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Present Tense

In Spanish, there are three categories of verbs. The category is determined by the last two letters of the infinitive:

-ar verbs (like hablar)

-er verbs (like comer)

-ir verbs (like vivir)

The infinitive is the base form of the verb, such as to speak, to eat, to live, etc. In Spanish, all infinitives end in -ar, -er, or -ir.

-ar verb

hablar (to speak)

-er verb

comer (to eat)

-ir verb

vivir (to live)

To conjugate a verb means to manipulate the infinitive so that it agrees with the different possible subjects. Here is the present tense conjugation of the infinitive “to speak”:

to speak

I speak, you speak, he speaks, she speaks, we speak, you-all speak, they speak

The present tense in Spanish can mean three things. The Spanish phrase “yo hablo” can mean:

yo hablo

I speak

yo hablo

I am speaking

yo hablo

I do speak

Many Spanish verbs are completely

regular, meaning that they follow

a specific pattern of conjugation.

In this lesson you will learn to

conjugate regular -ar, -er, and

-ir verbs (in the present tense).

Before you can do that, you must

memorize the following subject

pronouns.

yo (I)

tú (you - informal)

él (he)

ella (she)

usted (you - formal)

nosotros/nosotras (we)

vosotros/vosotras (you-all -

informal)

ellos/ellas (they)

ustedes (you-all formal)

Spanish infinitives are divided into two parts: the ending and the stem. The ending is the last two letters. Remember, all infinitives end in -ar, -er, or -ir. The stem is everything that’s left after you remove the ending.

habl + ar = hablar

com + er = comer

viv + ir = vivir

In Spanish, you conjugate verbs by changing the ending. If the subject is I (yo), conjugate by dropping the ending and add -o.

yo hablo (hablar - ar + o = hablo)

I speak, I am speaking, I do speak

If the subject is you - informal (tú), conjugate by dropping