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A verb is a part of speech that expresses action, existence, or occurrence.
An infinitive is the basic verb form. In English we call it a verbal. It does not tell who is performing the action in a sentence (person), or when the action is taking place (tense).
In English: It is a verb form which begins with the word "to".
Example: to speak, to eat, to live.
In Spanish: It is a verb form which ends with the letters "-ar", "-er", or "-ir".
Example: hablar, comer, vivir.
Note: Some Spanish words which are not verb forms also end in these letters, but they are not infinitives since they aren't verbs!
Example: Hablar, which means "to speak or to talk".
HABLar (habl is the stem) HablAR (ar is the ending)
Regular verbs follow a regular pattern in the way they are conjugated.
Verb conjugation is the process where the infinitive is changed in order to identify:
To determine 2 things:
To conjugate a verb in Spanish you drop the ending of the infinitive and add a new stem. Here are some examples.
| Drop the verb ending from the infinitive: | Add a new ending to the stem: |
|---|---|
| Hablar: drop the ar, leaving only the stem HABL. | habl + o = hablo (I speak) |
| Comer: drop the er, leaving only the stem COM. | com + o = como (I eat) |
| Vivir: drop the ir, leaving only the stem VIV | viv + o = vivo ( I live) |
The ending depends upon 2 situations:
The endings are -o, -as, -a, -amos, -an in the present indicative tense. Here is an example with the verb "hablar".
| Yo hablo = I speak | Nosotros hablamos = We speak |
| T煤 hablas = You speak | Vosotros habl谩颈蝉 = You (all) speak |
| 脡l habla = He speaks Ella habla = She speaks Usted habla = You speak |
Ellos or Ellas hablan = They speak Ustedes hablan= You (all) speak |
You can find and practice the conjugation of over 400 -AR verbs by clicking below.
The endings are 鈥搊, -es, -e, -emos, -en in the present indicative tense. Here is an example with the verb "comer".
| Yo como = I eat | Nosotros comemos = We eat |
| T煤 comes = You eat | Vosotros com茅颈蝉 = You (all) eat |
| 脡l come = He eats Ella come = She eats Usted come = You eat |
Ellos or Ellas comen = They eat Ustedes comen = You (all) eat |
You can find and practice the conjugation of over 100 -ER verbs by clicking below.
The endings are 鈥搊, -es, -e, -imos, en in the present indicative tense. Here is an example with the verb "vivir".
| Yo vivo = I live | Nosotros vivamos = We live |
| T煤 vivas = You live | Vosotros viv谩颈蝉 = You (all) live |
| 脡l viva = He lives Ella viva = She lives Usted viva = You live |
Ellos or Ellas vivan = They live Ustedes vivan = You (all) live |
You can find and practice the conjugation of over 100 -IR verbs by clicking below.
That鈥檚 simple!
It depends upon the subject. If the subject is I, you use 鈥搊; if it is we, you use 鈥揳mos, etc. Remember, always look for the subject first!
There are 14 Spanish verb tenses. This includes 7 simple tenses (1 verb), and 7 compound tenses (a verb preceded by a helping verb).
Note: It is important that each student master the Present Indicative tense as well as possible. The concepts and principles related to verbs that are learned in studying the Present tense will make the other tenses much easy.
Language students study verbs by means of the 鈥渧erb chart鈥�. This is simply a means of visualizing the concept of verb conjugation and is used as a tool for learning this concept.
Eventually all students who wish to become fluent in a language must actually learn what the individual words (conjugated verbs) mean. This comes from lots of practice. In the meantime, the verb chart is an effective tool to help the student through the early stages.
Subject pronouns are simply pronouns used as the subject of a sentence.
| I | We |
| You (familiar) | You (familiar) in Spain |
| He, She, It, and You (formal) | They and You (plural) |
| yo | nosotros & nosotras |
| 迟煤 | vosotros & vosotras |
| 茅l, ella, and usted (Ud.) | ellos, ellas, and ustedes (Uds.) |
Spanish speaking people have a unique way of speaking to other people that requires using one of two verb forms. These are called the formal and the familiar (sometimes called the informal).
These are used when one person is speaking to another person or persons, not when speaking about them.
In Spain and the Canary Islands they also use two forms depending whether they are speaking to one person or more than one person (see note below). However, Spanish speakers in Latin America and the United States use only one form in speaking to more than one person, regardless of who they are.
The familiar uses the 迟煤 form of the verb. This is sometimes called the 2nd person singular. (Spain uses the vosotros form, sometimes called the 2nd person plural.)
When speaking to close family members, friends, members of your own peer group, small children, and sometimes pets. This rule varies from one Spanish speaking country to another and from one family to another.
Spanish speaking people use the formal in all cases where they would not use the familiar. It is used when you are not acquainted with the other person, when the person has authority over you, when it is proper to show respect to the other person (such as children talking to adults), or whenever you are in doubt what form you should use.
| English | Familiar/Informal Spanish | Formal Spanish |
|---|---|---|
| How are you? | 驴C贸mo est谩s 迟煤? | 驴C贸mo est谩 usted? |
| What鈥檚 your name? | 驴C贸mo te llamas 迟煤? | 驴C贸mo se llama Ud? |
| Where are you going? | 驴Ad贸nde vas? | 驴Ad贸nde va Ud? |
| Do you speak Spanish? | 驴Hablas 迟煤 espa帽ol? | 驴Habla usted espa帽ol? |
| Do you want the book? | 驴Quieres 迟煤 el libro? | 驴Quiere Ud. el libro? |
| Are you waiting for the train? | 驴Esperas 迟煤 el tren? | 驴Espera Ud. el tren? |
Latin Americans and Spanish speaking people in the United States usually use the familiar only when talking to one person. When they are speaking to more than one person they will use the same form regardless to whom they are speaking. Here are some examples using the English phrase "do you have my book?".
| Latin America/The United States | Spain/The Canary Islands |
|---|---|
| (Talking to a friend) 驴Tienes mi libro? |
(Talking to a friend) 驴Tienes mi libro? |
| (Talking to 2 or more friends) 驴Tienen ustedes mi libro? |
(Talking to 2 or more friends) 驴Ten茅颈蝉 vosotros mi libro? |
| (Talking to 2 or more people to whom you owe respect) 驴Tienen ustedes mi libro? |
(Talking to 2 or more people to whom you owe respect) 驴Tienen ustedes mi libro? |
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