Present Tense Regular Spanish Verbs

In this lesson we’re going to look at how to conjugate present tense of regular Spanish verbs. Like in English, the basic form of a Spanish verb is the infinitive. “To be,” “to rest,” “to speak,” and “to work” are examples of English infinitives. Spanish infinitives consist of two parts: the root and the infinitive ending. The infinitives belong to three groups determined by these endings: -ar, -er, and –ir. The present tense forms of Spanish verbs are made by removing the infinitive ending and replacing it with an ending corresponding with who or what is performing the action.

A few notes before we get to the examples: First, the verb ending itself indicates the subject of the sentence. You can (and usually should) omit the subject pronouns yo, tú, nosotros, nosotras, vosotros, and vosotras. However, sometimes the subject pronouns él, ella, usted, ellos, ellas, and ustedes must be included to clarify the exact meaning of the verb. Second, the infinitives themselves can be used with impersonal expressions. In these cases, the implied subject is the word “it.” Finally, the conjugation charts below assume that you have read the lesson on Spanish subject pronouns or are otherwise familiar with them. They include translations of the examples being conjugated, but they do not provide a comprehensive review of the meanings of the subject pronouns.

Present Tense Regular –AR Verbs

 Example: trabajar – to work.

Present Tense Regular –ER Verbs

Examples: vender – to sell.

Present Tense Regular –IR Verbs

Examples: abrir – to open.