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.