e se

Regular verbs
A verb is a word that expresses an action, an occurrence, or a state of being. All
Spanish verbs belong to one of three different classes, or conjugations, according
to the ending of the infinitive-the verb form ending in -ar, -er, or -ir.

FIRST CONJUGATION: -ar verbs like hablar

SECOND CONJUGATION: -er verbs like aprender
THIRD CONJUGATION: -ir verbs like escribir

The present tense is formed by dropping the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, -ir) and
adding the appropriate present tense endings. Verbs conjugated according to
the patterns below are called regular verbs.

First conjugation: -ar verbs

Verbs of the first conjugation (-ar verbs) are conjugated like hablar (to speak).

SINGULAR PLURAL
FIRST PERSON yo hablo nosotros( as) hablamos
SECOND PERSON tu hablas vosotros( as) hablais
THIRD PERSON el/ella/Ud. habla ellos/ellas/Uds. hablan

.=- ~"'mman -ar verbs

bar to finish, end bajar to go down, lower, turn colocar to put, pLace
ptar to accept down; to download comprar to buy
mpafiar to go with, besar to kiss contestar to answer
accompany borrar to erase, delete cortar to cut
sejar to advise buscar to look for cruzar to cross
rrar to save cambiar to change dejar to Let, Leave
uilar to rent caminar to waLk descargar to download
ar to turn off, shut off cantar to sing desear to want
lalteglar to arrange, fix up carqar to load, upload dibujar to draw
entar to increase celebrar to ceLebrate disfrutar to enjoy
·guar to find out cenar to have dinner doblar to turn (change
ar to heLp charlar to chat direction)
• r to dance cocinar to cook durar to last (continued)

Present tense 3
 echar to throw guardar to save (computer practicar to practice
empujar to push file); to keep, put away preguntar to ask (a question)
entrar to go in, come in, hablar to speak preparar to prepare
enter, input invitar to invite presentar to present, introduce
entregar to hand in, llamar to call quitar to take away
hand over llegar to attive regresar to come back, return
escuchar to listen llevar to carry, wear repasar to review
esperar to wait (for), hope, llorar to cry sacar to take out
expect mandar to send, order saludar to greet
estacionar to park manejar to drive tardar to be late
estudiar to study marcar to dial, mark telecargar to load, upload
explicar to explain mirar to look at terminar to finish, end
felicitar to congratulate nadar to swim tirar to throw
firmar to sign navegar to surf (the Web) tocar to playa musical
funcionar to function, work necesitar to need instrument; to touch
(machine) pagar to pay tomar to take, drink
ganar to earn, win parar to stop trabajar to work
gastar to spend, waste pasar to spend (time), pass trotar to jog
grabar to record patinar to skate usar to use, wear
gritar to shout pintar to paint viajar to travel

Second conjugation: -er verbs

Verbs of the second conjugation (-er verbs) are conjugated like aprender
(to learn).

SINGULAR PLURAL
FIRST PERSON yo aprendo nosotros(as) aprendemos
SECOND PERSON tu aprendes vosotros(as) aprendeis
THIRD PERSON el/ellajUd. aprende ellosjellasjUds. aprenden

Common -er verbs

aprender to learn creer to believe, think prender to turn on
beber to drink deber to owe; ought, must, romper to break
comer to eat to be supposed to toser to cough
comprender to understand leer to read vender to sell
correr to run meter to put in

Third conjugation: -Ir verbs

Verbs of the third conjugation (-ir verbs) are conjugated like escribir (to write).

