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Grammar

Guided Practice: Verb Conjugations - Present Tense

In this section we will learn about how subject pronouns are associated with particular verb endings in Spanish
Here, we will begin making short phrases by combining subjects and verbs in a single word.

Present Tense Practice

The general formula for creating verb conjugations is to replace the infinitive verb ending (-ar/-er/-ir) with the appropriate ending of the subject.
Although there are three verb-ending categories, -er and -ir verbs tend to share most of the conjugation endings.

Conjugated Verbs: Present Tense

Subject - Verb Ending Conjugations

In Spanish, verbs are conjugated depending on the subject they are associated with, as well as the tense.
For now, we will focus on Present Simple Tense
Each subject pronoun is associated with a particular verb-ending type.


Persona	Verb ends in:
Español	Inglés
Yo : I	-o
Tú : You	-as / -es
Él : He	-a / -e
Ella: She	-a / -e
Nosotros: We	-amos / -emos
Ellos / Ellas: They	-an / -en

Regular Verbs: Present Tense
These tables show how verbs change based on the subject pronouns used in the sentence. The ending of the verb is typically dropped, and the corresponding subject pronoun ending is added.

-Ar Verbs Table

-AR Verbs

Subject Pronoun	Verb Ending	Infinitive Verb	Conjugated Verb	Example - Spanish	Example - Translation
Yo	-o	escuchar	escucho	Yo escucho al radio.	I listen to the radio.
Tú	-as	soplar	soplas	Tú soplas las candelas en la torta	You blow the candels on the cake.
Él	-a	abrazar	abrazaa	Él abraza a su animal de peluche.	He hugs his stuffed animal.
Ella	-a	quitar	quita	Ella quita la casca.	She takes off the helmet.
Nosotros	-amos	mirar	miramos	Miramos la televisión.	We watch the TV.
Ellos / Ellas	-an	parar	paraan	Ellos paran de jugar cuando la cena esta lista.	They stop playing when the dinner is ready.

ER/IR Verbs Table

-ER / -IR Verbs

Subject Pronoun	Verb Ending	Infinitive Verb	Conjugated Verb	Example - Spanish	Example - Translation
Yo	-o	correr	corro	Yo corro para hacer ejercicio.	I run to do excercise.
Tú	-es	escribir	escribes	Tú escribes una carta.	You write a card.
Él	-e	leer	lee	Él lee la carta.	He reads the card.
Ella	-e	vivir	vive	Ella vive en Nueva York.	She lives in New York.
Nosotros	-imos / -emos	comer	comemos	Comemos juntos a la fiesta del Día de Independenia.	We eat together at the Independence Day party.
Nosotros	-imos / -emos	vivir	vivimos	Nostoros vivimos en Mexico.	We live in Mexico.
Ellos	-en	deber	deben	Ellos deben cocinar.	They should cook.

Irregular Verb Patterns

Irregular Verb Type 1:Changes in Yo Form

Here, we will discuss a few common irregular verbs, and the changes that occur in their formation.
First, we will discuss verbs that are irregular in their 'Yo' form

These verbs are irregular in their conjugation for "I" forms, but continue normal conjugations for all other tenses.

These can further be divided in two categories.
"Yo forms with verb-oy" and "Yo forms with verb-go"

Verb-oy Ending

Verb	Yo	Tú	Él / Ella
Dar	Yo doy	Tú das	Él da
Estar	Yo estoy	Tú estas	Él esta

Verb-go Ending

Verb	Yo	Tú	Él
decir	Yo digo	Tú dices	Él dice
poner	Yo pongo	Tú pones	Él pone
caer	caigo	caes	cae

Irregular Verb Type 2: Stem Changing - First Vowel Modification

In this form-change, the root of the verb includes an additional vowel, where the first vowel occurs in the word.

Unlike the previously discussed irregulars, all conjugations use this modification.

Stem Changing Verbs
Verb	Yo	Tú	Él
Jugar	Yo juego	Tú juegas	Ella juega
Doler	Yo Duelo	Tú dueles	Ella duele
Poder*	Yo puedo	Tú puedes	Él pueda

Irregular Verb Type 3: Full Verb Change

In this form-change, the root of the verb doesn't always appear like its infinitive form.

Full Verb Change
Verb	Yo	Tú	Él	Nosotros	Ellos
Ir	Yo voy	Tú vas	Ella va	Nosotros vamos	Ellos van
Ser *	Yo soy	Tú eres	Él es	Nosotros somos	Ellas son

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