Download hablar....................... hablando

Regular Verbs: Present Tense
http://www.studyspanish.com/lessons/regverb3.htm
Here's the complete list of Spanish subject pronouns.
Singular
yo
tú
usted (Ud.)
él
ella
Plural
nosotros/as
vosotros/as
ustedes (Uds.)
ellos
ellas
To conjugate -ar verbs, drop the ending and add:
-o
-as
-a
-amos
-áis
-an
To conjugate -er verbs, drop the ending and add:
-o
-es
-e
-emos
-éis
-en
To conjugate -ir verbs, drop the ending and add:
-o
-es
-e
-imos
-ís
-en
You will benefit greatly by quickly memorizing these three verbs.
hablar
yo hablo
nosotros/as hablamos
tú hablas
vosotros/as habláis
él, ella, usted habla
ellos, ellas, Uds. hablan
comer
yo como
tú comes
él, ella, usted come
nosotros/as comemos
vosotros/as coméis
ellos, ellas, Uds. comen
yo vivo
tú vives
él, ella, Usted vive
nosotros/as vivimos
vosotros/as vivís
ellos, ellas, Uds. viven
vivir
Note: The verb forms are the same for él, ella and Ud. as are the verb forms for ellos, ellas
and Uds.
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In Spanish the subject pronouns are not always required. This is because the verb endings can
indicate who is performing the action.
Hablo español. (Yo is not necessary.)
I speak Spanish.
Comemos carne. (Nosotros is not necessary.)
We eat meat.
Vives en México. (Tú is not necessary.)
You live in Mexico.
Subject pronouns are often used for clarification. For example, the verb form habla is unclear.
Which is meant? Ud. habla, él habla OR ella habla?
Therefore, to distinguish between "you speak," "he speaks," and "she speaks," it may be
necessary to use the subject pronoun. Often, the conversation implies the subject of the verb.
In such cases the subject pronoun may be omitted.
Subject pronouns are often used for emphasis.
Ella habla español y yo hablo inglés.
Here there is no ambiguity with respect to hablo. The subject pronoun is merely adding
emphasis:
She speaks Spanish and I speak English.
Another example of using subject pronouns for emphasis.
Yo como pan y tú comes arroz.
Once again there is no ambiguity. The pronouns emphasize the contrast.
I eat bread and you eat rice.
It is possible to use two verbs in a row. Just like in English, the first verb is conjugated, while
the second verb remains in the infinitive form.
Necesito hablar con Alfredo.
Necesito + hablar + con Alfredo.
I need to speak with Alfredo.
I need + to speak + with Alfredo.
(necesitar, hablar)
Another example of two verbs used together:
Deseas vivir en España.
Deseas + vivir + en España.
You wish to live in Spain. You wish + to live + in Spain.
(desear, vivir)
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Talking about the future:
Ir a + infinitive
In Spanish, many useful expressions are formed by combining two verbs. When this occurs,
the first verb is conjugated, while the second verb remains in the infinitive form.
ir, viajar ................... Yo voy a viajar a España.
I am going to travel to Spain.
acabar, comer ......... Tú acabas de comer.
You have just eaten.
saber, nadar ............ Juan sabe nadar.
Juan knows how to swim.
volver, leer .............. María vuelve a leer el libro.
María reads the book again.
One such expression combines the verb ir (conjugated) with an infinitive. The preposition
“a” is always used. The formula is:
ir a + infinitive = to be going to do something (in the near future)
Voy a llevar a mi hermana a su casa ................. I am going to take my sister to her house.
Vas a invitar a muchas muchachas ................... You are going to invite lots of girls.
Cristina va a conversar con mi mamá ............... Christina is going to talk with my mom.
Eduardo va a leer el libro .................................. Edward is going to read the book.
Remember how to conjugate the verb ir:
voy
vas
va
vamos
vais
van
Here are some useful words and expressions for identifying exactly when you are going
to do something.
hoy .................................................................... today
mañana ............................................................. tomorrow
más tarde ........................................................... later
esta tarde ........................................................... this afternoon
la semana que viene ........................................... next week
el mes que viene ................................................ next month
el año que viene ................................................. next year
esta noche ......................................................... tonight
mañana por la mañana ...................................... tomorrow morning
mañana por la tarde ........................................... tomorrow afternoon
mañana por la noche ......................................... tomorrow night
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Present Progressive: what’s going on right now!
The present progressive is formed by:
combining the verb “to be” with the present participle.
(The present participle is merely the “-ing” form of a verb.)
I am studying.
I am studying with María.
In English, present progressive can be used to describe what is happening now, or what
will happen in the future.
I am studying now.
I am studying with María tonight.
In Spanish, the present progressive is only used to describe an action that is in the process
of taking place. It is not used for future actions.
