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2A Grammar: Conjugating Regular Present Tense –AR, -ER & -IR Verbs and
Regular Comparatives
Conjugating Regular Present Tense -AR Verbs:
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The first type of verb that you will learn how to conjugate is an -AR verb in the regular
present indicative tense.
Conjugating a verb means changing the verb ending so that we know who is
doing the action. For example in English we say: "I speak" and "she speaks." Note
how the verb changes when the person doing the action changed from "I" to "she."
Remember that verbs that have not been conjugated are called “infinitives.” This
means that it is a potential action – we don’t know who is doing the action. Conjugation
lets us know who that someone is!
Infinitives are easy to spot in Spanish because they end in -AR, -ER or –IR. In English
we add a “to” in front of the verb. For example, hablar = to speak.
Regular, present tense verbs are the easiest to conjugate because all you have to do
is drop the infinitive ending (the –AR, -ER or -IR) and add a different ending that
matches the subject.
The verb endings below match the subject pronoun chart with ONE MAJOR
EXCEPTION: Since tú and usted both mean "you," it would be impossible to tell the
difference between someone formal and informal if they were sharing the same
chant/verb ending and we were talking directly to them. What we have to do in order to
show a difference in formality is that we bring down the usted and the ustedes form from
2nd person to 3rd person.
*The vosotros form is highlighted because even though you will learn that ending and be
aware of it, we do not typically use it in this part of the world.
Present Tense Verb Endings for Regular -AR Verbs (Chant):
- o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an
Singular:
Plural:
yo
-o
nosotros / nosotras
tú
-as
vosotros/ vosotras
él / ella / usted / it
-a
ellos / ellas / ustedes / it
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- amos
- áis*
- an
We are now going to conjugate the verb hablar (to speak). Note how usted and
ustedes is now positioned in 3rd person because they are sharing that verb/chant
ending with the other 3rd person subject pronouns.
Hablar is an "-AR" infinitive. Drop the infinitive ending (the -AR) and plug in the
specific subject verb ending in its place.
The stem of the verb stays the same (habl-), only the verb ending changes.
Just by looking at the way the verb ends, we now know who is doing the action.
Singular:
Yo hablo - I speak
Tú hablas - You (informal) speak
Él/Ella/Usted habla - He/She and You
(formal) speaks
Plural:
Nosotros/as hablamos - We speak
Vosotros/as habláis – You all (informal in
Spain) speak*
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes hablan - They/You all
formal speak
Conjugating Regular Present Tense -ER & -IR Verbs:
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Now that you've learned how to conjugate -AR verbs, conjugating -ER & -IR
verbs will be a piece of cake!
Drop the infinitive ending (the -ER or -IR) and plug in the verb/chant endings in
its place.
The stem of the verb stays the same, only the verb ending changes.
Just by looking at the way the verb ends, we now know who is doing the action.
Here are the major differences between the three chants:
o The -ER chant is just like the -AR chant except that it's all e's instead of
a's.
o The -ER chant is exactly like the -IR chant except for the
nosotros/nosotras 1st person plural form. -ER infinitives will use -emos
whereas -IR infinitives will use -imos.
Present Tense Verb Endings for Regular -ER Verbs (Chant):
- o, -es, -e, -emos, éis, -en
Singular:
yo
tú
él / ella / usted / it
-o
-es
-e
Plural:
nosotros / nosotras
vosotros/ vosotras
ellos / ellas / ustedes / it
- emos
- éis*
- en
Present Indicative Tense Verb Endings for Regular -IR Verbs (Chant):
- o, -es, -e, imos, -ís, -en
Singular:
yo
tú
él / ella / usted / it
-o
-es
-e
Plural:
nosotros / nosotras
vosotros/ vosotras
ellos / ellas / ustedes / it
- imos
- ís*
- en
Regular Comparatives:
There are 3 ways we can compare things…
1. más + adjective + que = more + adjective + than
2. menos + adjective + que = less + adjective + than
3. tan + adjective + como = as + adjective + as
In English, if something is more or less we add –er to the adjective (bigger,
smaller, etc.). In Spanish, we don’t have many one word –er words. We literally
have to say that something is “more big” or “more small.”