Using verbs in Spanish
All Spanish verbA 'doing' word; a word expressing action. 'Walk', 'talk', 'come', 'go', 'eat' and 'sleep' are all verbs. end in either -ar, -er or -ir. This form of the verb is called the infinitiveThe form of the verb that has not been conjugated and is usually translated with 'to' in English, for example 'to play'. . For example:
- hablar - to talk
- comer - to eat
- vivir - to live
The infinitive is the form of the verb you will find in a dictionary.
However, the infinitive doesn't tell us the person of the verb (ie who is doing the action) or the tense of the verb (ie when the action takes place / took place / will take place, etc). To do this you need to conjugate the verb (ie change it into a different form).
To work out how to conjugate a verb correctly, ask yourself:
- Which type of verb is it (-ar / -er / -ir)?
- Which tense is it?
- Which person is it?
