Key points about regular verbs in the present tense in Spanish
Each subject pronounReplaces a noun that is the subject of the verb. has its own verb ending in Spanish.
The ending of the verb indicates who is carrying out the action.
Subject pronouns are not always needed when using verbs in Spanish.
Video - Regular verbs in the present tense
Watch this video to revise how to use verbs in the present tense in Spanish.
What are conjugated verbs in the present tense in Spanish?
All Spanish鈥痸erbs鈥痚nd in either鈥补谤,鈥痚谤鈥痮谤鈥ir. This form of the verb is called the infinitiveForm of the verb that has not been conjugated. Usually translated with 'to' in English, eg to play..
For example:
Sorry, something went wrongCheck your connection, refresh the page and try again. - to talk
Sorry, something went wrongCheck your connection, refresh the page and try again. - to eat
Sorry, something went wrongCheck your connection, refresh the page and try again. - to live
When using verbs, you will need to be able to conjugate them. Conjugating a verb means changing the infinitive ending to match the subject pronoun (yo, 迟煤, 茅l, ella etc).
In Spanish there is a unique verb ending for each subject pronoun, so the verb ending tells you who is doing the action. For this reason, you don鈥檛 always need to use subject pronouns in Spanish.
How to conjugate regular 'ar' verbs in the present tense in Spanish
To conjugate regular verbs that end in ar, remove the ar ending from the infinitive and add the unique ending that goes with each subject pronoun to the stemThe part of the verb that is left once the infinitive ending (ar/er/ir) has been taken off. It can also be called a radical..
This is how to conjugate the verb escuchar (to listen) in Spanish:
Subject Pronoun | Stem | Ending | Example | English |
---|---|---|---|---|
yo | escuch | o | (yo) escucho | I listen |
迟煤 | escuch | as | (迟煤) escuchas | you (informal) listen |
茅濒/别濒濒补/耻蝉迟别诲 | escuch | a | (茅濒/别濒濒补/耻蝉迟别诲) escucha | he/she/you (formal) listens |
nosotros/as | escuch | amos | (nosotros/as) escuchamos | we listen |
vosotros/as | escuch | 谩颈蝉 | (vosotros/as) escuch谩颈蝉 | you (informal) listen |
ellos/ellas/ustedes | escuch | an | (ellos/ellas/ ustedes) escuchan | they/you (formal) listen |
For example:
Yo escucho m煤sica pop pero 茅l escucha m煤sica soul. - I listen to pop music but he listens to soul music.
Other common regular ar verbs include:
Sorry, something went wrongCheck your connection, refresh the page and try again. - to speak
Hablo espa帽ol. - I speak Spanish.
Sorry, something went wrongCheck your connection, refresh the page and try again. - to cook
驴Cocinas para tu familia? - Do you cook for your family?
Sorry, something went wrongCheck your connection, refresh the page and try again. - to hate
Mar铆a odia las verduras. - Mar铆a hates vegetables.
Conjugating regular 'ar' verbs - Mini quiz
Translate the following sentence into English:
驴Tu madre cocina platos t铆picos?
Does your mum cook typical dishes?
The ending a is used as the pronoun is she.
How to conjugate regular 'er' verbs in the present tense in Spanish
To conjugate regular verbs that end in er, remove the er ending from the infinitive and add the unique ending that goes with each subject pronoun to the stem.
This is how to conjugate the verb comer (to eat) in Spanish:
Subject Pronoun | Stem | Ending | Example | English |
---|---|---|---|---|
yo | com | o | (yo) como | I eat |
迟煤 | com | es | (迟煤) comes | you (informal) eat |
茅濒/别濒濒补/耻蝉迟别诲 | com | e | (茅濒/别濒濒补/耻蝉迟别诲) come | he/she/you (formal) eats |
nosotros/as | com | emos | (nosotros/as) comemos | we eat |
vosotros/as | com | 茅颈蝉 | (vosotros/as) com茅颈蝉 | you (informal) eat |
ellos/ellas/ustedes | com | en | (ellos/ellas/ustedes) comen | they/you (formal) eat |
For example:
Ella come cereales y 迟煤 comes tostadas. - She eats cereal and you eat toast.
Other common regular er verbs include:
Sorry, something went wrongCheck your connection, refresh the page and try again. - to drink
Bebes limonada. - You drink lemonade.
Sorry, something went wrongCheck your connection, refresh the page and try again. - to read
Leo un libro. - I read a book.
Sorry, something went wrongCheck your connection, refresh the page and try again. - to see/watch
Veo la television. - I watch television.
How to conjugate regular 'ir' verbs in the present tense in Spanish
To conjugate regular verbs that end in ir, remove the ir ending from the infinitive and add the unique ending that goes with each subject pronoun to the stem.
This is how to conjugate the verb vivir (to live) in Spanish:
Subject Pronoun | Stem | Ending | Example | English |
---|---|---|---|---|
yo | viv | o | (yo) vivo | I live |
迟煤 | viv | es | (迟煤) vives | you (informal) live |
茅濒/别濒濒补/耻蝉迟别诲 | viv | e | (茅l/ella/ usted) vive | he/she/you (formal) lives |
nosotros/as | viv | imos | (nosotros/as) vivimos | we live |
vosotros/as | viv | 铆蝉 | (vosotros/as) viv铆蝉 | you (informal) live |
ellos/ellas/ustedes | viv | en | (ellos/ellas/ustedes) viven | they/you (formal) live |
For example:
Yo vivo en M谩nchester pero 迟煤 vives en Birmingham. - I live in Manchester but you live in Birmingham.
Other common regular ir verbs include:
Sorry, something went wrongCheck your connection, refresh the page and try again. - to write
Escribes un e-mail. - You write an email.
Sorry, something went wrongCheck your connection, refresh the page and try again. - to receive
Recibo un mensaje. - I receive a message.
When to use the present tense in Spanish
The present tense is used to:
say what we do regularly
say what is happening now
describe what things are like
For example:
Toco la guitarra todos los d铆as. - I play the guitar every day.
Estudio ingl茅s y espa帽ol. - I study English and Spanish.
Mi uniforme es muy feo. - My uniform is very ugly.
Video - Using the present tense
Watch this video about how to use verbs in the present tense.
Quiz - Present tense regular verbs in Spanish
Practise what you've learned about present tense regular verbs in Spanish with this quiz.
Now you have learned about present tense regular verbs in Spanish why not explore desde hace and the present tense in Spanish?
More on Present tense verbs
Find out more by working through a topic
- count2 of 10
- count4 of 10
- count5 of 10