Hacer, Poner, and Salir: Common Irregular Present-Tense Forms

In this lesson, you will learn three very common Spanish verbs in the present tense: — to do / to make, — to put / to place, and — to leave / to go out.

These verbs are especially important because their forms are irregular: — I do / I make, — I put, and — I leave / I go out. Most of their other present-tense forms follow familiar patterns.

Hacer — to do / to make

is used for many everyday actions and activities.

Subject	Spanish	English
		I do / I make
		you do / you make
/ /		he / she does or makes; you do / make
/		we do / we make
/		you all do / make
/ /		they do / make; you all do / make

The special form to remember is — I do / I make.

Using hacer for everyday activities

— I exercise.
— I make the meal / food.
— I make coffee.
— We exercise.
— They make the meal / food.

can mean either to do or to make depending on the expression.

Asking what someone does

Use the familiar question word — what.

— What are you doing? / What do you do?

At this stage, understand this as a simple present-tense question. The exact English meaning depends on context.

Person A: — What are you doing? / What do you do?

Person B: — I exercise.

Poner — to put / to place

means to put or place something somewhere.

Subject	Spanish	English
		I put / I place
		you put / place
/ /		he / she puts; you put
/		we put / place
/		you all put / place
/ /		they put / place; you all put / place

The special form to remember is — I put / I place.

Using poner with locations

You can combine with familiar objects and location phrases.

— I put the book on the table.
— I put the phone on the table.
— I put the food on the table.
— We put the books on the table.
— They put the chairs next to the table.

The location phrase tells you where the object goes.

Asking where someone puts something

Use — where with .

— Where do you put the book?

Person A: — Where do you put the book?

Person B: — I put the book on the table.

Salir — to leave / to go out

means to leave a place or to go out.

Subject	Spanish	English
		I leave / I go out
		you leave / go out
/ /		he / she leaves or goes out; you leave / go out
/		we leave / go out
/		you all leave / go out
/ /		they leave / go out; you all leave / go out

The special form to remember is — I leave / I go out.

Using salir with places

You can use — to leave / go out of followed by a place.

— I leave home.
— I leave work.
— I leave the hotel.
— We leave the school.
— They leave the restaurant.

Remember that de + el becomes del, which you learned earlier.

Using salir with times

You can also say when you leave.

— I leave at eight.
— I leave at five.
— We leave at six.

This combines with familiar time expressions.

Asking when someone leaves

Use — when.

— When do you leave?

Person A: — When do you leave?

Person B: — I leave at five.

Asking where someone leaves from

Use — from where.

— Where do you leave from?

Person A: — Where do you leave from?

Person B: — I leave work.

The three irregular yo forms

Infinitive	form	English
		I do / I make
		I put / I place
		I leave / I go out

All three forms end in -go. Learning them together can help you remember the irregular pattern.

Comparing yo and tú forms

— I exercise.
— You exercise.
— I put the book on the table.
— You put the book on the table.
— I leave at five.
— You leave at five.

The irregularity is concentrated in the form. The forms follow familiar endings.

Using hacer in a work or study context

You can use with familiar activities.

— I exercise after work.
— I make coffee in the morning.

These sentences combine the new verb form with vocabulary you already know.

Using poner in a work or study context

— I put the book on the table.
— I put the phone next to the book.
— We put the chairs in the office.

Using salir in a work or study context

— I leave work at five.
— I leave school at four.
— We leave the university at six.

A short daily sequence

Read this simple routine:

— I work in an office. I leave work at five. I exercise.

The new verbs fit naturally into familiar daily-routine language.

A second daily sequence

— I study at a university. I leave at four. I put the books on the table and make the meal.

This combines all three verbs without introducing a new tense.

A short conversation with hacer

Person A: — What do you do in the morning?

Person B: — I make coffee and study Spanish.

A short conversation with poner

Person A: — Where do you put the phone?

Person B: — I put the phone on the table.

A short conversation with salir

Person A: — When do you leave work?

Person B: — I leave at six.

Recognizing the correct subject form

Choose the verb form according to the subject.

— I make the meal.
— She makes the meal.
— We make the meal.
— I put the book here.
— He puts the book here.
— We put the book here.
— I leave at five.
— She leaves at five.
— We leave at five.

A practical memory method

Use this sequence when working with , , and :

Identify the subject.
If the subject is , remember , , or .
For other subjects, use the corresponding present-tense form.
Add familiar vocabulary to complete the idea.
Use location or time phrases when they are needed.

From Hacer, Poner, and Salir to E-to-I Changes

You can now use , , and in the present tense and recognize their important irregular forms: , , and . The next lesson introduces pedir, servir, and repetir, which use a different present-tense pattern: e-to-i vowel changes.