Present tense: conjugation of regular verbs in Spanish
Spanish
Learn how to conjugate the regular verbs in the present tense in Spanish.
Video
Podcast
What is the present tense?
The present tense is used to express actions that are happening now or habitual actions.
- Ellos hablan todos los días. (They talk everyday.)
- Yo vivo en la ciudad. (I live in the city.)
The present tense of regular verbs in Spanish
We will learn how to conjugate regular verbs in the present tense for all endings "-ar", "-er", "-ir".
Verbs ending in "-ar": "hablar" (to speak)
The following table contains the conjugation of the verb "hablar" (to speak).
| Personal Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo (I) | Yo hablo español con fluidez. | I speak Spanish fluently. |
| Tú (You) | Tú hablas con claridad. | You speak clearly. |
| Él/Ella (He/She/It) | Ella habla varios idiomas. | She speaks several languages. |
| Nosotros/-as (We) | Nosotras hablamos por teléfono. | We talk on the phone. |
| Vosotros/-as (You) | Vosotros habláis rápido. | You speak quickly. |
| Ellos/-as (They) | Ellos hablan sobre el futuro. | They talk about the future. |
Verbs ending in "-er": "comer" (to eat)
Here you can see the conjugation of the word "comer" (to eat).
| Personal Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo (I) | Yo como frutas y verduras. | I eat fruits and vegetables. |
| Tú (You) | Tú comes despacio. | You eat slowly. |
| Él/Ella (He/She/It) | Él come en el restaurante. | He eats at the restaurant. |
| Nosotros/-as (We) | Nosotros comemos juntos. | We eat together. |
| Vosotros/-as (You) | Vosotras coméis mucha comida picante. | You eat a lot of spicy food. |
| Ellos/-as (They) | Ellas comen alimentos saludables. | They eat healthy food. |
Verbs ending in "-ir": "vivir" (to live)
Finally, the conjugation of verbs ending in "-ir" is demonstrated by the example "vivir" (to live).
| Personal Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo (I) | Yo vivo en una pequeña ciudad. | I live in a small town. |
| Tú (You) | Tú vives cerca del mar. | You live close to the sea. |
| Él/Ella (He/She/It) | Él vive en el campo. | He lives in the countryside. |
| Nosotros/-as (We) | Nosotras vivimos en un barrio tranquilo. | We live in a quiet neighborhood. |
| Vosotros/-as (You) | Vosotros vivís en una casa grande. | You live in a big house. |
| Ellos/-as (They) | Ellos viven en diferentes países. | They live in different countries. |
These conjugations only apply to the regular verbs. In Spanish, there are many irregular verbs with different conjugations.
Key takeaways
Here is a quick summary of this lesson.
- The present tense is used to express actions that are happening now or habitual actions.
- Regular verbs have the same endings, depending on the verb category "-ar", "-er", "-ir".
- Irregular verbs do not follow any rules , we just need to learn their conjugations.
Important! Practise this lesson with a teacher.
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