🎯 Spanish Present Tense Verbs
Regular conjugation patterns and the most important irregular verbs
Three Verb Families
Every Spanish verb belongs to one of three families based on its infinitive ending: -ar, -er, or -ir. Each family follows its own conjugation pattern. The good news: -er and -ir verbs share most of their endings.
| Family | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| -ar | hablar | to speak |
| -er | comer | to eat |
| -ir | vivir | to live |
Regular -ar Verbs
Drop the -ar ending and add the conjugation endings. This is the largest verb family — about 70% of Spanish verbs are -ar verbs.
| Person | Ending | hablar | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | hablo | I speak |
| tú | -as | hablas | you speak |
| él/ella/usted | -a | habla | he/she speaks, you (formal) speak |
| nosotros | -amos | hablamos | we speak |
| ellos/ustedes | -an | hablan | they/you all speak |
Regular -er and -ir Verbs
These two families are nearly identical in the present tense. They only differ in the nosotros form.
| Person | -er (comer) | -ir (vivir) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | como | vivo |
| tú | comes | vives |
| él/ella/usted | come | vive |
| nosotros | comemos | vivimos |
| ellos/ustedes | comen | viven |
Stem-Changing Verbs
Many common verbs change their stem vowel in all forms except nosotros. The three patterns are e→ie, o→ue, and e→i. The endings stay regular — only the stem vowel shifts.
| Type | Verb | yo | tú | nosotros |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| e→ie | pensar (to think) | pienso | piensas | pensamos |
| e→ie | querer (to want) | quiero | quieres | queremos |
| o→ue | poder (to be able) | puedo | puedes | podemos |
| o→ue | dormir (to sleep) | duermo | duermes | dormimos |
| e→i | pedir (to ask for) | pido | pides | pedimos |
Key Irregular Verbs
These verbs don't follow any pattern and must be memorized. They're also among the most commonly used verbs in the language.
| Verb | yo | tú | él/ella | nosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ser (to be) | soy | eres | es | somos | son |
| estar (to be) | estoy | estás | está | estamos | están |
| ir (to go) | voy | vas | va | vamos | van |
| tener (to have) | tengo | tienes | tiene | tenemos | tienen |
| hacer (to do/make) | hago | haces | hace | hacemos | hacen |
| decir (to say) | digo | dices | dice | decimos | dicen |
Ser vs. Estar
Both mean "to be," but they're not interchangeable. Ser is for permanent traits, identity, origin, and time. Estar is for location, temporary states, emotions, and conditions.
| Ser (permanent) | Estar (temporary/location) |
|---|---|
| Soy alto. (I'm tall.) | Estoy cansado. (I'm tired.) |
| Es profesor. (He's a teacher.) | Está en casa. (He's at home.) |
| Somos de México. (We're from Mexico.) | Estamos contentos. (We're happy.) |
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