You lastly perceive the foundations of gender, you may inform your Spanish listening and dialog expertise have gotten higher, and also you’re watching loads of Spanish motion pictures.
However one thing’s lacking—your grammar is a large number.
If you happen to missed your verb conjugation class at college and nonetheless can’t inform the distinction between an -AR and an -IR verb, assistance is right here.
Utilizing this information, you may grow to be the following grasp of the Spanish current tense!
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The Current Tense in Spanish
All Spanish verbs fall into considered one of simply three classes in the case of their endings within the infinitive:
- Those who finish in -AR, like bailar (to bounce)
- Verbs that finish in -ER, reminiscent of comer (to eat)
- Verbs ending in -IR, as in vivir (to dwell)
So as to make the current tense in Spanish it’s essential to use the foundation (stem) of the phrase after which add on the suitable ending, in keeping with the topic and verb kind (-AR/-ER/-IR).
The root or stem of the verb is the half earlier than -ar/-er/-ir. Listed here are the stems of the three Spanish verbs we noticed above:
- bailar → bail-
- vivir → viv-
- comer → com-
After which the endings change for every verb kind, so let’s have a look, starting with our -ar verbs.
-AR Verbs: The right way to Conjugate in Current Tense
-AR verb endings are as you see within the chart beneath:
| Topic | Ending |
|---|---|
| Yo | -o |
| Tú | -as |
| Él/Ella/Usted | -a |
| Nosotros | -amos |
| Vosotros | -áis |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | -an |
So take the verb bailar (to bounce) and we get:
Bailo: Bailo todas las mañanas (I dance each morning).
Bailas: Bailas todas las mañanas (You dance each morning).
Baila: Baila todas las mañanas (He/she/it dances each morning/You (singular formal) dance each morning).
Bailamos: Bailamos todas las mañanas (We dance each morning).
Bailáis: Bailáis todas las mañanas (You (plural) dance each morning).
Bailan: Bailan todas las mañanas (They dance each morning).
-ER Verbs: The right way to Conjugate in Current Tense
Listed here are the endings for -ER verbs:
| Topic | Ending |
|---|---|
| Yo | -o |
| Tú | -es |
| Él/Ella/Usted | -e |
| Nosotros | -emos |
| Vosotros | -éis |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | -en |
You’ll discover that the endings for the -ER verbs are nearly the identical because the -AR verbs, besides they use an “e” and never an “a”. The primary particular person is similar.
Beneath are the current tense conjugations of the verb comer (to eat):
Como: Como una hamburguesa (I eat a hamburger).
Comes: Comes una hamburguesa (You eat a hamburger).
Come: Come una hamburguesa (He/she/it eats a hamburger/You (singular formal) eat a hamburger).
Comemos: Comemos una hamburguesa (We eat a hamburger).
Coméis: Coméis una hamburguesa (You (plural) eat a hamburger).
Comen: Comen una hamburguesa (They eat a hamburger).
And now that everybody desires a hamburger, let’s transfer on to the the -IR verbs!
-IR Verbs: The right way to Conjugate in Current Tense
The -IR endings are similar to the -ER endings; the one variations are within the nosotros and vosotros types of the verbs.
| Topic | Ending |
|---|---|
| Yo | -o |
| Tú | -es |
| Él/Ella/Usted | -e |
| Nosotros | -imos |
| Vosotros | -ís |
| Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes | -en |
So vivir is conjugated as follows:
Vivo: Vivo en Buenos Aires (I dwell in Buenos Aires).
Vives: Vives en Buenos Aires (You reside in Buenos Aires).
Vive: Vive en Buenos Aires (He/she/it lives in Buenos Aires/You (singular formal) dwell in Buenos Aires).
Vivimos: Vivimos en Buenos Aires (We dwell in Buenos Aires).
Vivís: Vivís en Buenos Aires (You (plural) dwell in Buenos Aires).
Viven: Viven en Buenos Aires (They dwell in Buenos Aires).
