You're at a café in Madrid and someone asks, "¿Hablas español?" You want to say "Yes, a little. I live in London and I study at night." Every verb here is in the present tense, and all three are regular: hablar, vivir, estudiar. Learn three sets of endings and you can use hundreds of verbs.
Level: A1.
Infinitives and stems
Spanish verbs are listed in the infinitive, the "to" form. Every infinitive ends in -ar, -er or -ir.
- hablar (to speak)
- comer (to eat)
- vivir (to live)
To conjugate a regular verb, take off the last two letters to get the stem, then add an ending that shows who is doing it: habl-, com-, viv-.
The three sets of endings
| -ar: hablar | -er: comer | -ir: vivir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablo | como | vivo |
| tú | hablas | comes | vives |
| él, ella, usted | habla | come | vive |
| nosotros, nosotras | hablamos | comemos | vivimos |
| vosotros, vosotras | habláis | coméis | vivís |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | hablan | comen | viven |
-er and -ir verbs share most endings. They differ only with nosotros (comemos, vivimos) and vosotros (coméis, vivís).
Who is "you"?
- tú: one person you know well.
- usted: one person, formal. It takes the same verb form as él and ella.
- vosotros: a group you know well. Used in most of Spain.
- ustedes: a group. In Latin America it's used for every group; in most of Spain it's the formal plural.
In Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and much of Central America, people say vos instead of tú, with slightly different verb forms. This deck uses tú.
You can drop the pronoun
The ending already tells you who is acting, so Spanish speakers often leave out yo, tú and nosotros. "Hablo español" means "I speak Spanish". Add the pronoun for emphasis or contrast: "Yo hablo español, pero él no."
What the present tense covers
One Spanish form does the work of several English ones. "Como" can mean "I eat", "I am eating" or "I do eat". The present also describes habits ("Trabajo los lunes": I work on Mondays) and fixed plans in the near future ("Mañana hablo con ella": I'm talking to her tomorrow).
Useful regular verbs
- -ar: estudiar (to study), trabajar (to work), escuchar (to listen), tomar (to take, to drink), necesitar (to need)
- -er: beber (to drink), leer (to read), aprender (to learn), comprender (to understand)
- -ir: escribir (to write), abrir (to open), recibir (to receive)
Mistakes learners make
- Translating "I am studying" word for word. "Yo soy estudiando" is wrong. Say "estudio".
- Mixing -er and -ir in the nosotros form. Comemos, but vivimos.
- Forgetting the accent in the vosotros form. Habláis, coméis, vivís.
- Keeping the infinitive. "Yo hablar" isn't a sentence. Change the ending: "hablo".
Frequently asked questions
What are the present tense endings in Spanish?
For -ar verbs: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an. For -er verbs: -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en. For -ir verbs: -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en.
What's the difference between -er and -ir endings?
They're the same except for nosotros (-emos, -imos) and vosotros (-éis, -ís).
Do I need to use yo, tú and other pronouns?
Usually not. The verb ending shows who is acting, so pronouns are left out unless you want emphasis, contrast or clarity: habla can mean he, she or usted.
How do you say "I am eating" in Spanish?
"Como". The simple present covers "I eat" and "I am eating".
Try it
Say each answer out loud before you flip the card. Then answer the question from the café: ¿Cómo se dice "I live in London and I study at night"?