SINGULAR PLURAL
FIRST PERSON yo escribo nosotros(as) escribimos

SECOND PERSON tu escribes vosotros(as) escribis

THIRD PERSON eLjellajUd. escribe ellosjellasjUds. escriben

4 Verbs-Forms and Uses

Corn mon -ir verbs
abrir to open discutir to discuss, argue subir to go up, raise; upload
aiiadir to add escribir to write sufrir to suffer
asistir to attend imprimir to print transmitir to transmit;
compartir to share interrumpir to interrupt broadcast
describir to describe ocurrir to happen vivir to live
difundir to broadcast redbir to receive

• Verbs of the first conjugation (-ad and the second conjugation (-ed are
conjugated alike with the difference that -ar verbs have a in all endings
except the yo form and -er verbs have e in all endings except the yo form .
• Verbs of the third conjugation (-ir) have i in the endings for nosotrostas) and
vosotrostas). The other persons are the same as the second conjugation (-er).

Uses of the present

The present tense forms of Spanish verbs express both the English simple
present (I walk) and the English present progressive (I am walking). Spanish
present tense forms also include the auxiliary verb do/does that English uses
in questions and in negative sentences. Do/does are not expressed in Spanish
before another verb.
Tocas el piano. You play the piano.
You're playing the piano.
,Navegan Uds. en la Red? Do you surf the Net?
Are you surfing the Net?
No usarnos esta computadora. We don't use this computer.
We're not using this computer.

Questions can be formed in Spanish by inverting the subject and the verb or
by changing intonation.
,Trabajan Uds. aquf? } Do you work here?
,Uds. trabajan aquf?

The present tense can be used to ask for instructions.

,Hablamos del tema ahora? Shall we talk about the topic now?
lCucindo entre go el informe? When shall I hand in the report?
The present tense can refer to the future if another element of the sentence
expresses future time. English often uses the present progressive to indicate
future time.
Mando el correo electr6nico manana. I'll send the e-mail tomorrow.
Vera cena conmigo el viernes. Vera's having dinner with me on
Friday.

Present tense 5
The construction hace + expression of time + que + verb in the present tense is
used to designate actions that began in the past but that continue into the
present. The question form of this construction is ,Cuanto tiempo hace
que ... ? The word tiempo is optional.
,Cuanto (tiempo) hace que viven How long have you been living
Uds. en esta casa? in this house?
Race ocho afios que vivimos aqui. We've been living herefor eight years.
Race + expression of time may also appear at the end of the sentence; que is
omitted in this case.
Vivimos aqui hace ocho aiios. We've been living herefor eight years.
Another construction used to designate actions that began in the past and
continue into the present is verb in present tense + desde hace + expression of
time. To form a question, ,Desde cuando ... ? is used.
,Desde cuando buscas trabajo? How long have you been lookingfor
a job?
Busco trabajo desde hace un meso I've been looking for a job for a month.
 Irregular verbs
The following verbs have an irregular first person singular (yo) form in the
present tense. All other present tense forms are regular.

-G verbs are verbs that have an unexpected -g in the yo form.

INFINITIVE YO FORM OTHER FORMS OF THE PRESENT TENSE

caer to fall
hacer to make, do
poner to put
salir to go out, leave
traer to bring
valer to be worth
caigo caes, cae, caemos, caeis, caen
hago haces, hace, hacemos, haceis, hacen
pongo pones, pone, ponemos, poneis, ponen
salgo sales, sale, salimos, salis, salen
traigo traes, trae, traemos, traeis, traen
valgo vales, vale, valemos, valeis, valen

_-:;that are conjugated like poner

imponer to impose reponerse to get well
proponer to propose suponer to suppose

contraer to contract distraer to distract

Present tense 11
 The following -g verbs are irregular in other persons besides the first person.

DECIR to say, tell OiR to hear

digo decimos oigo cimos
dices decis oyes ois
dice dicen oye oyen

TENER to have VENIR to come

tengo tenemos vengo venimos
tienes teneis vienes venis
tiene tienen viene vienen

Verbs that are conjugated like tener

contener to contain mantener to maintain retener to retain
detener to stop, detain obtener to obtain

Ir (to go) and dar (to give) are conjugated like -ar verbs except that the yo fom;
ends in -oy: voy, doy. The stem of the verb ir is the letter v and the stem of
verb dar is the letter d. Note that the vosotrostas) form has no accent beca
it has only one syllable: vais, dais.

