The Spanish present tense is typically the first tense you learn.\u00a0It allows you to have basic conversations about who you are, where you’re from and what you do.\u00a0It also can help when you’re asking for directions, ordering food or otherwise enjoying a Spanish-speaking country.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So let’s learn what the present tense is and how to conjugate it.<\/p>\n
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All Spanish verbs fall into one of just three categories when it comes to their endings in the infinitive<\/a>:<\/p>\n To make the present tense in Spanish, you take the verb stem and then add the appropriate ending. The ending depends on the pronoun (I\/you\/he\/etc.) and verb type (-ar\/-er\/-ir).<\/p>\n The root or stem of the verb<\/strong> is the part before -ar\/-er\/-ir. Here are the stems of the three Spanish verbs we saw above:<\/p>\n -AR verb endings are as you see in the chart below:<\/p>\n\n Take a look at these example sentences:<\/p>\n Bailo<\/strong> todas las ma\u00f1anas<\/em>\u00a0<\/i>(I dance every morning).<\/p>\n Bailas<\/strong> todas las ma\u00f1anas<\/em> (You dance every morning).<\/p>\n Baila<\/strong> todas las ma\u00f1anas<\/em> (He\/she\/it dances every morning\/You (singular formal) dance every morning).<\/p>\n Bailamos<\/strong> todas las ma\u00f1anas<\/em> (We dance every morning).<\/p>\n Bail\u00e1is<\/strong> todas las ma\u00f1anas<\/em> (You (plural) dance every morning).<\/p>\n Bailan<\/strong> todas las ma\u00f1anas<\/em>\u00a0(They dance every morning).<\/p>\n Here are the endings for -ER verbs:<\/p>\n\n You’ll notice that the endings for the -ER verbs are almost the same as the -AR verbs, except they use an “e” and not an “a.” The first person is the same.<\/p>\n Let’s look at a few example sentences:<\/p>\n Como<\/strong> una hamburguesa<\/em> (I eat a hamburger).<\/p>\n Comes<\/strong> una hamburguesa<\/em> (You eat a hamburger).<\/p>\n Come<\/strong> una hamburguesa<\/em> (He\/she\/it eats a hamburger\/You (singular formal) eat a hamburger).<\/p>\n Comemos<\/strong> una hamburguesa<\/em> (We eat a hamburger).<\/p>\n Com\u00e9is<\/strong> una hamburguesa<\/em> (You (plural) eat a hamburger).<\/p>\n Comen<\/strong> una hamburguesa<\/em> (They eat a hamburger).<\/p>\n The -IR endings are very similar to the -ER endings. The only differences are in the nosotros<\/i> and vosotros<\/i> forms of the verbs.<\/p>\n\n Examples:<\/p>\n Vivo<\/strong> en Buenos Aires<\/em> (I live in Buenos Aires).<\/p>\n Vives<\/strong> en Buenos Aires<\/em> (You live in Buenos Aires).<\/p>\n Vive<\/strong> en Buenos Aires<\/em> (He\/she\/it lives in Buenos Aires\/You (singular formal) live in Buenos Aires).<\/p>\n Vivimos<\/strong> en Buenos Aires<\/em> (We live in Buenos Aires).<\/p>\n Viv\u00eds<\/strong> en Buenos Aires<\/em> (You (plural) live in Buenos Aires).<\/p>\n Viven<\/strong> en Buenos Aires<\/em>\n
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How to Conjugate Verbs the Present Tense<\/h2>\n
Conjugating -AR Verbs<\/h3>\n
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\n\t Subject<\/strong><\/th> Ending<\/strong><\/th> Example (Bailar)<\/i><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n\n \n\t Yo<\/em><\/td> -o<\/em><\/td> Bailo<\/b><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t T\u00fa<\/em><\/td> -as<\/em><\/td> Bailas<\/b><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t \u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted<\/em><\/td> -a<\/em><\/td> Baila<\/b><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Nosotros<\/em><\/td> -amos<\/em><\/td> Bailamos<\/b><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Vosotros<\/em><\/td> -\u00e1is<\/em><\/td> Bail\u00e1is<\/b><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes<\/em><\/td> -an<\/em><\/td> Bailan<\/b><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n Conjugating -ER Verbs<\/h3>\n
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\n\t Subject<\/strong><\/th> Ending<\/strong><\/th> Example (Comer<\/i>)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n\n \n\t Yo<\/em><\/td> -o<\/em><\/td> Como<\/b><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t T\u00fa<\/em><\/td> -es<\/em><\/td> Comes<\/b><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t \u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted<\/em><\/td> -e<\/em><\/td> Come<\/b><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Nosotros<\/em><\/td> -emos<\/em><\/td> Comemos<\/b><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Vosotros<\/em><\/td> -\u00e9is<\/em><\/td> Com\u00e9is<\/b><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes<\/em><\/td> -en<\/em><\/td> Comen<\/b><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n Conjugating -IR Verbs<\/h3>\n
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\n\t Subject<\/strong><\/th> Ending<\/strong><\/th> Example (Vivir)<\/i><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n\n \n\t Yo<\/em><\/td> -o<\/em><\/td> Vivo<\/b><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t T\u00fa<\/em><\/td> -es<\/em><\/td> Vives<\/b><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t \u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted<\/em><\/td> -e<\/em><\/td> Vive<\/b><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Nosotros<\/em><\/td> -imos<\/em><\/td> Vivimos<\/b><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Vosotros<\/em><\/td> -\u00eds<\/em><\/td> Viv\u00eds<\/b><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes<\/em><\/td> -en<\/em><\/td> Viven<\/b><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n