Present Tense of Spanish Verbs
In this lesson, you'll learn how to use the present tense of regular Spanish verbs. You'll learn how to conjugate the three types of regular Spanish verbs, as well as how to use them in sentences. The next lesson covers some common Spanish verbs that are irregular in the present tense.
Online flashcards and a quiz are included at the end of the lesson to help you learn the present tense of regular Spanish verbs.
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Conversations
To help improve your comprehension of Spanish, read and listen to the following conversation. Practice speaking each line to help improve your spoken Spanish skills.
Pedro y Ana caminan hacia un restaurante para almorzar. En el camino se encuentran con el amigo de Pedro, Matías.
Pedro: Hola Matías. Te presento a Ana. Ella es de Valencia.
Matías: ¡Mucho gusto Ana!
Ana: ¡Mucho gusto Matías! ¿Tiene usted hambre? Vamos para el almuerzo.
Matías: Tengo hambre, pero tengo que volver al trabajo. Tal vez podamos encontrarnos mañana.
Pedro: ¿Dónde quedamos?
Matías: Quedamos en el café.
Pedro: ¿A qué hora quedamos?
Matías: Quedamos a las nueve.
Ana: Hasta entonces. Adios.
Pedro: Vamos. Alejandro ya está allí.
Pedro and Ana are walking to a restaurant to have lunch. On the way they meet Matías, a friend of Pedro's.
Pedro: Hi Matías. This is Ana. She is from Valencia.
Matías: Nice to meet you Ana!
Ana: Nice to meet you Matías! Are you hungry, we're going for lunch?
Matías: I'm hungry, but I have to get back to work. Maybe we can meet tomorrow.
Pedro: Where should we meet?
Matías: Lets meet at the café.
Pedro: What time should we meet?
Matías: Let's meet at nine.
Ana: See you then, goodbye.
Pedro: Let's go. Alejandro is already there.
Verbs
Verbs are words that describe an action, state of being, or occurrence. The usage of verbs in Spanish is quite complex and will take some time to master. In this lesson, we look at how to use Spanish verbs in the present tense.
Verb Categories
There are three categories of verbs in the Spanish language, ar, er, and ir verbs. The examples use the following verbs to represent the different categories:
- hablar - to speak
- comer - to eat
- vivir - to live
Verbs in Spanish have many different grammatical endings. Learning Spanish verbs can seem a bit daunting at first, but with a bit of practice, using the correct forms of the verbs will start to come naturally.
Present Tense of Spanish Verbs
The present tense of verbs is used to indicate events that are currently happening, to ask questions about current events, to express opinions, or to ask permission. It is also used to express actions that take place regularly.
The following table shows the present tense for the three categories of Spanish verbs.hablar (speak) | comer (eat) | vivir (live) | |
---|---|---|---|
yo | hablo | como | vivo |
tú | hablas | comes | vives |
usted | habla | come | vive |
él, ella | habla | come | vive |
nosotros | hablamos | comemos | vivimos |
vosotros | habláis | coméis | vivís |
ustedes | hablan | comen | viven |
ellos, ellas | hablan | comen | viven |
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Common Spanish ar Verbs
The ar category of verbs is the largest category in Spanish. Here are a some common regular ar verbs.
ayudar | to help |
buscar | to look for |
cambiar | to change |
estudiar | to study |
invitar | to invite |
llamar | to call |
nadar | to swim |
necesitar | to need |
olvidar | to forget |
pagar | to pay |
preguntar | to ask |
visitar | to visit |
Examples
Here are some examples showing how to use Spanish ar verbs in the present tense.
Note: Subject pronouns are often omitted in Spanish.
Necesito una camisa nueva. | I need a shirt. |
Anna estudia español. | Anna studies Spanish. |
Ayudamos a los vecinos. | We help the neighbors. |
Llegamos a la puerta. | We are arriving at the gate. |
Nunca me llaman por la mañana. | They never call me in the morning. |
Nado en la playa. | I swim at the beach. |
¿Estás buscando las llaves? | Are you looking for the keys? |
Common Spanish er Verbs
Here are a few more common regular er verbs.
aprender | to learn |
beber | to drink |
correr | to run |
creer | to believe |
deber | to owe, to have to |
leer | to read |
romper | to break |
prometer | to promise |
ver | to see |
vender | to sell |
Examples
Here are some examples showing how to use Spanish er verbs in the present tense.
Bebo un café. | I drink coffee. |
Martín lee un libro. | Martín reads a book. |
Comen en un restaurante. | They eat in a restaurant. |
Vemos las estrellas. | We see the stars. |
¿Vendes flores? | Do you sell flowers |
Alejandro vende su coche. | Alejandro is selling his car. |
Common Spanish ir Verbs
Here are a some common regular ir verbs.
abrir | to open |
admitir | to admit |
cubrir | to cover |
decidir | to decide |
discutir | to discuss, to argue |
escribir | to write |
recibir | to receive |
subir | to climb up |
sufrir | to suffer |
Examples
Here are some examples showing how to use Spanish ir verbs in the present tense.
Lucía vive con sus padres. | Lucía lives with her parents. |
¿Vives en Madrid? | Do you live in Madrid? (familiar singular) |
Martín escribe un libro. | Martín writes a book. |
Sufren de una enfermedad. | The suffer from an illness. |
Subimos la colina. | We climb the hill |
Ella decide abrir la puerta. | She decides to open the door. |
Flashcards
This section contains flashcards to help you learn the present tense of Spanish verbs.
Practice
Write the sentence using the present tense of the Spanish verb for the verb in parentheses.
Ana ___ una manzana. (eats)
___ con el trabajo. (You help)
¿___ español? (Do they speak)
___ en el lago. (We swim)
Martín ___ un nuevo libro. (writes)
Quiz
This quiz covers the present tense of the verbs included in this lesson. You can take the quiz as many times as you'd like. Each time the questions will be a bit different.