Spanish flag

Verbs followed directly by an infinitive

When you want to say things like "I want to eat" or "I need to sleep" in Spanish, you have to use two verbs together. English speakers often assume they need a connecting word to translate the English "to". However, for many of the most common Spanish verbs, you do not need any connecting prepositions at all.

Instead, verbs like querer, poder, and deber are followed directly by an infinitive. You simply conjugate the first verb to match the subject, and you leave the second verb in its base form (ending in -ar, -er, or -ir). Trying to conjugate the second verb or inserting an extra a or de between them is a very common beginner mistake.

Word list
amarA1 to love amo bailar = I love to dance necesitarA1 to need necesito dormir = I need to sleep poderA1 can puedo hablar = I can speak quererA1 to want quiero comer = I want to eat recordarA1 to remember recuerda cerrar la puerta = remember to close the door deberA2 must debo estudiar = I must study decidirA2 to decide decidió salir = he decided to leave dejarA2 to let me dejan salir = they let me go out elegirA2 to choose eligió estudiar medicina = he chose to study medicine escogerA2 to choose escogió quedarse = she chose to stay esperarA2 to hope espero verte = I hope to see you intentarA2 to try intento aprender = I am trying to learn odiarA2 to hate odio madrugar = I hate getting up early olvidarA2 to forget olvidé cerrar la puerta = I forgot to close the door permitirA2 to let me permite salir = he allows me to go out preferirA2 to prefer prefiero caminar = I prefer to walk prometerA2 to promise prometo llegar a tiempo = I promise to arrive on time saberA2 to know how sé nadar = I know how to swim solerA2 to do usually suelo llegar tarde = I usually arrive late aconsejarB1 to advise te aconsejo descansar = I advise you to rest acordarB1 to agree acordaron reunirse = they agreed to meet admitirB1 to admit admitió haber mentido = he admitted having lied adorarB1 to love adoro viajar = I love to travel conseguirB1 to manage conseguí abrir la puerta = I managed to open the door detestarB1 to hate detesto esperar = I hate waiting evitarB1 to avoid evito comer tarde = I avoid eating late lograrB1 to manage logré terminar = I managed to finish merecerB1 to deserve merece ganar = she deserves to win merecerseB1 to deserve se merece descansar = he deserves to rest parecerB1 to appear parece estar cansado = he seems to be tired permitirseB1 to afford no puedo permitirme viajar = I can't afford to travel procurarB1 to try procuro ser feliz = I try to be happy proponerB1 to suggest propuso ir al cine = he suggested going to the cinema recomendarB1 to recommend te recomiendo leer este libro = I recommend you read this book reconocerB1 to admit reconoció haberse equivocado = she admitted being wrong sugerirB1 to suggest sugiero salir temprano = I suggest leaving early aborrecerB2 to hate aborrezco madrugar = I loathe getting up early confesarB2 to confess confesó haber mentido = he confessed to having lied desearB2 to desire deseo viajar = I wish to travel fingirB2 to pretend finge dormir = he pretends to be asleep lamentarB2 to regret lamento llegar tarde = I'm sorry for arriving late negarB2 to deny negó haberlo hecho = he denied having done it pensarB2 to intend pienso ir = I plan to go planearB2 to intend planeo viajar en julio = I plan to travel in July pretenderB2 to intend ¿qué pretendes hacer? = what do you intend to do? sentirB2 to regret siento llegar tarde = I'm sorry I'm late osarC1 to dare no osó hablar = he didn't dare to speak simularC1 to pretend simuló estar enfermo = he pretended to be sick
The Core Helpers

Some of the most frequent verbs in Spanish act a lot like English modal verbs (such as "can" or "must"). When you use poder, deber, querer, or necesitar, you attach the action you want to do right to the end.

No puedo venir hoy.
(I can't come today.)
Nosotros queremos comer pizza.
(We want to eat pizza.)
Tú debes estudiar más.
(You must study more.)
Ellos necesitan salir temprano.
(They need to leave early.)
Habits, Knowledge, and Preferences

A few verbs express how you do something or how you feel about doing it. For example, soler is a very useful verb that means you do something usually or regularly. It is always followed directly by an infinitive.

Yo suelo llegar tarde.
(I usually arrive late.)

Similarly, when you want to say that you "know how" to do something, you use saber plus the infinitive. While you can sometimes say saber cómo, just the infinitive is the most natural way to express a skill.

Mi hermano sabe tocar el piano.
(My brother knows how to play the piano.)
Yo prefiero caminar por la mañana.
(I prefer to walk in the morning.)
Planning and Trying

When you talk about your plans, hopes, or attempts, verbs like pensar, esperar, decidir, and intentar also link directly to an infinitive. Note that this rule only works when the person making the plan is the same person doing the action (meaning both verbs have the same subject). If you hope that someone else does something, the sentence structure changes completely.

Nosotros pensamos viajar a México.
(We plan to travel to Mexico.)
Siempre intento aprender algo nuevo.
(I always try to learn something new.)
Ella espera ver a sus amigos pronto.
(She hopes to see her friends soon.)
Summary

When pairing these common verbs with another action, follow a simple rule. Conjugate the first verb, leave the second verb in the infinitive, and never put a preposition between them.