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On this page, you will find all of the information you'll need to learn how to conjugate Spanish verbs in the present tense. The present tense is used to describe any action happening right now, or currently. For example:
I run to the store.
The girls buy clothes.
The bolded verbs above are verbs in the present tense. If we were to write the above sentences in Spanish, we would conjugate them according to the present tense rules. But what are these rules?
In Spanish, there are generally three possible endings to a basic verb: -ar, -er, and -ir. Most verbs in the Spanish language end with one of these three endings, and each ending has a rule for how to conjugate it. Thankfully, verbs ending in -er and -ir follow the same rules, so we don't have to learn three different methods for conjugation.
Also, conjugation depends on the subject of your sentence. In Spanish, there are usually six different types of subjects:
Now that you know the basics, you can start learning the rules of present tense conjugation! In the charts below, you will find information on how to conjugate in the present tense for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs based on what the subject of your sentence is.
-ar verbs
-er and -ir verbs
And there you have it! That's all you really need to know about conjugating verbs in the present tense. However, there are a few irregular verbs that don't quite follow these rules, but we'll talk about those in a different lesson! Now, you're one step closer to knowing the Spanish language! Do you have questions? Click here to make a post and ask!
I run to the store.
The girls buy clothes.
The bolded verbs above are verbs in the present tense. If we were to write the above sentences in Spanish, we would conjugate them according to the present tense rules. But what are these rules?
In Spanish, there are generally three possible endings to a basic verb: -ar, -er, and -ir. Most verbs in the Spanish language end with one of these three endings, and each ending has a rule for how to conjugate it. Thankfully, verbs ending in -er and -ir follow the same rules, so we don't have to learn three different methods for conjugation.
Also, conjugation depends on the subject of your sentence. In Spanish, there are usually six different types of subjects:
| yo = I | nosotros = we |
| tú = you | vosotros = you all (Spain) |
| él/ella/usted = he/she/it | ellos/ellas/ustedes = they |
Now that you know the basics, you can start learning the rules of present tense conjugation! In the charts below, you will find information on how to conjugate in the present tense for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs based on what the subject of your sentence is.
-ar verbs
| yo = o | nosostros = amos |
| tú = as | vosotros = áis |
| él/ella/usted = a | ellos/ellas/ustedes = an |
- To conjugate -ar verbs in the present tense, you drop the -ar off of the end of the verb and add the ending that matches the subject of the sentence.
- Example: In the sentence, "The girls buy clothes," the subject is girls and the verb is buy. The Spanish word for 'buy' is comprar. To conjugate this verb to match the subject, 'girls', we would drop the -ar from 'comprar' and add the 'ellas' ending, -an. This turns the verb 'comprar' into 'compran'. Therefore, the sentence, "The girls buy clothes," in Spanish will be, "Las chicas compran ropa."
-er and -ir verbs
| yo = o | nosotros = emos |
| tú = es | vosotros = éis |
| él/ella/usted = e | ellos/ellas/ustedes = en |
- To conjugate -er and -ir verbs in the present tense, you drop the -er or -ir off of the end of the verb and add the ending that matches the subject of the sentence.
- Example: In the sentence, "I run to the store," the subject is I and the verb is run. The Spanish word for 'run' is correr. To conjugate this verb to match the subject, 'I', we would drop the -er from 'correr' and add the 'I' ending, -o. This turns the verb 'correr' into 'corro'. Therefore, the sentence, "I run to the store," in Spanish will be, "Yo corro a la tienda."
- Example: In the sentence, "Mark lives in the United States," the subject is Mark and the verb is lives. The Spanish word for 'live' is vivir. To conjugate this verb to match the subject, 'Mark', we would drop the -ir from 'vivir' and add the 'he' ending, -e. This turns the verb 'vivir' into 'vive'. Therefore, the sentence, "Mark lives in the United States," in Spanish will be, "Mark vive en los Estados Unidos."
And there you have it! That's all you really need to know about conjugating verbs in the present tense. However, there are a few irregular verbs that don't quite follow these rules, but we'll talk about those in a different lesson! Now, you're one step closer to knowing the Spanish language! Do you have questions? Click here to make a post and ask!
