Verbs in the Present Tense

(Los verbos en el tiempo presente)

First conjugation: -ar

The fundamental parts of the Spanish verb

The infinitive: The whole verb. For example, to speak, to work, to sing, etc.

The Spanish infinitive always ends in r

The Spanish infinitive always ends in r

hablarcomerescribircantaraprenderleer

salirconocercostarcorrerfinalizarfreír

The fundamental parts of the Spanish verb

The ending: The last two letters of the infinitive.

The ending always consists of two letters.

The fundamental parts of the Spanish verb

hablarcomerescribircantaraprenderleer

hablarcomerescribircantaraprenderleer

The ending always consists of two letterssalirconocercostarcorrerfinalizarfreír

salirconocercostarcorrerfinalizarfreír

There are three types or categories of verbs in Spanish:those that end in ar,those that end in er, and those that end

in ir

The fundamental parts of the Spanish verb

The stem or root: Whatever is left after removing the ending from the infinitive.

The stem can consist of a variable number of letters, depending on the length of the verb in question.

The fundamental parts of the Spanish verb

The infinitive – the ending = the stem

salirconocercostarcorrerfinalizarfreír

hablarcomerescribircantaraprenderleer

The fundamental parts of the Spanish verb

The infinitive: The basic, unconjugated form of the verb.estudiar

The fundamental parts of the verb

The ending: The last two letters of the infinitive.

The stem: What is left after taking the ending from the infinitive.

ar

estudi

When we conjugate any verb we always begin with its stem.

To conjugate: To put a verb in its correct person and number so that we know who is doing

the action.

Verb Conjugation

The following verbs are regular -ar verbs and are conjugated according to the pattern in the following slides.

hablar to speakayudar to helpbailar to dancebuscar to look forcaminar to walkcomprar to buy

Regular verbs in the Present Tense(-ar)

conversar to converseenseñar to teach

escuchar to listenestudiar to study

llegar to arrivemirar to look atnadar to swimnecesitar to needpreparar to prepareregresar to returntomar to take or

to drinktrabajar to workviajar to travel

a

hablar

ah bloa

ah blasa

ah blaa

habl mosa

áhabl isá

ah blana

Regular verbs in the Present Tense(-ar)

All persons and numbers are based on the stem.

Notice which vowel gets the emphasis!

yo

túUd.élella

nosotros/as

vosotros/as

ellosellas

Uds.

trabajar

aatrab joa

atrab jasa

atrab jaa

trabaj mosa

átrabaj isá

atrab jana

Regular verbs in the Present Tense(-ar)

Its stem?

The emphasis?

buscar

aub scou

ub scasu

ub scau

busc mosa

ábusc isá

ub sc anu

Regular verbs in the Present Tense(-ar)

Its stem?

The emphasis?

a

estudiar

uest diou

uest diasu

uest diau

estudi mosa

áestudi isá

uest dianu

Regular verbs in the Present Tense(-ar)

Its stem?

The emphasis?

Verb usageThe Spanish present indicative tense has several

equivalents in English. As in English, it can express present habitual

actions: Estudiamos español en la universidad.We study Spanish at the university.

But, unlike English, it can also express ongoing actions:

En este momento estudiamos en la biblioteca.Right now we’re studying in the library.

It can even express future actions:

Esta noche estudiamos para el examen.Tonight we will study for the exam.

Regular Present Tense -er and –ir

Verbs

There are three types of regular verbs in Spanish: verbs that end in –ar, verbs that end in –er, and verbs that

end in –ir. You’ve already learned –ar verbs:

yo hablo nosotros hablamos

tú hablas vosotros habláis

él, ella habla ellos hablan

Now for –er verbs:

To form –er verbs, take off the –er and then add the following endings:

comer (to eat)-o -emos como comemos-es -éis comes coméis-e -en come comen

Notice that the only difference between –er verbs and –ar verbs is that you use e’s instead of a’s:

-ar -er-o -amos -o -emos-as -áis -es -éis-a -an -e -en

Now for –ir verbs. Drop the –ir and add the following endings:

abrir (to open)-o -imos abro abrimos-es -ís abres abrís-e -en abre abren

Do you see what the difference is between –er and –ir verbs? They’re just alike except for the nosotros and vosotros forms:

-er -ir-o -emos -o -imos-es -éis -es -ís-e -en -e -en

So the only difference between –ar verbs and –er verbs is that you use e’s instead of a’s in the –er verbs. And the only difference between –er verbs and –ir verbs is the nosotros and vosotros forms.

So when you’re conjugating verbs, be sure you know if the infinitive (the form ending in –ar or –er or -ir; e.g., hablar and comer and abrir are infinitives) ends with an –ar, –er, or –ir so you’ll know what ending to put on it:

You talk: hablas HABLAR we talk: hablamos

You eat: comes COMER we eat: comemos

You open: abres ABRIR we open: abrimos

Irregular Verbs

Verbos Irregulares

Remember that some verbs in Spanish are irregular in the first person singular of the present tense.

