There are three types of verbs in Spanish. We call them Ar, Er and Ir verbs. We catagorize verbs based on the last two letters of their infinitive (or unconjugated) form.
-
Hablar
- Now we take off the -ar ending and we are left with the "root" of the verb:
- Hablar - ar = Habl
- Now we add on one of the present tense
endings to our root:
- o
- as
- a
- amos
- an
- habl + (one of the endings)---->Hablo, hablas, habla, hablamos, hablan
Present Tense Endings
Ar verbs |
Er Verbs |
Ir Verbs |
|
| Yo | o | o | o |
| Tú (you-casual) | as | es | es |
| Él, Ella, Usted
(He, She, You-formal) |
a | e | e |
| Nosotros (We-males/mixed
group) Nosotras (we-females) |
amos | emos | imos |
| Ellos (they-males/mixed group) Ellas (they-females) Ustedes (you all) |
an | en | en |
Notice that the endings for the Er and Ir verbs are identical except for the Nosotros form.
Examples
Infinitive |
Yo |
Tú |
él, ella, usted |
Nosotros/as |
Ellos, ellas, Uds. |
| Hablar | Hablo | Hablas | Habla | Hablamos | Hablan |
| Vivir | Vivo | Vives | Vive | Vivimos | Viven |
| Comer | Como | Comes | Come | Comemos | Comen |