The one manner you’ll be capable to grasp the current tense is thru follow, follow, follow. Do grammar workouts, make up sentences in your head, recite the endings time and again to your self. Do no matter works till you may bear in mind which ending is which and apply them appropriately.
It might be nice if that had been all there’s to it, however the enjoyable doesn’t finish there. When you’ve received the common verb endings down, it’s time to introduce the bane of all language learners’ lives: irregular verbs.
Irregular Verbs within the Spanish Current Tense
Irregular Spanish Current Tense Verbs: Stem-changers
Some verbs change their stem within the current tense. Word that the stems of those verbs change in all varieties besides nosotros and vosotros. They’re often categorized by the kind of change, for instance “o” → “ue” and “e” → “ie.”
“o” → “ue” Stem-changing Verbs
Dormir (to sleep)
duermo
duermes
duerme
dormimos
dormís
duermen
These stem-changing verbs are sometimes referred to as “boot verbs,” and right here’s why: If you set up the verb conjugations into two rows, the varieties whose stems change seem like a boot.
Let’s check out this form with the verb acostar (to go to mattress):
acuesto acostamos
acuestas acostáis
acuesta acuestan
Are you able to see the boot? The toe of the boot is made by the Uds./Ellos/Ellas kind, acuestan.
Right here’s yet one more “o” → “ue” stem-changing verb: volver (to return):
vuelvo volvemos
vuelves volvéis
vuelve vuelven
“e” → “ie” Stem-changing Verbs
One other group of stem-changing verbs change from “e” to “ie.” Examples embrace:
Empezar (to start out)
empiezo empezamos
empiezas empezáis
empieza empiezan
Querer (to need)
quiero queremos
quieres queréis
quiere quieren
Sentir (to really feel)
siento sentimos
sientes sentís
siente sienten
If you happen to’re feeling a little bit misplaced, don’t panic. All Spanish learners felt this fashion sooner or later, however the excellent news is that studying all these verbs is feasible. When you get used to the irregular verbs, they’ll come to you naturally and also you’ll quickly discover your individual ears wincing when listening to an improperly conjugated verb.
Irregular Spanish Current Tense Verbs: First Individual
Different verbs are irregular within the first particular person, but common in all different varieties. These are comparatively easy to study.
One instance is dar (to offer). The primary particular person kind is irregular: doy , as in doy un regalo (I give a gift), however the different varieties are common:
The verbs poner (to place/place), traer (to carry) and salir (to go away/exit) are generally referred to as the “go” or “yo-go” verbs as a result of they finish in “-go” within the first particular person. Poner turns into pongo , traer turns into traigo and salir turns into salgo . All three verbs are common in all different varieties. Right here’s poner conjugated, for instance:
pongo ponemos
pones ponéis
pone ponen
Different related verbs are hacer (hago ) and tener (tengo ).
Decir (digo ) and venir (vengo ) are each “go” verbs and in addition stem-changing verbs.
Different irregular verbs within the first particular person are: ver (to see), which turns into veo , and saber (to know), which turns into sé —as in yo sé , or I do know.
Irregular Spanish Current Tense Verbs: Completely Irregular
There are three verbs which are so irregular they get their very own particular class: ser (to be), estar (to be), and ir (to go).
Ser (to be)
| Topic | Conjugation | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | Soy | I’m |
| Tú | Eres | You might be (singular, casual) |
| Él/Ella, Usted | Es | He/She is, You might be (singular, formal) |
| Nosotros | Somos | We’re |
| Vosotros | Sois | You might be (plural, casual) |
| Ellos/Ellas, Ustedes | Son | They’re, You might be (plural, formal) |
Estar (to be) appears nearly regular, till you see the accents.
