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Spanish Verb Conjugation (Present Simple)
Let's learn how to conjugate verbs in the present simple tense in Spanish!
Verb Endings
Spanish verbs are grouped into three categories based on their infinitive endings: -ar, -er, and -ir. To conjugate a verb, you remove the infinitive ending and add the correct ending for each pronoun.
Pronouns
Here are the Spanish subject pronouns:
- yo (I)
- tú (you - informal singular)
- él/ella/usted (he/she/you - formal singular)
- nosotros/nosotras (we)
- vosotros/vosotras (you - informal plural, used mainly in Spain)
- ellos/ellas/ustedes (they/you - formal plural)
Regular Verb Conjugations
Here are the endings for regular verbs in the present simple tense:
-ar Verbs (e.g., hablar - to speak)
- yo: hablo
- tú: hablas
- él/ella/usted: habla
- nosotros/nosotras: hablamos
- vosotros/vosotras: habláis
- ellos/ellas/ustedes: hablan
-er Verbs (e.g., comer - to eat)
- yo: como
- tú: comes
- él/ella/usted: come
- nosotros/nosotras: comemos
- vosotros/vosotras: coméis
- ellos/ellas/ustedes: comen
-ir Verbs (e.g., vivir - to live)
- yo: vivo
- tú: vives
- él/ella/usted: vive
- nosotros/nosotras: vivimos
- vosotros/vosotras: vivís
- ellos/ellas/ustedes: viven
Notice that -er and -ir verbs have the same endings except for nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/vosotras.
Irregular Verbs
Many Spanish verbs are irregular, meaning they don't follow these patterns exactly. Some common irregular verbs in the present tense include:
- ser (to be - permanent): soy, eres, es, somos, sois, son
- estar (to be - temporary): estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están
- ir (to go): voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van
- tener (to have): tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tenéis, tienen
- hacer (to do/make): hago, haces, hace, hacemos, hacéis, hacen
- poner (to put): pongo, pones, pone, ponemos, ponéis, ponen
- salir (to leave): salgo, sales, sale, salimos, salís, salen
- decir (to say/tell): digo, dices, dice, decimos, decís, dicen
- venir (to come): vengo, vienes, viene, venimos, venís, vienen
- ver (to see): veo, ves, ve, vemos, veis, ven
- dar (to give): doy, das, da, damos, dais, dan
You'll need to memorize the conjugations of these irregular verbs.
Stem-Changing Verbs
Some verbs have stem changes in the present tense. The stem is the part of the verb before the -ar, -er, or -ir ending. Common stem changes include:
- e to ie (e.g., empezar -> empiezo, quieres, quiere, empezamos, empezáis, quieren)
- o to ue (e.g., poder -> puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, podéis, pueden)
- e to i (e.g., pedir -> pido, pides, pide, pedimos, pedís, piden)
These stem changes usually occur in all forms *except* nosotros and vosotros.