IR DAR
voy vamos doy damos
vas vais das dais
va van da dan

Ir + a + infinitive is used to refer to future time like to be going to is used in

English.
Aqui esta el cine. Voy a estacionar Here's the movie theater. I'm going-
el coche. park the car.
y yo voy a comprar las entradas. And I'm going to buy the tickets.

Ver (to see) is a regular -er verb except for the yo form: veo. The vosotros(
form has no accent because it has only one syllable: veis. Saber (to know)
caber (to fit) are irregular in the first person only.

INFINITIVE YO FORM OTHER FORMS OF THE PRESENT TE

ver veo ves, ve, vemos, veis, ven
saber se sabes, sabe, sabemos, sabeis,
caber quepo cabes, cabe, cabemos, cabeis, ca;

12 Verbs-Forms and Uses

 In most verbs that end in a vowel + -cer or -cir, -e changes to -zc before -0
and -a. In the present tense, the change occurs only in the first person singular
(yo form).

CONOCER to know
conozeo conocemos
conoces conoceis
conoce conocen

Note that the following verbs are conjugated like eonoeer.

I
ocer to recognize desconocer to be ignorant of

Most verbs with infinitives ending in -ecer have -zco in the yo form like
eonozeo. The other forms of the present tense are regular .

••••• ecer (agradezco) to thank obedeeer (obedezeo) to obey

_ er (aparezeo) to appear
(erezeo) to grow
- recer (desaparezco) to disappear
ISIableeer (establezeo) to establish
er (merezeo) to deserve
ofreeer (ofrezeo) to offer
parecer (parezeo) to seem
permaneeer (permanezeo) to remain
perteneeer (pertenezeo) to belong

Verbs ending in -ucir also have -zco in the yo form, but are regular in their
other forms.

~udr (eonduzeo) to drive reducir (reduzeo) to reduce

•• (luzeo) to shine, show off traducir (traduzeo) to translate
dr (produzeo) to produce
 Se a g• g
e e s
g

Stem-changing verbs ending in -ar and -er

Stem-changing verbs that end in -ar or -er change the stem vowel in the
present tense in two possible ways: e -7 ie and 0 -7 ue in all forms except
nosotrostas) and vosotrostas). The stem changes take place in those forms of
the present tense where the stem vowel is stressed.

QUERER to want, love VOLVER to return

quiero queremos vuelvo volvemos
quieres quereis vuelves volveis
quiere quieren vuelve vuelven

PENSAR to think PODER can, to be abLe to

pienso pensamos puedo podemos

piensas pensais puedes podeis
piensa piensan puede pueden

Pensar + infinitive means to intend to.

LQue piensas hacer hoy? What do you intend to do today?

defender to defend helar* to freeze

descender to go down merendar to have an afternoon
to be tight, squeeze despertar(se) to wake up snack, have a picnic
Im-!!" to go up, promote empezar to begin nevar* to snow
to cross
1II1II!S;a:r encender to light perder to lose
to close encerrar to lock in, contain quebrar to break
"!IIiI~r to begin entender to understand recomendar to recommend
to confess gobernar to govern sentar(se) to seat, sit down
"'~iOItal verbs; conjugated only in the third person singular

Stem-changing verbs and verbs with spelling changes 21

Verbs like volver and poder
acordarse to remember demostrar to show oler (o~hue) to smell
acostar(se) to put to bed, go devolver to return, give back probar(se) to try, taste, try 0
to bed doler to hurt, ache recordar to remember
almorzar to eat lunch encontrar to find resolver to solve
con mover to move envolver to wrap up soler to be accustomed to
(emotionally) jugar (u~ue) to play tronar* to thunder
contar to count, tell llover* to rain volar to fly
costar to cost mostrar to show, display
*Impersonal verbs; conjugated only in the third person singular

Jugar has the stem change u ~ ue and oler has the change 0~ hue.
;,A que juegas? What are you playing?
Huele bien. It smells good.
 Stem-changing verbs ending in -ir
Stem-changing verbs that end in -ir have three types of possible changes for
the stem vowel: e ~ ie, 0 ~ ue, e ~ i. These -ir verbs have the changes in the
vowel of the stem in all persons of the present tense except nosotroslas) and
vosotros(as). Note that morir(se) is conjugated like dormir.

