6.06.2012

Regular Spanish Verbs II

Remember, all Spanish verbs are either "regular" or "irregular." In this lesson we continue by looking at our three model verbs, which are completely regular:

hablar
to speak
comer
to eat
vivir
to live


Also remember, there are three categories of verbs:
-ar verbs (like hablar)
-er verbs (like comer)
-ir verbs (like vivir)


Remember that when you conjugate a verb, you mold the infinitive to match the subject of the sentence.
to speak
I speak
you speak
he speaks
she speaks
we speak
you-all speak
they speak


In this lesson, you will learn to conjugate regular verbs for the following forms: you (familiar), he, she, you-all (familiar) and they.
hablar

tú hablas
you (familiar) speak
él habla
he speaks
ella habla
she speaks
vosotros/as habláis
you-all (familiar) speak
ellos/ellas hablan
they speak
comer

tú comes
you (familiar) eat
él come
he eats
ella come
she eats
vosotros/as coméis
you-all (familiar) eat
ellos/ellas comen
they eat
vivir

tú vives
you (familiar) live
él vive
he lives
ella vive
she lives
vosotros/as vivís
you-all (familiar) live
ellos/ellas viven
they live


Look for a pattern in the tú form.
tú hablas
tú comes
tú vives


If the subject is you (familiar), conjugate by dropping the ending and add -as or -es. If the verb is an -ar verb, add -as. If it is an -er or -ir verb, add es.
tú hablas (hablar - ar + as = hablas)
tú comes (comer - er + es = comes)
tú vives (vivir - ir + es = vives)


Look for a pattern in the él form.
él habla
él come
él vive


If the subject is he (él) drop the ending and add either -a or -e. If the verb is an -ar verb, add -a. If it is an -er or -ir verb, add -e.
él habla (hablar - ar + a = habla)
él come (comer - er + e = come)
él vive (vivir - ir + e = vive)


Look for a pattern in the ella form.
ella habla
ella come
ella vive


If the subject is she (ella), conjugate in exactly the same manner as you did for he (él). That is, by dropping the ending and add -a or -e, depending on whether the verb is an -ar, -er or -ir verb.
ella habla (hablar - ar + a = habla)
ella come (comer - er + e = come)
ella vive (vivir - ir + e = vive)
Note: at this point, you may notice that the conjugations for él/ella are the same as for usted (usted habla, usted come, usted vive).


Look for a pattern in the vosotros/as form.
vosotros/as habláis
vosotros/as coméis
vosotros/as vivís


If the subject is you-all familiar (vosotros/as), conjugate by dropping the ending and adding -áis, -éis or -ís. Again, decide which ending to use by the class of infinitive (-ar, -er, -ir).
vosotros/as habláis (hablar - ar + áis = habláis)
vosotros/as coméis (comer - er + éis = coméis)
vosotros/as vivís (vivir - ir + ís = vivís)
Note: Remember, vosotros and vosotras forms are primarily used in Spain. In Latin America, ustedes is generally used for both formal and informal situations.


Look for a pattern in the ellos form.
ellos hablan
ellos comen
ellos viven


If the subject is they masculine (ellos) drop the ending and add either -an or -en. If the verb is an -ar verb, add -an. If it is an -er or -ir verb, add -en.
ellos hablan (hablar - ar + an = hablan)
ellos comen (comer - er + en = comen)
ellos viven (vivir - ir + en = viven)


Look for a pattern in the ellas form.
ellas hablan
ellas comen
ellas viven


If the subject is they feminine (ellas), conjugate in exactly the same manner as you did for they masculine (ellos). That is, by dropping the ending and add -an or -en, depending on whether the verb is an -ar, -er or -ir verb.
ellas hablan (hablar - ar + an = hablan)
ellas comen (comer - er + en = comen)
ellas viven (vivir - ir + en = viven)
Note: At this point, you may notice that the conjugations for ellos/ellas are the same as for ustedes (ustedes hablan, ustedes comen, ustedes viven).


Remember that the present tense (indicative) in Spanish means three things.

Tú hablas inglés
You speak English. You do speak English. You are speaking English.
Tú comes pan
You eat bread. You do eat bread. You are eating bread.
Tú vives en Buenos Aires
You live in Buenos Aires. You do live in Buenos Aires. You are living in Buenos Aires.