The present tense - regular verbs
Most verbA 'doing' word; a word expressing action. 'Walk', 'talk', 'come', 'go', 'eat' and 'sleep' are all verbs. are regular. This means that they follow a pattern.
To conjugateWhen a verb is broken down into 'I, you, he/she/it, we, they'. For example, the verb 'to be' in the present tense is: I am, you are, he/she is, we are, they are. regular verbs in the present tenseA verb that describes an action that is happening now or that happens regularly, eg I eat breakfast every day., remove the -ar / -er / -ir from the infinitiveThe form of the verb that has not been conjugated and is usually translated with 'to' in English, for example 'to play'. and then add the correct ending:
| subject pronoun | hablar (to talk) | comer (to eat) | vivir (to live) | |
| I | yo | hablo | como | vivo |
| you | tú | hablas | comes | vives |
| he/she/it/you (polite) | él/ella/usted | habla | come | vive |
| we | nosotros/as | hablamos | comemos | vivimos |
| you (plural) | vosotros/as | habláis | coméis | vivís |
| they/you (polite plural) | ellos/ellas/ustedes | hablan | comen | viven |
| I | |
| subject pronoun | yo |
| hablar (to talk) | hablo |
| comer (to eat) | como |
| vivir (to live) | vivo |
| you | |
| subject pronoun | tú |
| hablar (to talk) | hablas |
| comer (to eat) | comes |
| vivir (to live) | vives |
| he/she/it/you (polite) | |
| subject pronoun | él/ella/usted |
| hablar (to talk) | habla |
| comer (to eat) | come |
| vivir (to live) | vive |
| we | |
| subject pronoun | nosotros/as |
| hablar (to talk) | hablamos |
| comer (to eat) | comemos |
| vivir (to live) | vivimos |
| you (plural) | |
| subject pronoun | vosotros/as |
| hablar (to talk) | habláis |
| comer (to eat) | coméis |
| vivir (to live) | vivís |
| they/you (polite plural) | |
| subject pronoun | ellos/ellas/ustedes |
| hablar (to talk) | hablan |
| comer (to eat) | comen |
| vivir (to live) | viven |
In Spanish, it isn't usually necessary to use the subject pronoun. The verb ending makes it clear who is doing the action. For example:
- bailas - you dance
- bebemos - we drink
- escriben - they write
Practice using regular verbs
Complete each verb with the correct present tense ending.
Question
1.Me llamo Pablo y trabaj_ en una tienda. (infinitive = trabajar)
Me llamo Pablo y trabajo en una tienda. (My name is Pablo and I work in a shop.) The verb is in the 'I' form.
Question
2.Mis padres nunca com___ carne porque son vegetarianos. (infinitive = comer)
Mis padres nunca comen carne porque son vegetarianos. (My parents never eat meat because they are vegetarian.) The verb is in the 'they' form.
Question
3.Álvaro no llev___ uniforme. (infinitive = llevar)
Álvaro no lleva uniforme. (Álvaro doesn't wear a uniform.) The verb is in the 'he/she' form.
Question
4.Mi hermana y yo descarg___ vídeos a menudo. (infinitive = descargar)
Mi hermana y yo descargamos vídeos a menudo. (My sister and I often download videos.) The verb is in the 'we' form.
Question
5.¿A qué hora sal___ de casa por la mañana, Laura? (infinitive = salir)
¿A qué hora sales de casa por la mañana, Laura? (At what time do you leave home in the morning, Laura?) The verb is in the 'you' form.
