
SPANISH PRESENT CONJUGATION MADE EASY
Let´s start with the basics: When verbs are not conjugated, they are called infinitive verbs.
All infinitive verbs end in either -AR, -ER or -IR.
For example: cantar, comer, vivir.
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For the present tense (and some other tenses) we need to remove the infinitive ending (ar, er, ir) or part of it.
Comer – er= com
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Then, we need to a specific ending to match the subject and the tense. For example:
To eat:
Comer – er = com + o= yo como (I eat)
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Now, let´s examine the endings pattern for present tense. Notice that the pattern is true even for irregular verbs, but we will just use regular verbs for now.
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1. YO verbs end in -O
Yo como, yo estudio, yo uso
2. TÚ verbs end in either -AS or -ES
If the infinitive is an AR verb, then the ending for the present will be -AS (bailar= tu bailas)
If the infinitive is an ER/IR verb, then the ending for the present will be -ES (comer=comes/ vivir=vives)
The conjugation for TÚ is the most important one because it will be your guide for everything.
3. ÉL, ELLA, USTED, “IT” verbs just remove the -S from the TÚ form.
As long as you know the TÚ verb, you just remove the final -S and you have the conjugation for he, she, you formal and it*.
Tú bailas = él baila, ella baila, usted baila, (it) baila.
Tú comes= él come, ella come, usted come, (it) come.
Tú vives= él vive, ella vive, usted vive, (it) vive.
*When you want to say something like “it eats”, in Spanish you use this conjugation, but without mentioning the pronoun. Just go directly to the verb. It eats= come
4. ELLOS, ELLAS, USTEDES are the plural forms of él, ella, usted.
All you need to do is add an -n to the singular form. Conjugated verbs that end in -N usually imply plural in Spanish.
Él baila= ellos bailan
Ella come= ellas comen
Usted usa= ustedes usan
Another form to look at this pattern is to think that you need to change the final -S of the tú form for an -N
Tú comes= ellos comen, ellas comen, ustedes comen.
However, the first option is easier to remember because él directly corresponds to ellos, etc.
5. NOSOTROS verbs end in -MOS
Take the infinitive verb and remove just the final -R, then add -MOS
Bailar – r = baila + mos = nosotros bailamos
Comer – r = come + mos = nosotros comemos
Vivir – r = vivi + mos = nosotros vivimos
Here is a chart with some conjugated verbs. Look at it and see the pattern for yourself:
VIAJAR (to travel) |
BEBER (to drink) |
ASISTIR (to attend/ to help) |
|
YO |
Viajo |
Bebo |
Asisto |
TÚ |
Viajas |
Bebes |
Asistes |
ÉL – ELLA – USTED |
Viaja |
Bebe |
Asiste |
ELLOS – ELLAS – USTEDES |
Viajan |
Beben |
Asisten |
NOSOTROS |
Viajamos |
Bebemos |
Asistimos |

