Present of vir, ver, pór and dar
Vir (to come), ver (to see), pór (to put) and dar (to give) have irregular present forms, as in Veño de Lugo (I come from Lugo) and Non vexo nada (I cannot see anything).
How It Works
Vir (to come): veño, vés, vén, vimos, vides, veñen. The standard also accepts vindes for vós; it is the usual form in most of Ourense and Pontevedra and in western A Coruña. Vir is built like ter: teño, veño and teñen, veñen.
Ver (to see): vexo, ves, ve, vemos, vedes, ven. Only the eu form is really irregular.
Pór (to put): poño, pos, pon, pomos, pondes, poñen. Galician also has the longer infinitive poñer, with poño, pos, pon, poñemos, poñedes, poñen. Both are standard. The Academy's norms recommend giving poñer preference, while pór is traditional in much of Ourense and Pontevedra. Pick one set and use it consistently.
Dar (to give): dou, dás, dá, damos, dades, dan.
Accents that change the meaning: these are diacritic accents, so leaving one out writes a different word.
• vés (you come) / ves (you see)
• vén (he comes) / ven (they see; come!)
• dás (you give) / das (of the)
• dá (she gives) / da (of the)
• pór (to put) / por (by, for)
One more look-alike: vimos means both "we come" (present of vir) and "we saw" (preterite of ver). The sentence tells you which: Vimos todos os luns (We come every Monday) and Onte vimos unha película (Yesterday we saw a film). See the preterite of vir and ver.
Useful phrases: vir de (to come from), pór a mesa (to set the table), dar un paseo (to go for a walk), dar clases (to teach classes).
Examples (6)
- Veño de Lugo.
I come from Lugo.
Word by Word: Come-I from Lugo.
Veño is the eu form of vir, built like teño.
- Cando vés?
When are you coming?
Word by Word: When come-you?
Vés (you come) keeps its accent; ves without it means "you see".
- O autobús vén cada media hora.
The bus comes every half hour.
Word by Word: The bus comes each half hour.
Vén, with an accent, is the el/ela form of vir.
- Non vexo nada.
I cannot see anything.
Word by Word: Not see-I nothing.
Vexo is the only irregular present form of ver.
- Poño a mesa e ceamos.
I'll set the table and we'll have dinner.
Word by Word: Put-I the table and dine-we.
Poño is the eu form of both pór and poñer. Pór a mesa means to set the table.
- Os sábados dou un paseo pola praia.
On Saturdays I go for a walk along the beach.
Word by Word: The Saturdays give-I a walk by-the beach.
Dou is the irregular eu form of dar.
Common Mistakes
Leaving the accent off vén.
Miguel ven mañá.Miguel vén mañá.Without the accent, ven means "they see" or the command "come!". The el/ela form of vir needs its diacritic accent.
Using the Spanish form for "I see".
Desde aquí veo o mar.Desde aquí vexo o mar.The eu form of ver is vexo, with x. Veo is Spanish.
Using the Spanish form for "I give".
Doy clases de piano.Dou clases de piano.The eu form of dar ends in -ou, like vou and estou.
How It Connects
Learn This First
These common verbs have special present forms and some distinguishing accents.
Related Patterns
- Present of ter
Vir follows the same pattern as ter: teño and veño, teñen and veñen.
Level 1 - Preterite of vir and ver
The past forms of the same two verbs, where vin can mean both "I came" and "I saw".
Level 2 - Preterite of dar, pór and traer
The past forms of dar and pór: dei and puxen.
Level 2 - Irregular Commands
The commands ven and pon come from these verbs.
Level 2 - sexa / estea / teñaIrregular Present Subjunctives
The present subjunctives of these verbs are veña, vexa, poña and dea.
Level 3
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice Present of vir, ver, pór and dar in Bubblegum
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