{"id":100,"date":"2026-09-30T17:25:04","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T16:25:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leweb2ks.dev\/vitrine-vocadial\/en\/resources\/spanish-present-tense\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T17:25:04","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T16:25:04","slug":"spanish-present-tense","status":"publish","type":"vd_ressource","link":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/resources\/spanish-present-tense\/","title":{"rendered":"The Spanish present tense: regular endings, irregular verbs and uses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Regular endings: -ar, -er and -ir<\/h2>\n\n

Every Spanish infinitive ends in -ar, -er or -ir. Take off those two letters to find the stem (habl-<\/span>, com-<\/span>, viv-<\/span>), then add the ending for the person.<\/p>\n\n

Person<\/th>hablar (to speak)<\/th>comer (to eat)<\/th>vivir (to live)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
yo<\/td>hablo<\/td>como<\/td>vivo<\/td><\/tr>
t\u00fa<\/td>hablas<\/td>comes<\/td>vives<\/td><\/tr>
\u00e9l \/ ella \/ usted<\/td>habla<\/td>come<\/td>vive<\/td><\/tr>
nosotros \/ nosotras<\/td>hablamos<\/td>comemos<\/td>vivimos<\/td><\/tr>
vosotros \/ vosotras<\/td>habl\u00e1is<\/td>com\u00e9is<\/td>viv\u00eds<\/td><\/tr>
ellos \/ ellas \/ ustedes<\/td>hablan<\/td>comen<\/td>viven<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n
  1. -er and -ir differ in two forms only.<\/strong> comemos<\/span> \/ vivimos<\/span> and com\u00e9is<\/span> \/ viv\u00eds<\/span>. Everything else is identical.<\/li>
  2. The yo form always ends in -o<\/strong> in regular verbs, whatever the group.<\/li>
  3. Usted and ustedes take the third person.<\/strong> \u00bfUsted habla ingl\u00e9s?<\/span> Ustedes viven aqu\u00ed.<\/span><\/li>
  4. Subject pronouns are usually dropped.<\/strong> The ending already shows the person: Hablo espa\u00f1ol<\/span> is the normal way to say “I speak Spanish”. Yo hablo<\/span> adds emphasis or contrast: Yo hablo espa\u00f1ol, pero \u00e9l no.<\/span><\/li>
  5. Stress falls on the stem, except for nosotros and vosotros.<\/strong> HA-blo, HA-blan, but ha-BLA-mos, ha-BL\u00c1IS. The vosotros forms carry a written accent; viv\u00eds<\/span> does too.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n

    In Latin America, vosotros<\/span> is not used: ustedes<\/span> is the only plural “you” (ustedes hablan<\/span>). In Argentina, Uruguay and parts of Central America, vos<\/span> replaces t\u00fa<\/span>: vos habl\u00e1s<\/span>, vos com\u00e9s<\/span>, vos viv\u00eds<\/span>. Teach the Spain model and let pupils recognise the others.<\/p>\n\n

    The irregular verbs that matter<\/h2>\n\n

    A small group of verbs does most of the work in the classroom and at GCSE. Learn these in full.<\/p>\n\n

