Verb Conjugation
This chapter deals with the conjugation of Spanish verbs in the presente de indicativo. This is the Spanish present indicative tense and corresponds to the simple present in English.
The Presente de Indicativo is used for the following use cases:
- Facts or states in the present
Example: Este es Vanesa. (This is Vanesa.)
- Actions in the present
- Actions that express how long something has been taking place
- With a corresponding time specification, actions in the future can also be described
Subject | -ar hablar |
-er aprender |
-ir vivir |
---|---|---|---|
yo | hablo | aprendo | vivo |
tú | hablas | aprendes | vives |
él/ella/usted | habla | aprende | vive |
nosotros/-as | hablamos | aprendemos | vivimos |
vosotros/-as | habláis | aprendéis | vivís |
ellos/ellas/ustedes | hablan | aprenden | viven |
However, there are some irregular verbs that you should be aware of:
Subject | ser | estar | ir | oir | oler |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
yo | soy | estoy | voy | oigo | huelo |
tú | eres | estás | vas | oyes | hueles |
él/ella/usted | es | está | va | oye | huele |
nosotros/-as | somos | estamos | vamos | oímos | olemos |
vosotros/-as | sois | estáis | vais | oís | oléis |
ellos/ellas/ustedes | son | están | van | oyen | huelen |
In addition, some verbs have specifics only in the yo form.
The following table shows the verbs that change their stem in the yo form or where a g is placed before the ending. However, these changes are only in the yo form. All other forms of the verb are formed normally.
Infinitive | yo form | Translation |
---|---|---|
asir | asgo | grab |
caer | caigo | fall |
dar | doy | geben |
decir | digo | say |
hacer | hago | do/make |
poner | pongo | put |
saber | sé | know |
salir | salgo | leave |
tener | tengo | have |
traer | traigo | bring |
valer | valgo | be worth |
venir | vengo | come |
ver | veo | see |
In order not to change the pronunciation, some verbs have to slightly change their stem:
Infinitive | yo form | Change |
---|---|---|
mecer | mezo | c→z |
coger | cojo | g→j |
distinguir | distingo | gu→g |
delinguir | delinco | gu→c |
For verbs ending in -ducir or vowel + -cer, you put a z before the c in the yo form. Exceptions are the verbs hacer, mecer and cocer.
Infinitive | yo form |
---|---|
traducir | traduzco |
conocer | conozco |
Some verbs also have special characteristics in all singular forms and the ellos form.
For some verbs in the presente, the stem vowel changes in the singular and the ellos form (e → i/ie, o → ue).
Subject | servir | cerrar | recordar |
---|---|---|---|
yo | sirvo | cierro | recuerdo |
tú | sirves | cierras | recuerdas |
él/ella/usted | sirve | cierra | recuerda |
nosotros/-as | servimos | cerramos | recordamos |
vosotros/-as | servís | cerráis | recordáis |
ellos/ellas/ustedes | sirven | cierran | recuerdan |
For many verbs ending with -iar or -uar, as well as prohibir and reunir, you need to put an accent on the i or u in the singular forms and ellos form.
Subject | espiar | actuar | prohibir | reunir |
---|---|---|---|---|
yo | espío | actúo | prohíbo | reúno |
tú | espías | actúas | prohíbes | reúnes |
él/ella/usted | espía | actúa | prohíbe | reúne |
nosotros/-as | espiamos | actuamos | prohibimos | reunimos |
vosotros/-as | espiáis | actuáis | prohibís | reunís |
ellos/ellas/ustedes | espían | actúan | prohíben | reúnen |
For verbs on -uir, you must insert a y before endings that do not begin with i.
Subject | sustituir | construir |
---|---|---|
yo | sustituyo | construyo |
tú | sustituyes | construyes |
él/ella/usted | sustituye | construye |
nosotros/-as | sustituimos | construimos |
vosotros/-as | sustituís | construís |
ellos/ellas/ustedes | sustituyen | construyen |