Present Tense: Regular Verbs
A1The present 6 min
Regular verbs in -ar, -er and -ir drop the infinitive ending and add one ending per person: hablo, comes, vive. Each person has its own ending, so the subject pronoun usually drops: Hablo español. ¿Vives en Lima?
No information at the current level. This view starts at A1: choose A1 or a higher level.
No information at the current level. This view starts at A1: choose A1 or a higher level.
CheatsheetA1
| Point | Rule | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form | hablar: hablo / hablas / habla / hablamos / hablan | Hablo español. | I speak Spanish. |
| Form | comer: como / comes / come / comemos / comen | ¿Qué comes? | What do you eat? |
| Form | vivir: vivo / vives / vive / vivimos / viven | Mis padres viven en Lima. | My parents live in Lima. |
| Form | vosotros: habláis / coméis / vivís | ¿Dónde vivís? | Where do you live? |
| Person | the ending names the person; the pronoun usually drops | Vivo en Quito. | I live in Quito. |
| Use | what happens now, habits and facts | Todos los días camino al trabajo. | I walk to work every day. |
| Negative | no goes before the verb | No como carne. | I don't eat meat. |
| Question | the same words, between ¿ and ?, with a rising voice | ¿Hablas inglés? | Do you speak English? |
| Trap | usted takes the forms of él and ella | ¿Habla usted inglés? | Do you speak English? |
| Trap | -er and -ir differ with nosotros | Comemos aquí. / Vivimos aquí. | We eat here. / We live here. |
OverviewA1
- Every infinitive ends in -ar, -er or -ir; the stem is the part before it: hablar → habl-.
- A regular verb keeps its stem and adds an ending for each person.
- The ending names the person, so the subject pronoun usually drops: Trabajo en un banco. — I work in a bank.
- The pronouns themselves: Subject Pronouns.
- Verbs that change their stem: Present Tense: Irregular Verbs.
Form: -ar, -er and -irA1
| Person | hablar | comer | vivir |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablo | como | vivo |
| tú | hablas | comes | vives |
| él / ella / usted | habla | come | vive |
| nosotros / nosotras | hablamos | comemos | vivimos |
| vosotros / vosotras | habláis | coméis | vivís |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablan | comen | viven |
- Verbs in -er and -ir share their endings, except with nosotros: comemos, vivimos.
- usted takes the forms of él and ella, and ustedes those of ellos: ¿Trabaja usted aquí? — Do you work here?
- Latin America: ustedes is the plural of both tú and usted: ¿Ustedes viven cerca? — Do you live nearby?
- Spain: vosotros is the informal plural, and its endings carry a written accent: habláis / coméis / vivís.
- Latin America: In Argentina and Uruguay, vos takes the place of tú, with its own forms: vos hablás / vos comés / vos vivís.
Pronunciation: stressA1
- The stress falls on the stem in the singular and with ellos: hablo / comen — I speak / they eat
- With nosotros, the stress moves to the ending: hablamos / vivimos — we speak / we live
Form: negatives and questionsA1
| Form | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| no + verb | No hablo francés. | I don't speak French. |
| Yes or no question | ¿Hablas inglés? | Do you speak English? |
| wh-word + verb | ¿Dónde trabajas? | Where do you work? |
- A question keeps the words of the statement; ¿ and ? frame it, and the voice rises at the end.
- More on both: Questions and Negatives.
UseA1
| Use | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| What happens now | Ahora leo un libro. | I'm reading a book now. |
| Habits | Todos los días camino al trabajo. | I walk to work every day. |
| Facts and states | Mi hermana vive en Bogotá. | My sister lives in Bogotá. |
- The present also names an action in progress, where English uses -ing: ¿Qué lees? — Leo una novela. — What are you reading? — I'm reading a novel.
Signal wordsA1
| Word | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| ahora | Ahora estudio en casa. | I'm studying at home now. |
| siempre | Siempre llego tarde. | I always arrive late. |
| todos los días | Todos los días desayuno con mi familia. | I have breakfast with my family every day. |
| a veces | A veces cocinamos juntos. | Sometimes we cook together. |
| los domingos | Los domingos visitamos a mis abuelos. | On Sundays we visit my grandparents. |
Typical errorsA1
| ✗ | ✓ | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Yo habla español. | Yo hablo español. | yo takes -o |
| ¿Usted hablas inglés? | ¿Usted habla inglés? | usted takes the forms of él |
| Nosotros vivemos en Lima. | Nosotros vivimos en Lima. | verbs in -ir take -imos with nosotros |
| Hablo no francés. | No hablo francés. | no goes before the verb |