Topic 1 Present Tense of Regular Verbs

Los verbos regulares y el presente

Present Tense of Regular Verbs

A table that displays the present tense of regular verbs and the appropriate ending
Pronoun -ar -er -ir
yo -o -o -o
tú -as -es -es
Ud./él/ella -a -e -e
nosotros -amos -emos -imos
Uds./ellos/as -an -en -en

The anatomy of a Spanish verb.

The verb in its infinitive form indicates the action or state of being, with no reference to who or what performs the action or when it is done (present, past or future tense).

  • The verb has two parts
    • The stem
    • The ending

 

Stem

HABL

Ending

AR

HABLAR

To Speak

 

    • Infinitives in English are indicated by to: to speak, to eat, to live. In Spanish, all verbs in the infinitive have three endings:
      • -ar          Hablar to speak
      • -er          Comer to eat
      • -ir           Vivir to live

 

    • To conjugate a verb means to give the various forms of the verb the corresponding subject:
      • I speak, you speak, he/she speaks, etc.

        Yo hablo, tú hablas, él/ella habla, etc.
      • I eat, you eat, he/she eats, etc.

        Yo como, tú comes, él/ella come, etc.
      • I live, you live, he/she lives, etc.

        Yo vivo, tú vives, él/ella vive, etc.

 

    • There are three classifications of verbs.
      • Regular
        when conjugated into a person or tense, the stem is not impacted
      • Irregular
        when conjugated, first person singular has a “g” or a “y”
      • Stem-Changing
        when conjugated, there are changes IN the stem

 

  • The conjugated verbs in Spanish indicate person and tense, therefore, a personal pronoun is not needed unless you need to clarify the subject:
     él, ella, ellos/as.

 

Common regular -ar verbs in the present tense

A table of spanish -ar words in the present tense, and the english translation.
necesitar
to need		 ahorrar
to save		 alquilar
to rent		 apagar
to turn off		 arreglar
to arrange		 ayudar
to help
bailar
to dance		 practicar
to practice		 borrar
to erase		 buscar
to look for		 llegar
to arrive		 caminar
to walk
descansar
to rest		 celebrar
to celebrate		 mirar
to look		 estudiar
to study		 comprar
to buy		 contestar
to answer
desear
to want		 disfrutar
to enjoy		 escuchar
to listen		 llorar
to cry		 trabajar
to work		 repasar
to review

 

Common regular -er verbs in the present tense

A table of spanish -er words in the present tense, and the english translation.
aprender
to learn		 beber
to drink		 comer
to eat		 comprender
to understand		 correr
to run
prender
to turn on		 romper
to break		 toser
to cough		 vender
to sell		 leer
to read

 

Common regular -ir verbs in the present tense

A table of spanish -ir words in the present tense, and the english translation.
abrir
to open		 añadir
to add		 asistir
to attend		 describir
to describe
A table of spanish -ir words in the present tense, and the english translation.
discutir
to discuss		 escribir
to write		 interrumpir
to interrupt

 

Practícalo…

Read outloud the following phrases and identify the endings

A table that displays spanish phrases meant to be read out loud
Hablo español en la clase. Como vegetales todos los días. Vivo en Pensilvania
Ayudas a tu amiga. Comprendes el vocabulario. Asistes a la clase.
Baila muy bien. Bebe café caliente. Escribe poemas.
Compramos un carro rojo. Aprendemos a leer. Abrimos el libro.
Trabajan en la oficina. Leen la revista. Discuten la lección.

 

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Spanish 001 Copyright © 2017 by Ana Ivette Serrano and Gisela Serrano-Lebrón is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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