).

Most Common Regular Ir Verbs In Spanish With Meanings

This list sticks to verbs that stay regular in the main tenses beginners and intermediates use a lot. You will meet many -ir verbs that change a vowel or spelling in some forms, yet the verbs below behave regularly in the patterns you’re drilling here.

Use the list in two ways: as a set to memorize, and as a base to build your own sentences. Make the sentences about your real life. That keeps recall snappy.

Table 1 (after ~40% of article)

Regular -Ir Verb	Plain Meaning	Starter Sentence
vivir	to live	Vivo en Helsinki.
abrir	to open	Abro la puerta.
subir	to go up / to upload	Subimos al tren.
recibir	to receive	Recibo un mensaje.
permitir	to allow	¿Me permites pasar?
decidir	to decide	Decido hoy.
existir	to exist	Existen dos opciones.
compartir	to share	Compartimos comida.
asistir (a)	to attend	Asisto a clase.
insistir (en)	to insist	Insistes en eso.
aplaudir	to applaud	Aplaudimos mucho.
discutir	to argue / to debate	Discutimos el plan.

A couple of meaning traps are worth fixing early. asistir often means “attend,” not “assist.” subir can mean “go up” in real space and “upload” online. Small details like that can change the whole sentence.

Endings You’ll Reuse In The Tenses You Learn First

Once the present tense feels easy, you can branch into past and future without learning new stems for these regular verbs. The endings do the heavy lifting.

Preterite Endings For Completed Past

Preterite endings for regular -ir verbs:

• yo -í
• tú -iste
• él/ella/usted -ió
• nosotros -imos
• vosotros -isteis
• ellos/ellas/ustedes -ieron

Try: Abrí la ventana. Recibimos el paquete. Decidieron salir.

Imperfect Endings For Background Past

Imperfect endings for regular -ir verbs:

• yo -ía
• tú -ías
• él/ella/usted -ía
• nosotros -íamos
• vosotros -íais
• ellos/ellas/ustedes -ían

Try: Vivía cerca. Asistíamos a clases por la tarde.

Future Endings That Attach To The Whole Infinitive

Future tense keeps the full infinitive and adds endings. With vivir, you get viviré, vivirás, vivirá, viviremos, viviréis, vivirán. That means you don’t have to hunt for a new stem at all.

Table 2 (after ~60% of article)

Tense	What You Attach	Endings (yo → ellos)
Present	Stem (viv-)	-o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en
Preterite	Stem (viv-)	-í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron
Imperfect	Stem (viv-)	-ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían
Future	Full infinitive (vivir-)	-é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án
Gerund	Stem + -iendo	viviendo (one form)
Past participle	Stem + -ido	vivido (one form)

If you like quick repetition with audio, the University of Texas Spanish pages include a present-tense section that leads into regular -ir patterns: Present Tense Instruction. It’s short and easy to cycle through.

Pronunciation And Spelling Details That Save You Later

With regular verbs, your biggest wins are often tiny. A clean accent mark or a clean vowel can keep a sentence from sounding muddy.

Hear The Difference Between -i- And -e-

In present tense, tú uses -es and él/ella uses -e. Train your ear with pairs:: vives vs vive, recibes vs recibe. Say them out loud. Your mouth learns the rhythm faster than your eyes do.

Accent Marks In Vosotros Forms

If you use vosotros, accents matter: vivís, subís, recibís. The accent keeps the stress where Spanish spelling rules expect it. If your Spanish is aimed at Latin America, you can still recognize these forms when you read or watch Spanish media.

Gerunds And Participles For Real-Life Speech

Regular -ir verbs form the gerund with -iendo: viviendo, abriendo, subiendo, recibiendo. The past participle uses -ido: vivido, abierto—wait, abierto is irregular, so it’s not part of the regular set. That’s a nice reminder: a verb can be regular in one tense and irregular in another. Keep your core list tight and check forms when something looks odd.

How To Choose Which -Ir Verbs To Learn First

“Common” can mean verbs that show up a lot in reading and verbs you can use right away in your own sentences. The sweet spot is overlap: verbs that are frequent and useful for your life.

