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Key points about regular verbs in the present tense in Spanish

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  • Each 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.

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Video - Regular verbs in the present tense

Watch this video to revise how to use verbs in the present tense in Spanish.

Learn how to use the Spanish present tense with 'ar', 'er' and 'ir' verbs

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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 .

For example:

- to talk

- to eat

- 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.

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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 .

This is how to conjugate the verb escuchar (to listen) in Spanish:

Subject PronounStemEndingExampleEnglish
yoescucho(yo) escuchoI listen
迟煤escuchas(迟煤) escuchasyou (informal) listen
茅濒/别濒濒补/耻蝉迟别诲escucha(茅濒/别濒濒补/耻蝉迟别诲) escuchahe/she/you (formal) listens
nosotros/asescuchamos(nosotros/as) escuchamoswe listen
vosotros/asescuch谩颈蝉(vosotros/as) escuch谩颈蝉you (informal) listen
ellos/ellas/ustedesescuchan(ellos/ellas/ ustedes) escuchanthey/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:

- to speak

Hablo espa帽ol. - I speak Spanish.

- to cook

驴Cocinas para tu familia? - Do you cook for your family?

- to hate

Mar铆a odia las verduras. - Mar铆a hates vegetables.

Conjugating regular 'ar' verbs - Mini quiz

Icon representing a multiple-choice question with answers A, B and C

Translate the following sentence into English:

驴Tu madre cocina platos t铆picos?

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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 PronounStemEndingExampleEnglish
yocomo(yo) comoI eat
迟煤comes(迟煤) comesyou (informal) eat
茅濒/别濒濒补/耻蝉迟别诲come(茅濒/别濒濒补/耻蝉迟别诲) comehe/she/you (formal) eats
nosotros/ascomemos(nosotros/as) comemoswe eat
vosotros/ascom茅颈蝉(vosotros/as) com茅颈蝉you (informal) eat
ellos/ellas/ustedescomen(ellos/ellas/ustedes) comenthey/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:

- to drink

Bebes limonada. - You drink lemonade.

- to read

Leo un libro. - I read a book.

- to see/watch

Veo la television. - I watch television.

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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 PronounStemEndingExampleEnglish
yovivo(yo) vivoI live
迟煤vives(迟煤) vivesyou (informal) live
茅濒/别濒濒补/耻蝉迟别诲vive(茅l/ella/ usted) vivehe/she/you (formal) lives
nosotros/asvivimos(nosotros/as) vivimoswe live
vosotros/asviv铆蝉(vosotros/as) viv铆蝉you (informal) live
ellos/ellas/ustedesviven(ellos/ellas/ustedes) viventhey/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:

- to write

Escribes un e-mail. - You write an email.

- to receive

Recibo un mensaje. - I receive a message.

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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.

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Video - Using the present tense

Watch this video about how to use verbs in the present tense.

An explanation of the uses of the present tense and how to conjugate it

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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?

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