7.3 Verbos Regulares
Verbos Regulares
In Spanish, regular verbs follow a similar pattern when they are conjugated in the present tense. They are distinguished by their ending (-ar, -er and -ir) in the infinitive (unconjugated form). Verbs are composed of two parts: the stem and the ending. For example, in the infinitive (the unconjugated form) the verb hablar (to speak) is made up of the stem (habl-) and the ending (-ar).
| habl | ar |
|---|---|
| stem | ending |
The stem is the verb’s main part, it generally remains unchanged as it conveys the meaning. The ending, for its part, will change to indicate the subject who is performing the action and the verb tense (past, present or future).
-AR Verbs
To conjugate the verb, the first step is to drop the infinitive ending (-ar) and add the ending that is specific to the subject.
Drag the Words
Hablar (to speak)
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hablo | I speak |
| Tú | hablas | You speak |
| Él/ella | habla | He/she speak |
| Usted | habla | You speak (formal) |
| Nosotros | hablamos | We speak |
| Vosotros | habláis | You speak (informal plural, Spain only) |
| Ellos/ellas | hablan | They speak |
| Ustedes | hablan | You speak (formal/informal plural) |
-ER and -IR Verbs
As you saw before, to conjugate the verb the first step is to drop the infinitive ending and add the ending that is specific to the subject. Please note, the endings for -er and -ir verbs are the same, except for nosotros and vosotros.
ER verbs: stem + new ending (o, es, e, emos, éis, en)
IR verbs: stem + new ending (o, es, e, imos, is, en).
Comer (to eat)
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | como | I eat |
| Tú | comes | You eat |
| Él/ella | come | He/she eats |
| Usted | come | You eat (formal) |
| Nosotros | comemos | We eat |
| Vosotros | coméis | You eat (informal plural, Spain only) |
| Ellos/ellas | comen | They eat |
| Ustedes | comen | You eat (formal/informal plural) |
Vivir (to live)
| Person | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | vivo | I live |
| Tú | vives | You live |
| Él/ella | vive | He/she lives |
| Usted | vive | You live (formal) |
| Nosotros | vivimos | We live |
| Vosotros | vivís | You live (informal plural, Spain only) |
| Ellos/ellas | viven | They live |
| Ustedes | viven | You live (formal/informal plural) |
Negation
In Spanish, to negate an affirmative sentence or to write a negative sentence no is placed before the conjugated verb.
Yo no hablo japonés.
I don’t speak Japanese.
This section includes content derived from Introduction to French (2nd ed.), originally released under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, Liberté, originally released under CC BY-NC-SA, and Tex’s French Grammar, originally released under CC BY 3.0.
