Regular verbs in Spanish follow consistent patterns for -AR, -ER, and -IR endings. By removing the infinitive ending and adding specific endings for each subject pronoun, you can easily conjugate these verbs in the present tense.
Understanding these patterns is crucial for expressing habitual actions, daily routines, and current events. Mastering regular verb conjugations builds a strong foundation for more complex Spanish grammar and helps you communicate effectively in various situations.
Conjugating regular verbs
Regular verb conjugation patterns
- Regular verbs follow consistent conjugation patterns in the present tense
- Verb stem remains unchanged
- Specific endings added based on the subject pronoun
- To conjugate regular -AR verbs, remove the -AR ending from the infinitive and add the following endings:
- -o (yo)
- -as (tú)
- -a (él/ella/usted)
- -amos (nosotros)
- -áis (vosotros)
- -an (ellos/ellas/ustedes)
- To conjugate regular -ER verbs, remove the -ER ending from the infinitive and add the following endings:
- -o (yo)
- -es (tú)
- -e (él/ella/usted)
- -emos (nosotros)
- -éis (vosotros)
- -en (ellos/ellas/ustedes)
- To conjugate regular -IR verbs, remove the -IR ending from the infinitive and add the following endings:
- -o (yo)
- -es (tú)
- -e (él/ella/usted)
- -imos (nosotros)
- -ís (vosotros)
- -en (ellos/ellas/ustedes)
Examples of regular verb conjugations
- Hablar (to speak): hablo, hablas, habla, hablamos, habláis, hablan
- Comer (to eat): como, comes, come, comemos, coméis, comen
- Vivir (to live): vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, vivís, viven
- Estudiar (to study): estudio, estudias, estudia, estudiamos, estudiáis, estudian
- Aprender (to learn): aprendo, aprendes, aprende, aprendemos, aprendéis, aprenden
- Escribir (to write): escribo, escribes, escribe, escribimos, escribís, escriben
Verb patterns and endings
Theme vowels
- The primary difference between the three verb types is the theme vowel
- -AR verbs have an "a" theme vowel
- -ER verbs have an "e" theme vowel
- -IR verbs have an "i" theme vowel
- The theme vowel appears in all conjugated forms of the verb, except for the "yo" form
- -AR verbs: -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an
- -ER verbs: -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en
- -IR verbs: -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en
Verb endings for each subject pronoun
- -AR verb endings:
- -o (yo)
- -as (tú)
- -a (él/ella/usted)
- -amos (nosotros)
- -áis (vosotros)
- -an (ellos/ellas/ustedes)
- -ER verb endings:
- -o (yo)
- -es (tú)
- -e (él/ella/usted)
- -emos (nosotros)
- -éis (vosotros)
- -en (ellos/ellas/ustedes)
- -IR verb endings:
- -o (yo)
- -es (tú)
- -e (él/ella/usted)
- -imos (nosotros)
- -ís (vosotros)
- -en (ellos/ellas/ustedes)
Present tense verbs in context
Describing habitual actions and daily routines
- Regular present tense verbs describe habitual actions and daily routines
- "Yo trabajo en una oficina" (I work in an office)
- "Ella estudia español todos los días" (She studies Spanish every day)
- "Nosotros comemos en un restaurante cada viernes" (We eat at a restaurant every Friday)
- "Ellos aprenden matemáticas en la escuela" (They learn mathematics at school)
- Use regular present tense verbs to talk about repeated actions or habits
- "Tú corres en el parque cada mañana" (You run in the park every morning)
- "Vosotros leéis libros antes de dormir" (You all read books before sleeping)
Expressing current events and actions happening now
- Regular present tense verbs express current events and actions happening now or in the near future
- "Yo cocino la cena en este momento" (I am cooking dinner at this moment)
- "Ella escribe un correo electrónico ahora mismo" (She is writing an email right now)
- "Nosotros miramos una película esta noche" (We are watching a movie tonight)
- "Ellos viajan a España la próxima semana" (They are traveling to Spain next week)
- Use regular present tense verbs to describe ongoing actions or events in the present
- "Tú cantas en el coro de la iglesia" (You sing in the church choir)
- "Vosotros bailáis salsa en la fiesta" (You all are dancing salsa at the party)
Subject pronoun vs verb endings
Matching subject pronouns with verb endings
- The verb ending changes based on the subject pronoun to indicate who is performing the action
- Yo: -o (hablo, como, vivo)
- Tú: -as (AR), -es (ER/IR) (hablas, comes, vives)
- Él/Ella/Usted: -a (AR), -e (ER/IR) (habla, come, vive)
- Nosotros: -amos (AR), -emos (ER), -imos (IR) (hablamos, comemos, vivimos)
- Vosotros: -áis (AR), -éis (ER/IR) (habláis, coméis, vivís)
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes: -an (AR), -en (ER/IR) (hablan, comen, viven)
- Memorize the endings for each verb type and subject pronoun to accurately conjugate regular verbs
Choosing the correct verb form based on the subject
- Identify the subject of the sentence to determine the appropriate verb ending
- "Juan estudia en la biblioteca" (Juan studies in the library) - 3rd person singular (él)
- "Mis amigos y yo jugamos al fútbol" (My friends and I play soccer) - 1st person plural (nosotros)
- Practice matching subjects with their corresponding verb forms
- Yo (1st person singular): "Yo camino al trabajo todos los días" (I walk to work every day)
- Tú (2nd person singular, informal): "Tú respondes a las preguntas del profesor" (You answer the teacher's questions)
- Ella (3rd person singular, feminine): "Ella comprende el material del curso" (She understands the course material)
- Nosotros (1st person plural): "Nosotros decidimos ir al cine este fin de semana" (We decide to go to the movies this weekend)
- Vosotros (2nd person plural, informal): "Vosotros compartís la comida con vuestros amigos" (You all share food with your friends)
- Ellos (3rd person plural, masculine): "Ellos venden productos en línea" (They sell products online)