    Verb<\/th>yo<\/th>t\u00fa<\/th>\u00e9l<\/th>nosotros<\/th>vosotros<\/th>ellos<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    ser (to be)<\/td>soy<\/td>eres<\/td>es<\/td>somos<\/td>sois<\/td>son<\/td><\/tr>
    estar (to be)<\/td>estoy<\/td>est\u00e1s<\/td>est\u00e1<\/td>estamos<\/td>est\u00e1is<\/td>est\u00e1n<\/td><\/tr>
    ir (to go)<\/td>voy<\/td>vas<\/td>va<\/td>vamos<\/td>vais<\/td>van<\/td><\/tr>
    tener (to have)<\/td>tengo<\/td>tienes<\/td>tiene<\/td>tenemos<\/td>ten\u00e9is<\/td>tienen<\/td><\/tr>
    hacer (to do, make)<\/td>hago<\/td>haces<\/td>hace<\/td>hacemos<\/td>hac\u00e9is<\/td>hacen<\/td><\/tr>
    poder (can)<\/td>puedo<\/td>puedes<\/td>puede<\/td>podemos<\/td>pod\u00e9is<\/td>pueden<\/td><\/tr>
    querer (to want)<\/td>quiero<\/td>quieres<\/td>quiere<\/td>queremos<\/td>quer\u00e9is<\/td>quieren<\/td><\/tr>
    jugar (to play)<\/td>juego<\/td>juegas<\/td>juega<\/td>jugamos<\/td>jug\u00e1is<\/td>juegan<\/td><\/tr>
    pedir (to ask for)<\/td>pido<\/td>pides<\/td>pide<\/td>pedimos<\/td>ped\u00eds<\/td>piden<\/td><\/tr>
    salir (to go out)<\/td>salgo<\/td>sales<\/td>sale<\/td>salimos<\/td>sal\u00eds<\/td>salen<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n
    1. Boot verbs.<\/strong> The stem vowel changes in every form except nosotros<\/span> and vosotros<\/span>: e \u2192 ie (quiero<\/span>, pienso<\/span>, empiezo<\/span>), o \u2192 ue (puedo<\/span>, duermo<\/span>, vuelvo<\/span>), u \u2192 ue (juego<\/span>, the only one), e \u2192 i (pido<\/span>, repito<\/span>, sirvo<\/span>).<\/li>
    2. Irregular yo only.<\/strong> hago<\/span>, pongo<\/span>, salgo<\/span>, traigo<\/span> (-go verbs); conozco<\/span>, conduzco<\/span> (-zco verbs); s\u00e9<\/span>, doy<\/span>, veo<\/span>. The other five forms are regular.<\/li>
    3. Spelling changes to keep the sound.<\/strong> escoger<\/span> \u2192 escojo<\/span>; seguir<\/span> \u2192 sigo<\/span>; construir<\/span> \u2192 construyo, construyes, construye, construimos, constru\u00eds, construyen<\/span>.<\/li>
    4. Accent shifts.<\/strong> enviar<\/span> \u2192 env\u00edo, env\u00edas, env\u00eda, enviamos, envi\u00e1is, env\u00edan<\/span>.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n

      Two verbs pupils meet on day one<\/h3>\n\n

      Llamarse<\/span> is reflexive: the pronoun changes with the person. me llamo, te llamas, se llama, nos llamamos, os llam\u00e1is, se llaman<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n

      Gustar<\/span> agrees with the thing liked, not with the person: me gusta el f\u00fatbol<\/span>, me gustan los perros<\/span>; te gusta<\/span>, le gusta<\/span>, nos gusta<\/span>, os gusta<\/span>, les gusta<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n

      What the Spanish present means<\/h2>\n\n

      One Spanish form covers three English ones: como<\/span> is “I eat”, “I am eating” and “I do eat”.<\/p>\n\n

      1. Habits and routines.<\/strong> Los s\u00e1bados juego al f\u00fatbol.<\/span><\/li>
      2. Facts and descriptions.<\/strong> Madrid est\u00e1 en el centro de Espa\u00f1a.<\/span><\/li>
      3. Now.<\/strong> \u00bfQu\u00e9 haces? \u2014 Leo.<\/span> For an action in progress, estar<\/span> + gerund is also common: Estoy leyendo.<\/span><\/li>
      4. The near future.<\/strong> With a time marker: Ma\u00f1ana voy al cine.<\/span><\/li>
      5. Offers and suggestions.<\/strong> \u00bfAbro la ventana?<\/span> (Shall I open the window?)<\/li>
      6. An action still going on.<\/strong> With desde hace<\/span>: Estudio espa\u00f1ol desde hace dos a\u00f1os<\/span> (I have been learning Spanish for two years).<\/li><\/ol>\n\n

        Questions and negatives: no “do”<\/h3>\n\n

        Spanish has no auxiliary like “do”. A question is shown by intonation and by the opening \u00bf<\/span>; the subject may move after the verb. The negative is no<\/span> before the verb.<\/p>\n\n

        \u00bfHablas franc\u00e9s?<\/span>Do you speak French?<\/small><\/p>\n\n

        \u00bfD\u00f3nde vive tu hermano?<\/span>Where does your brother live?<\/small><\/p>\n\n

        No como carne.<\/span>I don’t eat meat.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

        No juego nunca al tenis.<\/span>I never play tennis.<\/small><\/p>\n\n

        The double negative is normal: No veo nada<\/span> (I can’t see anything). If nunca<\/span> or nada<\/span> comes first, no<\/span> disappears: Nunca juego al tenis.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