Look at the following examples…

Verbos Irregulares Conocer Dar Hacer Poner Saber Salir Traer Ver Caer Give the “yo” form…

Conozco Doy Hago Pongo Sé Salgo Traigo Veo Caigo

Verbos Irregulares

Also, there are some verbs in Spanish that are irregular in all the persons of the present tense:

SER

soy

eres

es

somos

sois

son

IR

voy

vas

va

vamos

vais

van

DECIR

digo

dices

dice

decimos

decís

dicen

ESTAR

estoy

estás

está

estamos

estáis

están

OÍR

oigo

oyes

oye

oímos

oís

oyen

TENER

tengo

tienes

tiene

tenemos

tenéis

tienen

Conjugate stem changers in the present tenseGrammar essential #37

Stem changing infinitives

Stem changing infinitives are named for what they do– change in the stem.

You are going to make some alteration of the stem before adding the verb endings.

You will use the endings you already know.

The hardest part of stem changers is knowing which ones change and which ones don’t.

Stem changers

There are 4 different ways a stem changing infinitive can change (4 categories).

The first is uue.

It is the smallest category with only one infinitive jugar = to play (sports)

Jugar = to play (sports)

Separate the stem and the infintive ending.

Jug- is the stem

Make the stem change uue

The new stem is jueg-

Put it in the conjugation box EXCEPT nosotros and vosotros.

Nosotros and Vosotros do not make the stem change.

Jugar = to play sports

Yo

Jueg-

Nosotros/as

Jug-

Tú

Jueg-

Vosotros/as

Jug-

Él

Ella jueg-

Ud.

Ellos

Ellas jueg-

Uds.Now just add the regular –ar endings.

Jugar = to play sports

Yo

Juego

Nosotros/as

Jugamos

Tú

Juegas

Vosotros/as

Jugáis

Él

Ella juega

Ud.

Ellos

Ellas juegan

Uds.

Stem changers

The second category is one of the largest.

It is oue.

Encontrar = to find is a stem changer.

It is the same steps as jugar.

Other examples include: acostar (to lie down), almorzar (to eat lunch), contar (to count), costar (to cost), devolver (to return something), dormir (to sleep), poder (can/to be able to), volver (to return)

Encontrar = to find

First separate the stem from the infinitive ending.

Encontr- is the stem.

Make the stem change oue

New stem encuentr-

Put into box– remember it will look like a boot… they are called boot verbs as well.

Encontrar = to find

encuentro encontramos

encuentras encontráis

encuentra encuentran

Stem changers

The third category is again large.

It is eie.

preferir = to prefer is a stem changer.

It is the same steps as jugar.

*When there is more than one vowel that could possible make the change, choose the vowel closest to the verb ending.

Other e ie verbs

Cerrar (to close), Comenzar (to begin), Despertar (to wake up), Divertir (to entertain/ amuse), Empezar (to begin), Entender (to understand), Pensar (to think), Perder (to lose), Querer (to want), Recomendar (to recommend)

Preferir = to prefer

First separate the stem from the infinitive ending.

prefer- is the stem.

Make the stem change eie

New stem prefier-

Put into box– remember it will look like a boot… they are called boot verbs as well.

preferir = to prefer

prefiero preferimos

prefieres preferís

prefiere prefieren

Stem changers

The last category is a smaller one.

It is ei.

servir = to serve is a stem changer.

It is the same steps as jugar.

servir = to serve

First separate the stem from the infinitive ending.

serv- is the stem.

Make the stem change ei

New stem sirv-

Put into box– remember it will look like a boot… they are called boot verbs as well.

servir = to serve

sirvo servimos

sirves servís

sirve sirven

ei

There are some rules that can help you distinguish between e i and e ie.

In order to be e i, the infinitive must end in –ir. Now, that could be other categories as well, but –ar and –er cannot be e i .

MR C VeSPeRS is also a way to help if you are needing a pneumonic device.

MR. C VeSPeRS

M- medir (to measure)R – reír (to laugh)C – conseguir (To get/ to obtain)V – vestir(se) (to dress)S- servir (to serve)P – pedir (to ask for)R- repetir ( to repeat)S- seguir (to follow/ to continue)

E I Verbs

MR. C VeSPeRS does not include all the stem changers in this category. Another infinitive is Sonreír (to smile)

Stem Changers

I cannot give you a rule as to which verbs stem change and which ones don’t. These are just something that you have to learn as you continue to use Spanish.

Don’t forget-you have already learned all of the u ue stem-changers.

ACTIVITY

IN YOUR WORKBOOK WORK ON PAGES 5 EXERCISE D, 20

EXERCISE J FOR REGULAR VERBS.

FOR STEM CHANGING WORK ON PAGES 23 EXERCISE C, 29

EXERCISE F AND 32 EXERCISE D.