| Topic | Conjugation | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | Estoy | I’m |
| Tú | Estás | You might be (singular, casual) |
| Él/Ella, Usted | Está | He/She is, You might be (singular, formal) |
| Nosotros | Estamos | We’re |
| Vosotros | Estáis | You might be (plural, casual) |
| Ellos/Ellas, Ustedes | Están | They’re, You might be (plural, formal) |
And Ir (to go) is sort of unrecognizable:
| Topic | Conjugation | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | Voy | I’m going |
| Tú | Vas | You go (singular, casual) |
| Él/Ella, Usted | Va | He/She goes, You go (singular, formal) |
| Nosotros | Vamos | We go |
| Vosotros | Vais | You go (plural, casual) |
| Ellos/Ellas, Ustedes | Van | They go, You go (plural, formal) |
Spelling Guidelines within the Spanish Current Tense
Simply to confuse issues additional, some verbs change their spelling within the current tense. Fortunately, there are guidelines that dictate when this occurs.
Verbs ending in -cer/-cir
When the verb ends in a vowel + “cer” or “cir,” it is advisable to change the “c” to “zc” within the first particular person. For instance the verb conocer (to know) turns into: conozco within the first particular person and is common in all different varieties:
conozco conocemos
conoces conocéis
conoce conocen
Different verbs that even have this spelling change are:
Traducir (to translate) turns into traduzco
Aparecer (to seem) turns into aparezco
Crecer (to develop) turns into crezco
Nacer (to be born) turns into nazco
Verbs ending in -ger/-gir
With verbs that finish in “-ger” or “-gir” change the “g” to a “j” within the first particular person.
For instance:
Escoger (to decide on) turns into escojo
Exigir (to require/demand) turns into exijo
Fingir (to faux) turns into finjo
Elegir (to decide on) turns into elijo (which can be a stem-changing verb).
Verbs ending in -guir
Lastly, when a verb ends in “-guir” change “gu” to “g” within the first particular person.
Conseguir (to get/obtain) turns into consigo .
Seguir (to comply with) turns into sigo (one other stem-changing verb).
Distinguir (to differentiate/inform aside) turns into distingo .
Head damage? Don’t fear. Take a deep breath, make a cup of tea after which work by way of every of those sections once more, taking time to check every half earlier than transferring on to the following.
Belief me, it is going to be price your time.
Why Is Spanish Grammar Essential?
Though vocabulary could typically maintain the important thing to creating your self understood—stroll into a store and say pan (bread) for instance, and also you’ll probably come away with the specified product—grammar is equally essential to getting your level throughout.
Think about the next sentence:
“Vivo en Barcelona.” (I dwell in Barcelona)
The verb vivir on this sentence is conjugated within the first particular person within the current tense, giving us very important data that the particular person speaking at present lives in Barcelona.
If we merely mentioned:
“Vivir en Barcelona.” (To dwell in Barcelona/Dwelling in Barcelona)
Then the listener has no concept who the sentence refers to or whether or not the speaker is referring to the previous, current, future or a hypothetical state of affairs.
Apart from the communication breakdown mixing up your verbs could cause, conjugating your verbs appropriately will make you sound like a a lot better Spanish speaker. Many native Spanish audio system think about conjugating verbs some of the difficult features of studying their language, so get these verb endings proper and also you’ll remember to impress!
Talking of natives, an effective way to study these ideas is by watching native audio system use them in motion. To try this, strive studying a very good Spanish-language novel or diving right into a telenovela.
You may additionally use a digital immersion platform. FluentU, for instance, takes culturally-relevant quick movies and turns them into Spanish classes. There are annotated captions that allow you to learn alongside and watch for a way the verbs are conjugated.
There are many sources on the market that can aid you make the connection between Spanish conjugations and their meanings, no matter your studying model.
So don’t get discouraged should you don’t get it straight away. With the correct mixture of examine, follow and immersion, you’ll perceive the Spanish current tense very quickly.
¡Puedes hacerlo! —You are able to do it!
Obtain:
This weblog submit is on the market as a handy and moveable PDF that you simply
can take wherever.
Click on right here to get a duplicate. (Obtain)
