Conjugation of Spanish Regular Verbs
As we learned in previous lessons, Spanish verbs can be either regular or irregular. Regular verbs always follow the same pattern when they are conjugated.
All Spanish verbs belong to one of the following categories:
In this lesson we'll learn how to conjugate Regular Verbs. In order to go step by step, it's better to start with the Present Tense (Indicative).
As said before, Regular verbs are always conjugated following a concrete pattern. So, let's begin with a Regular Verb that belongs to the First Conjugation type: Andar.
The present tense of the verb Andar (To walk) is:
Yo ando (I walk)
Tu andas (You walk)
Usted anda (You walk) (formal)
El anda (He walks) // Ella anda (She walks)
Nosotros andamos (We walk) // Nosotras andamos (We -feminine- walk)
Vosotros andáis (You walk) // Vosotras andáis (You -feminine- walk)
Ustedes andan (You walk) (formal)
Ellos andan (They walk) // Ellos andan (They -feminine- walk)
As you can see, every person has its own conjugation. On the contrary, in English the only change is a final -s when conjugating the Present tense for the 3rd person singular (He walks / She walks).
This may sound a bit confusing, but once you have learned the "pattern" for this tense and conjugation, all regular verbs will be built the same way.
Ok, so, how's that pattern?
Regular Verbs:
First Conjugation (Infinitive -ar)
Present Tense (Indicative)
Still talking about verb Andar, if we divide it in two parts, the second one is its ending (-ar). The first one is what we call "The stem of the verb", (And-).
So, to conjugate it, let's take its stem and add the following endings, depending on the person and number:
Second Conjugation (Infinitive -er)
Present Tense (Indicative)
Now, we'll conjugate a Second Conjugation verb: Beber. Its stem is Beb-, so all we have to do now is adding the corresponding endings. Note that these endings are not the same as for the First Conjugation:
And finally, here we have the pattern for:
Third Conjugation (Infinitive -ir)
Present Tense (Indicative)
Now, we'll conjugate a Third Conjugation verb: Vivir:
Have you already compared the endings for each conjugation?
Take a look at the following table:
After that, all you have to do is... practice! I have added some links to online Spanish verbs conjugators, very helpful.
More, you will also find a new Grammar Poll at:
Spanish verbs conjugation Poll
Have a nice week!
¡Que tengan una buena semana!
For any doubt or comment, e-mail me or post a message at the message boards. I'm here to help you!
Angeles F.
VOCABULARY IN THIS LESSON (alphabetical order):
Andar = To walk
Beber = To drink
Semana = week
Vivir = To live
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Content copyright © 2023 by Angeles Fernández. All rights reserved.
This content was written by Angeles Fernández. If you wish to use this content in any manner, you need written permission. Contact Angeles Fernandez for details.
All Spanish verbs belong to one of the following categories:
- First conjugation: Verbs ending in -ar
- Second conjugation: Verbs ending in -er
- Third conjugation: Verbs ending in -ir
In this lesson we'll learn how to conjugate Regular Verbs. In order to go step by step, it's better to start with the Present Tense (Indicative).
As said before, Regular verbs are always conjugated following a concrete pattern. So, let's begin with a Regular Verb that belongs to the First Conjugation type: Andar.
The present tense of the verb Andar (To walk) is:
Yo ando (I walk)
Tu andas (You walk)
Usted anda (You walk) (formal)
El anda (He walks) // Ella anda (She walks)
Nosotros andamos (We walk) // Nosotras andamos (We -feminine- walk)
Vosotros andáis (You walk) // Vosotras andáis (You -feminine- walk)
Ustedes andan (You walk) (formal)
Ellos andan (They walk) // Ellos andan (They -feminine- walk)
As you can see, every person has its own conjugation. On the contrary, in English the only change is a final -s when conjugating the Present tense for the 3rd person singular (He walks / She walks).
This may sound a bit confusing, but once you have learned the "pattern" for this tense and conjugation, all regular verbs will be built the same way.
Ok, so, how's that pattern?
Regular Verbs:
First Conjugation (Infinitive -ar)
Present Tense (Indicative)
Still talking about verb Andar, if we divide it in two parts, the second one is its ending (-ar). The first one is what we call "The stem of the verb", (And-).
So, to conjugate it, let's take its stem and add the following endings, depending on the person and number:
| Yo | and-o | ||
| Tú | and-as | ||
| El / Ella / Usted | and-a | ||
| Nosotros | and-amos | ||
| Vosotros | and-áis | ||
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | and-an |
Second Conjugation (Infinitive -er)
Present Tense (Indicative)
Now, we'll conjugate a Second Conjugation verb: Beber. Its stem is Beb-, so all we have to do now is adding the corresponding endings. Note that these endings are not the same as for the First Conjugation:
| Yo | beb-o | ||
| Tú | beb-es | ||
| El / Ella / Usted | beb-e | ||
| Nosotros | beb-emos | ||
| Vosotros | beb-éis | ||
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | beb-en |
And finally, here we have the pattern for:
Third Conjugation (Infinitive -ir)
Present Tense (Indicative)
Now, we'll conjugate a Third Conjugation verb: Vivir:
| Yo | viv-o | ||
| Tú | viv-es | ||
| El / Ella / Usted | viv-e | ||
| Nosotros | viv-imos | ||
| Vosotros | viv-ís | ||
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | viv-en |
Have you already compared the endings for each conjugation?
Take a look at the following table:
| First Conjugation Infinitive -AR | Second Conjugation Infinitive -ER | Third Conjugation Infinitive -IR | |
| Yo | -o | -o | -o |
| Tú | -as | -es | -es |
| El / Ella / Usted | -a | -e | -e |
| Nosotros | -amos | -emos | -imos |
| Vosotros | -áis | -éis | -ís |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | -an | -en | -en |
After that, all you have to do is... practice! I have added some links to online Spanish verbs conjugators, very helpful.
More, you will also find a new Grammar Poll at:
Spanish verbs conjugation Poll
Have a nice week!
¡Que tengan una buena semana!
For any doubt or comment, e-mail me or post a message at the message boards. I'm here to help you!
Angeles F.
VOCABULARY IN THIS LESSON (alphabetical order):
Andar = To walk
Beber = To drink
Semana = week
Vivir = To live
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Editor's Picks Articles
Top Ten Articles
Previous Features
Site Map
Content copyright © 2023 by Angeles Fernández. All rights reserved.
This content was written by Angeles Fernández. If you wish to use this content in any manner, you need written permission. Contact Angeles Fernandez for details.