SENTIR to regret DORMIR to sleep

siento sentimos duermo dormimos
sientes sentis duermes dermis
siente sienten duerme duermen

PEDIR to ask for, request

pido pedimos
pides pedis
pide piden

As in -ar and -er verbs, the change in the stem takes place in those forms of
the present tense where the vowel of the stem is stressed .

.~~ like sentir

" to notify, warn divertirse to have a good time preferir to prefer
••• sti"ir to convert hervir to boil referirse (a) to refer (to)
frse en to become mentir to lie sentirse to feel

Stem-changing verbs and verbs with spelling changes 29

Verbs like pedir
despedir to fire
despedirse (de) to say
good-bye (to)
gemir to groan, moan
impedir to prevent
medir to measure
reir(se) to laugh
refiir to quarrel, scold
repetir to repeat, have a
second helping
seguir to follow, continue
servir to serve
sonreir(se) to smile
vestir(se) to dress

Reir and sonreir have -I as the stem vowel in the singular and third person plural.
(sonlrio (sonlrefmos
(sonlrfes (sonlreis
(sonlrie (sonlrfen
 Verbs ending in -uir
Verbs ending in -uir (not including those ending in -guir) add -y after the -u
in all forms except nosotros(as) and vosotros(as).

CONSTRUIR to buiLd
construyo construimos
construyes construis
construye construyen

Verbs like construir

atribuir to attribute destruir to destroy incluir to include
concluir to conclude distribuir to distribute influir to influence
contribuir to contribute huir to flee sustituir to substitute
 Verbs with spelling changes in the present tense
Verbs with spelling changes are regular in speech. The changes are required
by the rules of Spanish spelling.
In verbs that end in -ger and -gir, -g changes to -j before -0 and -a. In the
present tense, the change occurs only in the first person singular (yo form).

ESCOGER to choose
escojo escogemos
escoges escoqeis

escoge escogen

_-::;like escoger
. to afflict
o grab, catch
. (e~i) to correct
• to direct, conduct
eLegir (e~i) to choose, elect fingir to pretend
encoger to shrink proteger to protect
exigir to demand recoger to gather, pick up

In verbs that end in -guir, -gu changes to -g before -0 and -a. In the present
tense, the change occurs only in the first person singular (yo form).

DISTINGUIR to distinguish
distingo distinguimos
distingues distinguls
distingue distinguen

Extinguir (to extinguish) is conjugated like distinguir.

Seguir (to follow, continue) is conjugated like distinguir and also has the stem
change e ~ i. This applies to related verbs ending in -seguir,

. to get, acquire perseguir to pursue, persecute proseguir to proceed

SEGUIR
siqo seguimos
sigues sequis
sigue siguen

Stem-changing verbs and verbs with spelling changes 39

In most verbs that end in -eer or -cir, -e changes to -z before
present tense, the change occurs only in the first person singulill~"

(ONVENCER to convince
convenzo convencemos
convences convenceis
convence convencen

Meeer (to rock), ejereer (to exercise), and veneer (to conquer, overc
conjugated like eonveneer. Cocer (to cook) and torcer (to twist) also
this pattern and in addition have the stem change 0 -7 ue.

COCER TORCER
cuezo cocemos tuerzo

cueces coceis tuerces

cuece cuecen tuerce

Verbs are marked with their spelling changes in the vocabulary list a
of the book. See for example: coger (g-7j/o, a). When the verb has a
change and a spelling change, it is marked: torcer (0 -7 ue, c -7 z/o, a).