Verbs: Present Tense

Conjugations are the most important thing to know about spanish verbs. The conjugation of the verb depends on what pronoun is used with the verb and the type of the verb. Here's a list of spanish pronouns:

yo (I), tú (you), el (he), ella (she), usted (you), nosotros (we), ustedes (you all)

And here are the three types of verbs:

AR verbs (verbs that end in -ar): cantar (to sing), caminar (to walk), tomar (to drink), comprar (to buy)

ER verbs (verbs that end in -er): comer (to eat), aprender (to learn), vender (to sell), correr (to run)

IR verbs (verbs that end in -ir): abrir (to open), vivir (to live), escribir (to know), compartir (to share)

To conjugate each type of verb, you need to get rid of the last two letters and add an ending. Here's the ending for each type of verb and each pronoun for present-tense conjugation:

(cantar, comer, and abrir are used as examples)

Now you know how to conjugate verbs in the present-tense! Remember that the endings change depending on the pronoun and the type of verb.

Let's take a look at sentences that contain verbs

Tomar (To drink)

Yo tomo agua. (I drink water.)

Tú tomas agua. (You drink water.)

Él/Ella toma agua. (He/She drinks water.)

Usted toma agua. (You drink water.)

Nosotros tomamos agua. (We drink water.)

Vosotros tomais agua. (You all drink water.)

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes toman agua. (They/you all drink water.)

Comer (To eat)

Yo como sushi con palillos. (I eat sushi with chopsticks.)

Tú comes sushi con palillos. (You eat sushi with chopsticks.)

Él/Ella come sushi con palillos. (He/She eats sushi with chopsticks.)

Usted come sushi con palillos. (You eat sushi with chopsticks.)

Nosotros comemos sushi con palillos. (We eat sushi with chopsticks.)

Vosotros comeis sushi con palillos. (You all eat sushi with chopsticks.)

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes comen sushi con palillos. (They/You all eat sushi with chopsticks.)

Vivir (To live)

Yo vivo en Espana. (I live in Spain.)

Tú vives en Espana. (You live in Spain.)

Él/Ella viva en Espana. (He/She lives in Spain.)

Usted viva en Espana. (You live in Spain.)

Nosotros vivimos en Espana. (We live in Spain.)

Vosotros viveis en Espana. (You all live in Spain.)

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes viven en Espana. (They/You all live in Spain.)

Irregular Verbs

Some verbs are irregular, meaning they do not always follow the standard conjugation rules. Here are some common irregular verbs in the present tense:

Estar (To be)

"y" needs to be added to the end of the "yo" conjugation. "a" needs to be changed to "á" for the "Él/Ella/Usted" conjugation

Yo estoy en México. (I am in Mexico)

Tú estas en México. (You are in Mexico)

Él/Ella está en México. (He/She is in Mexico)

Usted está en México. (You are in Mexico)

Nosotros estamos en México. (We are in Mexico)

Vosotros estáis en México. (You all are in Mexico)

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes estan en México. (They/You all are in Mexico)

Tener (To have)

"g" needs to be inserted after "n" for the "yo" conjugation. "i" needs to be inserted after "t" for the "Tú", "Él/Ella/Usted", and "Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes" conjugations

Yo tengo dos hermanas. (I have two sisters.)

Tú tienes dos hermanas. (You have two sisters.)

Él/Ella tiene dos hermanas. (He/She have two sisters.)

Usted tiene dos hermanas. (You have two sisters.)

Nosotros tenemos dos hermanas. (We have two sisters.)

Vosotros teneis dos hermanas. (You all have two sisters.)

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes tienen dos hermanas. (They/You all have two sisters.)

Querer (To want)

"i" needs to be added after "u" for all conjugations except the "Nosotros" and "Vosotros" conjugations

Yo quiero una bebida. (I want a drink.)

Tú quieres una bebida. (Yo want a drink.)

Él/Ella quiere una bebida. (He/She wants a drink.)

Usted quiere una bebida. (You want a drink.)

Nosotros queremos una bebida. (We want a drink.)

Vosotros queréis una bebida. (You all want a drink.)

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes quieren una bebida. (They/You all want a drink.)

When NOT to conjugate verbs

There are times when verbs are not suppose to be conjugated. For example, they are not conjugated when there is no noun being described by the verb. In spanish-speaking countries, you can find signs that say "No Fumar", which means "No Smoking". "Fumar" is not conjugated because the sign is not saying that someone is smoking.

If there are two verbs next to each other and the second verb is describing the first verb, only the first verb gets conjugated

Ellos quieren comer pizza. (They want to eat pizza.)

Él necesita ordenar una pizza. (He needs to order a pizza.)

Yo necesito lavar los platos. (I need to wash the dishes.)

Omitting the Noun

Sometimes the noun is excluded because it can be known by looking at the conjugation

Vivo en Espana (I live in Spain.)

Necesitas comprar pan. (You need to buy bread.)

Tomamos agua cada dia. (We drink water everyday.)

Present Progressive Tense

The present progressive tense is used when a verb is currently in action. It is created by conjugating a verb and putting the verb "estar" before it. Here's the present progressive tense ending for each type of verb:

The endings for present progressive tense only change based on verb type. They do not change based on the pronoun being used.

Estoy lavando los platos. (I'm washing the dishes.)

Estan estudiando espanol. (They are studying Spanish.)

This chapter only features present-tense conjugations. Click here to learn about past-tense conjugations or here to learn about future-tense conjugations.