Present Tense of "Ser," "Estar," and "Tener"

Quick Answer

Ser(to be), estar(to be), and tener(to have), three of the most frequently used verbs in Spanish, are all irregular in the present tense.

The present tense conjugations for the irregular verbs ser, estar, and tener are given below, along with some examples.

Irregular Conjugations and Examples

Ser

Subject	forms of ser (to be)
yo	soy
tú	eres
usted, él, ella	es
nosotros	somos
vosotros	sois
ustedes, ellos, ellas	son

Check out these examples!

examples
El cielo es azul como tus ojos. The sky is blue like your eyes
¿Eres de Chile? Are you from Chile?

Estar

Subject	forms of estar (to be)
yo	estoy
tú	estás
usted, él, ella	está
nosotros	estamos
vosotros	estáis
ustedes, ellos, ellas	están

Let's take a look at a couple of examples!

examples
Estoy muy emocionado de graduarme. I'm so excited to graduate.
Los niños están jugando. The children are playing.

Still confused about ser vs. estar? We know they can be tricky! Click here to review the differences.

Tener

Subject	Forms of tener (to have)
yo	tengo
tú	tienes
usted, él, ella	tiene
nosotros	tenemos
vosotros	tenéis
ustedes, ellos, ellas	tienen

Let's take a look at some examples!

examples
Tenemos un amigo que vive en Guinea Ecuatorial. We have a friend who lives in Equatorial Guinea.
Tengo tres perros y un gato. I have three dogs and a cat.