Download How to conjugate present tense verbs in Spanish

El presente
Conjugation is the joining together of a subject pronoun with a verb. You may not have
noticed, but in English we conjugate by making a distinction between “I eat” and “He
eats.” The verb changes depending on who the subject is. A better example is the verb “to
be,” which conjugates as: “I am,” “you are,” “he is.” In this case, the conjugation is much
more noticeable as each pronoun has a distinct verb. While Modern Standard English’s
conjugations are subtle, Spanish is much more complex.
Remembering our chart of subject pronouns is the first step to learning how to conjugate
verbs in Spanish.
Person
First
Singular
Yo (I)
Plural
Nosotros (We, masculine/mixed)
Nosotras (We, feminine)
Tú (You, informal)
Vosotros (You, masculine/mixed)
Vosotras (You, feminine)
Él (He)
Ella (She)
Usted (You, formal)
Ellos (They, masculine/mixed)
Ellas (They feminine)
Ustedes (You, formal)
Second
Third
Spanish verbs are learnt in the infinitive. The infinitive is a neutral mood that is expressed
in English with the prefix “to.” Examples of English infinitives are “to speak,” “to eat” or
“to share.” The infinitive is neutral because it does not specify the verb as the past or
future tense, nor does it specify a subject. While there is only one infinitive form in
English, Spanish has three categories: –ar infinitives such as bailar (to dance), –er
infinitives like comer (to eat) and –ir infinitives like compartir (to share). The way each
verb ends will determine how it is conjugated.
-ar Verbs
Regular verbs generally follow a pattern of conjugation. Once you grasp the rule, you
should have no problem conjugating similar verbs of the same category. The first step is
to drop the –ar ending and add a unique ending. Here is an example of regular –ar verbs.
bailar = to dance
Yo bailo
(I dance)
Tú bailas
(You dance)
Él/Ella/Usted baila
(He dances)
Nosotros/Nosotras bailamos
(We dance)
Vosotros/Vosotras bailáis
(You all dance)
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes bailan
(They dance)
-er Verbs
Like –ar verbs, the first step in conjugating an –er verb is to drop the ending and then add
the unique ending to signify the person. You’ll notice the conjugation is the same as –ar
verbs, except in place of an a, there is an e.
comer = to eat, to have lunch
Yo como
(I eat)
Tú comes
(You eat)
Él/Ella/Usted come
(He/She eats)
Nosotros/Nosotras comemos
(We eat)
Vosotros/Vosotras coméis
(You all eat)
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes comen
(They eat)
-ir Verbs
The last group, -ir verbs, are conjugated almost the same as –er verbs, but with two
exceptions in the nosotros and vosotros conjugation.
compartir = to share
Yo comparto
(I share)
Tú compartes
(You share)
Él/Ella/Usted comparte
(He shares)
Nosotros/Nosotras compartimos
(We share)
Vosotros/Vosotras compartís
(You all share)
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes comparten
(They share)
Now that you know how to conjugate present tense verbs in all three categories, you can
begin writing sentences in Spanish. Some verbs are slightly irregular and those you will
learn separately.
Because each verb conjugation is unique, Spanish speakers rarely include the personal
pronouns in speech. For example, Hablo español can only mean “I speak Spanish” and
nothing else because the ending –o is exclusive to the first person singular, yo. Therefore
the personal pronouns are a bit redundant and are only used for emphasis or clarification,
for example Él habla español pero ella habla francés (He speaks Spanish, but she speaks
French). As beginners to Spanish, it’s okay to form your sentences with pronouns but as
you advance, try to lose this habit to sound more like a native speaker!