Regular Present Tense (-ar, -er, -ir)

How Spanish verbs work

Spanish verbs change their endings to show who is doing the action and when. This means you can often drop the subject pronoun entirely - the verb ending tells the listener everything. All Spanish verbs belong to one of three groups based on their infinitive ending:

• -ar verbs (the largest group): hablar (to speak), trabajar (to work)
• -er verbs: comer (to eat), beber (to drink)
• -ir verbs: vivir (to live), escribir (to write)

Subject pronouns

Before conjugating, let's review the pronouns:

Spanish	English	Notes
yo	I
tú	you (informal)	Friends, family, peers
él / ella / usted	he / she / you (formal)	Usted uses the él/ella verb form
nosotros / nosotras	we	-as for all-female groups
vosotros / vosotras	you all (informal)	-as for all-female groups
ellos / ellas / ustedes	they / you all (formal)

Remember: Subject pronouns are often dropped in Spanish because the verb ending already shows the subject. Hablo español (I speak Spanish) - no need for yo.

-ar verbs: hablar (to speak)

Person	Conjugation	Example
yo	hablo	Hablo español. - I speak Spanish.
tú	hablas	Hablas muy rápido. - You speak very fast.
él/ella/usted	habla	Habla inglés. - He/She speaks English.
nosotros	hablamos	Hablamos francés. - We speak French.
vosotros	habláis	Habláis italiano. - You all speak Italian.
ellos/ustedes	hablan	Hablan alemán. - They speak German.

Other common -ar verbs

Verb	English	Verb	English
trabajar	to work	estudiar	to study
comprar	to buy	cocinar	to cook
llamar	to call	caminar	to walk
escuchar	to listen	mirar	to look / watch
necesitar	to need	descansar	to rest
llegar	to arrive	tomar	to take / drink

-er verbs: comer (to eat)

Person	Conjugation	Example
yo	como	Como a las dos. - I eat at two.
tú	comes	Comes mucho. - You eat a lot.
él/ella/usted	come	Come fruta. - He/She eats fruit.
nosotros	comemos	Comemos juntos. - We eat together.
vosotros	coméis	Coméis en casa. - You all eat at home.
ellos/ustedes	comen	Comen a las nueve. - They eat at nine.

Other common -er verbs

Verb	English	Verb	English
beber	to drink	leer	to read
aprender	to learn	comprender	to understand
correr	to run	vender	to sell
creer	to creer	deber	must / to owe

-ir verbs: vivir (to live)

Person	Conjugation	Example
yo	vivo	Vivo en Londres. - I live in London.
tú	vives	Vives cerca. - You live nearby.
él/ella/usted	vive	Vive en Madrid. - He/She lives in Madrid.
nosotros	vivimos	Vivimos en un piso. - We live in a flat.
vosotros	vivís	Vivís en el centro. - You all live in the centre.
ellos/ustedes	viven	Viven en España. - They live in Spain.

Spot the pattern

Notice that -er and -ir verbs share almost identical endings - they only differ in the nosotros and vosotros forms:

Person	-ar	-er	-ir
yo	-o	-o	-o
tú	-as	-es	-es
él/ella	-a	-e	-e
nosotros	-amos	-emos	-imos
vosotros	-áis	-éis	-ís
ellos	-an	-en	-en

Making sentences negative

Simply put no before the verb:

• Hablo español. → No hablo español. - I don't speak Spanish.
• Comemos carne. → No comemos carne. - We don't eat meat.

Practice

Conjugate the verb in brackets for the correct person:

1. Yo (trabajar) _____ en un hospital.
2. Tú (beber) _____ mucho café.
3. Ella (vivir) _____ en Barcelona.
4. Nosotros (estudiar) _____ español.
5. Ellos (comer) _____ a las dos.
6. Usted (escribir) _____ muy bien.

Key takeaways

• Spanish verbs fall into three groups: -ar, -er, -ir. Remove the ending and add the appropriate conjugation.
• The yo form always ends in -o for all regular verbs.
• -er and -ir verbs share nearly identical endings; they only differ in nosotros (-emos vs. -imos) and vosotros (-éis vs. -ís).
• Subject pronouns are usually dropped because the verb ending already tells you who.
• To make a sentence negative, put no before the verb.