Present Tense: Regular Verbs (-ar, -er, -ir)
Quick Answer: Spanish regular verbs follow predictable conjugation patterns based on their infinitive ending: -ar (hablar), -er (comer), -ir (vivir). Remove the ending and add person-specific suffixes.
The foundation of Spanish conjugation
Category: Verb Tenses
The Rule
Spanish regular verbs follow predictable conjugation patterns based on their infinitive ending: -ar (hablar), -er (comer), -ir (vivir). Remove the ending and add person-specific suffixes.
Why This Matters
Unlike English, which mostly adds '-s' for third person, Spanish has six distinct endings per tense. The good news: once you learn the three patterns, they apply to thousands of verbs.
Examples
• Yo hablo español. — "I speak Spanish." [-ar: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an] • Ella come frutas. — "She eats fruits." [-er: -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en] • Nosotros vivimos en Madrid. — "We live in Madrid." [-ir: -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en] • ¿Tú estudias mucho? — "Do you study a lot?" [No 'do/does' needed in Spanish]
Common Mistakes
❌ Ella hablas inglés. ✅ Ella habla inglés. → Third person singular (ella) takes -a for -ar verbs, not -as. '-as' is for tú. ❌ ¿Tú comes pizza? ✅ ¿Comes pizza? / ¿Tú comes pizza? → Not wrong per se, but Spanish often drops the subject pronoun since the verb ending already shows the person.
Quick Tip
Spanish doesn't need 'do/does' for questions. Just add question marks: '¿Hablas español?' Subject pronouns are usually optional because verb endings tell you who's doing the action.
Spanish doesn't need 'do/does' for questions. Just add question marks: '¿Hablas español?' Subject pronouns are usually optional because verb endings tell you who's doing the action.
Examples
Common Mistakes
Incorrect: Ella hablas inglés. → Correct: Ella habla inglés.. Third person singular (ella) takes -a for -ar verbs, not -as. '-as' is for tú.
Incorrect: ¿Tú comes pizza? → Correct: ¿Comes pizza? / ¿Tú comes pizza?. Not wrong per se, but Spanish often drops the subject pronoun since the verb ending already shows the person.
Quiz
Conjugate 'vivir' for nosotros: