Regular Spanish Verbs III

Here's the complete list of Spanish subject pronouns.

Singular

yo tú usted él ella

Plural

nosotros/as vosotros/as ustedes ellos ellas

To conjugate -ar verbs, drop the ending and add:

-o
-as
-a
-amos
-áis
-an

To conjugate -er verbs, drop the ending and add:

-o
-es
-e
-emos
-éis
-en

To conjugate -ir verbs, drop the ending and add:

-o
-es
-e
-imos
-ís
-en

You will benefit greatly by quickly memorizing the three model verbs.

hablar

yo hablo
tú hablas
él, ella, Ud. habla
nosotros/as hablamos
vosotros/as habláis
ellos, ellas, Uds. hablan

comer

yo como
tú comes
él, ella, Ud. come
nosotros/as comemos
vosotros/as coméis
ellos, ellas, Uds. comen

vivir

yo vivo
tú vives
él, ella, Ud. vive
nosotros/as vivimos
vosotros/as vivís
ellos, ellas, Uds. viven

Note: The verb forms are the same for él, ella and Ud. as are the verb forms for ellos, ellas and Uds.

In Spanish the subject pronouns are not always required. This is because the verb endings can indicate who is performing the action.

Hablo español. (Yo is not necessary.)
I speak Spanish.

Comemos carne. (Nosotros is not necessary.)
We eat meat.

Vives en México. (Tú is not necessary.)
You live in Mexico.

Subject pronouns are often used for clarification. For example, the verb form habla is ambiguous.

Ud. habla
él habla
ella habla

Therefore, to distinguish between "you speak," "he speaks," and "she speaks," it may be necessary to use the subject pronoun. Often, the conversation implies the subject of the verb. In such cases the subject pronoun may be omitted.

Subject pronouns are often used for emphasis.

Ella habla español y yo hablo inglés.

Here there is no ambiguity with respect to hablo. The subject pronoun is merely adding emphasis:

She speaks Spanish and I speak English.

Another example of using subject pronouns for emphasis.

Yo como pan y tú comes arroz.

Once again there is no ambiguity. The pronouns emphasize the contrast.

I eat bread and you eat rice.

It is possible to use two verbs in a row. Just like in English, the first verb is conjugated, while the second verb remains in the infinitive form.

Necesito hablar con Alfredo.
I need to speak with Alfredo.
(necesitar, hablar)

Necesito + hablar + con Alfredo.
I need + to speak + with Alfredo.

Another example of two verbs used together:

Deseas vivir en España.
You wish to live in Spain.
(desear, vivir)

Deseas + vivir + en España.
You wish + to live + in Spain.

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.

Regular Spanish Verbs I

All Spanish verbs are either "regular" or "irregular." In this lesson we will look at three completely regular verbs:

hablar (to speak)
comer (to eat)
vivir (to live)

Notice the last two letters of each verb.

hablar (to speak)
comer (to eat)
vivir (to live)

There are three categories of verbs:

-ar verbs (like hablar)
-er verbs (like comer)
-ir verbs (like vivir)

All three categories are infinitives. You will recall from a previous lesson that infinitives are the base form of the verb, equivalent in English to: to speak, to eat, to live, etc. In Spanish, all infinitives end in -ar, -er, or -ir.

-ar verb
hablar (to speak)

-er verb
comer (to eat)

-ir verb
vivir (to live)

Remember what it means to conjugate a verb:

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 our model verbs for I, you (formal), we, and you-all (formal).

hablar - to speak

yo hablo

I speak

usted habla

you speak

nosotros/as hablamos

we speak

ustedes hablan

you-all speak

comer - to eat

yo como

I eat

usted come

you eat

nosotros/as comemos

we eat

ustedes comen

you-all eat

vivir - to live

yo vivo

I live

usted vive

you live

nosotros/as vivimos

we live

ustedes viven

you-all live

Look for a pattern in the yo form.

yo hablo
yo como
yo vivo

If the subject is I (yo), conjugate by dropping the ending and add -o.

yo hablo (hablar - ar + o = hablo)
yo como (comer - er + o = como)
yo vivo (vivir - ir + o = vivo)

Look for a pattern in the usted form.

usted habla
usted come
usted vive

If the subject is you formal (usted) 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.

usted habla (hablar - ar + a = habla)
usted come (comer - er + e = come)
usted vive (vivir - ir + e = vive)

Look for a pattern in the nosotros/as form.

nosotros/as hablamos
nosotros/as comemos
nosotros/as vivimos

If the subject is we (nosotros/as), conjugate by dropping the ending and add -amos, -emos, or -imos.

Notice that the ending of the infinitive determines which is used: -ar verbs add -amos, -er verbs add -emos, -ir verbs add -imos.

nosotros/as hablamos
(hablar - ar + amos = hablamos)

nosotros/as comemos
(comer - er + emos = comemos)

nosotros/as vivimos
(vivir - ir + imos = vivimos)

Look for a pattern in the ustedes form.

ustedes hablan
ustedes comen
ustedes viven

If the subject is you-all (ustedes), conjugate by dropping the ending and add -an or -en. If the verb is an -ar verb, add -an. If it is an -er or an -ir verb, add -en.

ustedes hablan
(hablar - ar + an = hablan)

ustedes comen
(comer - er + en = comen)

ustedes viven
(vivir - ir + en = viven)

Present tense (indicative) in Spanish means three things.

1. Yo hablo inglés:
   
   I speak English.
   I do speak English.
   I am speaking English.
   
2. Yo como pan:
   
   I eat bread.
   I do eat bread.
   I am eating bread.
   
3. Yo vivo en Caracas:
   
   I live in Caracas.
   I do live in Caracas.
   I am living in Caracas.