I am studying now.
(use present progressive)
I am studying with María tonight.
(do not use present progressive)
To form the present progressive in Spanish, combine a form of “estar” with the present
participle.
Estoy hablando................................................... I am speaking.
Juan está comiendo............................................ John is eating.
María está escribiendo una carta......................... Mary is writing a letter.
In order to form the present progressive, you must know how to conjugate the verb estar,
and how to form the present participle. You already know how to conjugate the verb
estar:
estar
estoy
estamos
estás
estáis
está
están
To form the present participle of regular -ar verbs, add -ando to the stem of the verb.
hablar: hablando
trabajar: trabajando
estudiar: estudiando
(hablar - ar + ando)
(trabajar - ar + ando)
(estudiar - ar + ando)
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To form the present participle of regular -er and -ir verbs, add -iendo to the stem of the
verb.
comer: comiendo
(hacer - er + iendo)
escribir: escribiendo
(comer - er + iendo)
vivir: viviendo
(escribir - ir + iendo)
hacer: haciendo
(vivir - ir + iendo)
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Although it is not an -ir stem changing verb, poder also changes o>u in the stem:
poder: pudiendo
Sometimes when forming the present participle it is necessary to change the spelling of
a word so that it agrees with the way it is pronounced. We call this an “orthographic”
change. Here are some common examples:
creer......................... creyendo
oír............................. oyendo
ir............................... yendo
traer.......................... trayendo
influir........................ influyendo
leer........................... leyendo
The following examples illustrate the rules for forming the present participle.
hablar....................... hablando (-ar)
dormir....................... durmiendo (o>u) stemcomer....................... comiendo (-er)
changer
vivir........................... viviendo (-ir)
leer........................... leyendo (orthographic)
decir......................... diciendo (e>i)
ir........................ yendo (orthographic)
stem-changer
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To form the present progressive, simply conjugate the verb estar to agree with the subject
of the sentence, and follow it with the present participle.
Juan está comiendo pan.
María y Carmen están hablando con nosotros.
John is eating bread.
Mary and Carmen are speaking with us.
Remember, only use the present progressive for actions that are “in progress.” Compare
the uses of the present indicative with the uses of the present progressive.
Estudio español. (Present Indicative)
I study Spanish.
I am studying Spanish (these days).
I do study Spanish.
Estoy estudiando español. (Present Progressive)
I am studying (right now, at this moment) Spanish.
It is important to remember that you would never use the present progressive to say something
like “We are going to Spain this summer.”
Use present progressive only for actions that are “in progress.”
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Preterite: Talking about what happened.
Spanish has two past tenses: preterite and imperfect.
Most verbs can be put into either tense, depending upon the meaning.
To conjugate regular -ar verbs in the preterite, simply drop the ending (-ar) and add one
of the following:
é
amos
aste
asteis
ó
aron
“hablar” conjugated in the preterite:
hablé
hablaste
habló
hablamos
hablasteis
hablaron
Generally speaking, the preterite is used for actions in the past that are seen as completed. Use of
the preterite tense implies that the past action had a definite beginning and definite end.
Juan habló de la una hasta las dos.
Juan spoke from one until two o’clock.
(clearly stated beginning and end)
*It is important to realize that the beginning and the end may not always be clearly stated.*
Juan habló dos horas.
Juan habló con la estudiante.
Juan spoke for two hours.
Juan spoke with the student.
(implied beginning and end)
(implied beginning and end)
To conjugate regular -er and -ir verbs in the preterite, simply drop the ending (-er or -ir)
and add one of the following:
í
imos
iste
isteis
ió
ieron
Here are all three regular preterite verb forms together:
HABLAR
hablé
hablaste
habló
hablamos
hablasteis
hablaron
C OME R
comí
comiste
comió
comimos
comisteis
comieron
VIVIR
viví
viviste
vivió
vivimos
vivisteis
vivieron
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NOTE: the nosotros forms for -ar and -ir verbs are the same in both preterite and present tenses:
hablamos,
vivimos.
The preterite is used for actions that can be viewed as single events.
Ella caminó por el parque.
Ellos llegaron a las ocho.
She walked through the park.
They arrived at eight o’clock.
The preterite is used for actions that were repeated a specific number of times, or occurred
during a specific period of time.
Ayer escribí tres cartas.
Vivimos allí por cuatro años.
Yesterday I wrote three letters.
We lived there for four years.
The preterite is used for actions that were part of a chain of events.
Ella se levantó, se vistió, y salió de la casa.
She got up, dressed, and left the house.
The preterite is used to state the beginning or the end of an action.
Empezó a nevar a las ocho de la mañana.
It began to snow at eight in the morning.
The above examples all fall within our general rule for using the preterite:
The preterite is used for past actions that are seen as completed.
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