Verbos Básicos
Say what you do, want, and need — the verbs behind every spoken sentence.
Start with the yo form of the verbs you'll actually use, and learn the irregular ones as fixed units before any conjugation rule: quiero (I want), puedo (I can), tengo (I have), necesito (I need), voy (I go). Two traps hide in this list: ir always needs a before a destination — voy a la tienda, never voy la tienda — and Spanish splits 'to know' in two: saber for facts and skills (sé nadar), conocer for people and places (conozco Madrid). The three endings — -ar, -er, -ir — give you the patterns for everything else.
Below: the 25 verbs grouped by what they do for you, how locals actually use them, the beginner traps — and a way to put them in your mouth in a real conversation, not a conjugation table.
Say this
Regional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Mexico | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| come here! | ven | vení |
| you have to… | tienes que | tenés que |
| to chat | platicar | hablar |
Watch out
The part no drill site can do
Olivia
Your vocabulary teacher for this pack
There's no conjugation table in the Verbos Básicos lessons — Olivia gets the verbs out of your mouth in first person, where you'll actually live at A1: yo como arroz, yo quiero agua, yo voy al parque. She asks about your day — what you eat, where you go, when you sleep — then puts you in a store where you have to want and need things out loud. When you're wiped, you even get the local escape hatch: no puedo más.
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 5 lessons and Verbos Básicos is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
Saber = information and skills: sé nadar (I know how to swim). Conocer = familiarity with people and places: conozco Madrid. If you could look it up, it's saber; if you've met it, it's conocer.
Querer and poder change their stem in the present: quiero, puedo. Don't learn the rule first — memorize quiero and puedo as fixed units and let the pattern reveal itself later.
Yes, always, before a destination: voy a casa, voy a la escuela, voy al parque. Saying voy la tienda is one of the most common beginner slips.
It's Mexico's everyday verb for chatting — used far more than hablar there. Similarly, Argentines say tomar much more than beber for drinking: tomar agua.
In Mexico, 'I'll be right back' — with no guarantee about right. Its cousin ya voy means 'I'm on my way', often said before actually leaving. Both are essential decoding for real conversations.
