Spanish Verbs (Speedy Study Guides). Speedy Publishing

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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