{"id":144269,"date":"2024-02-27T15:55:03","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T20:55:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/spanish-verb-conjugation\/"},"modified":"2024-09-04T04:13:52","modified_gmt":"2024-09-04T08:13:52","slug":"spanish-verb-conjugation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-verb-conjugation\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Spanish Verb Conjugation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spanish verbs change a lot more than English verbs.\u00a0They change endings (and often stems, too) according to who is saying them, who (or what) you’re talking about, and whether you’re talking about the present, past or the future.<\/p>\n

There is a bit to cover, so we’ll start with the most basic rules and then work through irregularities and the finer details of verb conjugation.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

The Basics of Spanish Conjugation<\/h2>\n

When conjugating Spanish verbs in the present tense<\/a>, you first need to\u00a0identify who’s performing the action.<\/strong> This is your “subject.” There are eight possible subjects:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Subject +Pronoun<\/th>Meaning<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Yo \/ me<\/td>I \/ myself<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
T\u00fa \/ te<\/td>You (informal) \/ yourself<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Usted\/ se<\/td>You (formal) \/ yourself<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00c9l\/Ella \/ se<\/td>He\/She \/ himself\/herself<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nosotros\/Nosotras \/ nos<\/td>We \/ ourselves<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vosotros\/Vosotras \/ os<\/td>You (plural informal) \/ yourselves<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ustedes \/ se<\/td>You (plural formal) \/ yourselves<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ellos\/Ellas \/ se<\/td>They \/ themselves<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Now that we know who’s performing the action, we’ll need to conjugate by picking the correct verb ending depending on who the subject is.<\/p>\n

All Spanish verb infinitives<\/a> (the dictionary version of the verb) end in the letters -ar, -er <\/em>or -ir.<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

To conjugate an infinitive, you need to remove the final two letters and add the appropriate ending.<\/strong><\/p>\n

To find the appropriate ending, you will need to consider which tense you’re using and whether the verb is regular or irregular.<\/p>\n

Conjugating Spanish Regular Verbs in the Present Tense<\/h2>\n

The Spanish present tense is used for facts that are true in the current moment and general statements:<\/p>\n

Yo quiero<\/strong> un gato. <\/em>(I want a cat.)<\/p>\n

Yo hablo<\/strong> espa\u00f1ol.<\/em> (I speak Spanish.)<\/p>\n

It’s the most basic and common Spanish tense, so it’s the perfect place for beginners to get started.<\/p>\n

-ar<\/em> verbs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how you\u2019d conjugate habl<\/em>ar<\/em><\/strong> (to speak), which is a common –ar<\/em> verb. You use the same verb endings to conjugate other regular -ar<\/em> verbs<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Subject<\/th>Ending<\/th>Hablar<\/em> Conjugated<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Yo<\/em><\/td>-o<\/em><\/td>hablo<\/b><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
T\u00fa<\/em><\/td>-as<\/em><\/td>hablas<\/b><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Usted\/\u00c9l\/Ella<\/em><\/td>-a<\/em><\/td>habla<\/b><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nosotros\/as<\/em><\/td>-amos<\/em><\/td>hablamos<\/b><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vosotros\/as<\/em><\/td>-\u00e1is<\/em><\/td>habl\u00e1is<\/b><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ustedes\/Ellos\/Ellas<\/em><\/td>-an<\/em><\/td>hablan<\/b><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

-er<\/em> verbs<\/strong><\/p>\n

For regular -er<\/em> verbs, such as\u00a0com<\/em>er<\/em><\/strong> (to eat):<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Subject<\/th>Ending<\/th>Comer<\/em> Conjugated<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Yo<\/em><\/td>-o<\/em><\/td>como<\/b><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
T\u00fa<\/em><\/td>-es<\/em><\/td>comes<\/b><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Usted\/\u00c9l\/Ella<\/em><\/td>-e<\/em><\/td>come<\/b><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nosotros\/as<\/em><\/td>-emos<\/em><\/td>comemos<\/b><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vosotros\/as<\/em><\/td>-\u00e9is<\/em><\/td>com\u00e9is<\/b><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ustedes\/Ellos\/Ellas<\/em><\/td>-en<\/em><\/td>comen<\/b><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

-ir<\/em> verbs<\/strong><\/p>\n

For regular -ir<\/em> verbs, such as\u00a0viv<\/em>ir<\/em><\/strong> (to live):<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Subject<\/th>Ending<\/th>Vivir<\/em> Conjugated<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Yo<\/em><\/td>-o<\/em><\/td>vivo<\/b><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
T\u00fa<\/em><\/td>-es<\/em><\/td>vives<\/b><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Usted\/\u00c9l\/Ella<\/em><\/td>-e<\/em><\/td>vive<\/b><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nosotros\/as<\/em><\/td>-imos<\/em><\/td>vivimos<\/b><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vosotros\/as<\/em><\/td>-\u00eds<\/em><\/td>viv\u00eds<\/b><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ustedes\/Ellos\/Ellas<\/em><\/td>-en<\/em><\/td>viven<\/b><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Here are a few examples of this tense in action:<\/p>\n

Antonio canta<\/strong> por las ma\u00f1anas. <\/em>(Antonio sings in the mornings.)<\/p>\n

Mi sobrino come<\/strong> mucho. <\/em>(My nephew eats a lot.)<\/p>\n

Patricia vive<\/strong> en Madrid. <\/em>(Patricia lives in Madrid.)<\/p>\n

Conjugating Spanish Reflexive Verbs in the Present Tense<\/h2>\n

Reflexive verbs perform an action on themselves. That is, they have a subject that’s the same as the object, such as in the sentence “I weigh myself” or “I wash myself.”<\/p>\n

You can spot these in Spanish because their infinitive verb form often includes a pronoun,<\/strong> for example:<\/p>\n