Use A Three-Bucket Filter

• Daily actions: vivir, abrir, subir, recibir
• Conversation moves: permitir, decidir, insistir
• General ideas: existir, compartir, discutir

Start with daily actions. Then add conversation verbs, since they let you ask for permission, agree, disagree, and make plans.

Common Mistakes With Regular -Ir Verbs

Even with regular patterns, learners stumble in predictable spots. Fix these early and your Spanish will sound cleaner.

Mixing Up -Ir And -Er In Nosotros And Vosotros

In the present tense, -ir and -er share most endings. The split shows up in nosotros and vosotros: -ir uses -imos and -ís, while -er uses -emos and -éis. If you catch yourself saying vivemos, your brain is mixing buckets.

Using A Verb Without Its Preposition

Some verbs come with a preposition in common use. asistir usually takes a: asistir a clase. insistir often takes en: insistir en algo. Learn the pair as one unit, like a two-word item.

Assuming Every -Ir Verb Is Regular

Many high-use -ir verbs change in the stem, like pedir and dormir. When you want speed, keep your starter set fully regular. Add stem-changers later, after your endings feel automatic.

Practice Routines That Build Speed Without Burnout

You don’t need long study blocks. Short loops you repeat work better, since they stack wins. Here are drills you can run with a notebook or your phone.

Ten-Sentence Swap Drill

1. Pick one verb, like recibir.
2. Write one sentence with yo: Recibo un correo.
3. Rewrite it with tú, then él/ella, then nosotros.
4. Do the same with a second verb.

This drill forces endings into your hand, not only into memory.

One-Tense-Per-Day Loop

Day 1: present. Day 2: preterite. Day 3: imperfect. Day 4: future. Then restart with new verbs. You’ll see the same endings again and again, so they stop feeling like a list you must recite.

Three-Minute Speaking Sprint

Set a timer for three minutes. Pick one verb and talk to yourself out loud. Say what you do, what you did, and what you will do. Keep it simple. Your goal is smooth endings, not fancy vocabulary.

Reading As A Verb Hunt

Take a short text you enjoy and underline every -ir verb you spot. Then circle the ending and name the subject. You’re training your eye to read conjugations as meaning, not decoration.

If you like a level-by-level checklist for grammar, the Instituto Cervantes Plan Curricular lays out grammar items by level, which helps you decide what to learn next: Inventario de gramática (A1–A2).

Mini-Checks To Self-Correct While You Speak

Live speaking is where endings slip. These quick checks help you catch mistakes mid-sentence without freezing.

Say The Subject In Your Head First

Before the verb comes out, think yo, tú, él. Your brain grabs the right ending more often when the subject is clear. Over time you won’t need the subject, yet the habit stays.

Listen For “We” And “You All” Clues

If your sentence means “we,” check for -imos in the present and preterite, or -íamos in the imperfect. If your sentence means “you all” in Spain, listen for -ís or -isteis. Those two endings are loud signals.

Short Phrases That Make These Verbs Feel Natural

Many learners can conjugate on paper yet freeze in conversation. A fix is to memorize verbs inside short, reusable chunks. Here are a few you can plug into real talk:

• ¿Puedes abrir…? (Can you open…?)
• Voy a subir… (I’m going to upload… / go up…)
• Acabo de recibir… (I just received…)
• ¿Me permites…? (Do you allow me to…?)
• Quiero decidir… (I want to decide…)
• Eso no existe. (That doesn’t exist.)
• ¿Lo compartes conmigo? (Will you share it with me?)

A Clean Starter Set To Memorize This Week

If you want one set to learn first, take these eight: vivir, abrir, subir, recibir, permitir, decidir, existir, compartir. Learn them in the present, then add preterite, then imperfect. Once that feels easy, add asistir and insistir with their prepositions, then keep your practice loop the same.

You’ll get a lot of mileage from this small set. When you can say these verbs smoothly across the tenses in the table, adding more regular -ir verbs feels like copy-and-paste.