        Typical mistakes of English-speaking learners<\/h2>\n\n
        • Translating “do”:<\/strong> “\u00bfHaces hablas\u2026?” for \u00bfHablas\u2026?<\/span>; “No hago comer” for No como<\/span>.<\/li>
        • Translating “I am + -ing” with ser:<\/strong> “Soy comiendo” for Como<\/span> or Estoy comiendo<\/span>.<\/li>
        • “Yo” everywhere:<\/strong> correct but heavy. Encourage dropping it.<\/li>
        • Mixing the -er and -ir endings:<\/strong> “vivemos” for vivimos<\/span>, “com\u00eds” for com\u00e9is<\/span>.<\/li>
        • Boots in the wrong place:<\/strong> “puedemos” for podemos<\/span>.<\/li>
        • Regularising the yo form:<\/strong> “teno”, “hazo”, “sabo” for tengo<\/span>, hago<\/span>, s\u00e9<\/span>.<\/li>
        • Age with ser:<\/strong> “Soy doce” for Tengo doce a\u00f1os<\/span>.<\/li>
        • Gustar with the wrong ending:<\/strong> “me gusta los perros” for me gustan los perros<\/span>.<\/li>
        • Stress:<\/strong> hablo<\/span> (I speak) and habl\u00f3<\/span> (he spoke) differ only by stress. Model it early; it matters when the preterite arrives.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n

          In class: the daily conjugation wheel<\/h2>\n\n

          Five minutes at the start of the lesson are enough to keep the present tense alive all year.<\/p>\n\n

          1. Draw a verb: today, vivir<\/span>. The class says whether it is -ar, -er or -ir.<\/li>
          2. Point to a person on a pronoun grid; the class answers in chorus: vivo<\/span>, vives<\/span>, vive<\/span>\u2026<\/li>
          3. Reveal each form after the class has said it. Pupils note the ones they missed.<\/li>
          4. Ask for one real sentence with the hardest form: \u00bfD\u00f3nde viv\u00eds vosotros?<\/span><\/li>
          5. Recycle yesterday’s verb in one person only, and turn it into a question or a negative.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n

            This is exactly what a daily conjugation routine does: one verb drawn, conjugated person by person, corrected on the spot.<\/p>\n\n

            Adapting to your class<\/h3>\n\n
            • A1<\/b>Regular -ar verbs and ser<\/span>, tener<\/span>, ir<\/span>; singular persons first, then nosotros<\/span>.<\/li>
            • A2<\/b>All three groups, boot verbs, -go verbs, questions and negatives.<\/li>
            • B1<\/b>The present in contrast with the preterite: Normalmente como en casa, pero ayer com\u00ed en un restaurante.<\/span><\/li>
            • B2<\/b>Present versus present subjunctive: Creo que viene<\/span> \/ No creo que venga.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\n\n

              At KS2, a few chunks (me llamo<\/span>, tengo<\/span>, vivo en<\/span>) are enough. At KS3, build the three groups and the key irregulars. For GCSE, pupils need the present fluently in every person, questions included, before the past tenses make sense.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              Hablo, como, vivo: the regular present tense endings, the irregular verbs that matter, and what the Spanish present really means.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"menu_order":41,"template":"","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Spanish Present Tense: Endings and Irregulars | VocaDial","_seopress_titles_desc":"Spanish present tense endings for -ar, -er and -ir verbs in full tables, key irregular verbs, stem changes, uses, typical errors and a daily routine.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"_vd_topic":"present","_vd_target":"es","_vd_module":"rueda","_vd_level":"A1\u2013A2","_vd_minutes":"8","_vd_card_word":"hablo\u2026","_vd_answer":"To form the Spanish present tense, remove -ar, -er or -ir from the infinitive and add the endings: -ar verbs take -o, -as, -a, -amos, -\u00e1is, -an (hablo, hablas, habla, hablamos, habl\u00e1is, hablan<\/span>); -er verbs take -o, -es, -e, -emos, -\u00e9is, -en (como<\/span>); -ir verbs take -o, -es, -e, -imos, -\u00eds, -en (vivo<\/span>). One Spanish form covers \"I speak\", \"I am speaking\" and \"I do speak\".","_vd_faq":"[{\"q\":\"What are the present tense endings in Spanish?\",\"a\":\"-ar: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -\u00e1is, -an. -er: -o, -es, -e, -emos, -\u00e9is, -en. -ir: -o, -es, -e, -imos, -\u00eds, -en.\"},{\"q\":\"How do you say \\\"I am eating\\\" in Spanish?\",\"a\":\"Como<\\\/span> or, to stress that it is happening now, Estoy comiendo<\\\/span>. Never \\\"soy comiendo\\\".\"},{\"q\":\"Do you need subject pronouns in Spanish?\",\"a\":\"Usually not: the ending shows the person. Hablo<\\\/span> means \\\"I speak\\\". Use yo<\\\/span>, t\u00fa<\\\/span> or \u00e9l<\\\/span> for emphasis or contrast.\"},{\"q\":\"What is the difference between -er and -ir verbs in the present?\",\"a\":\"Only the nosotros<\\\/span> and vosotros<\\\/span> forms differ: comemos<\\\/span>, com\u00e9is<\\\/span> but vivimos<\\\/span>, viv\u00eds<\\\/span>.\"},{\"q\":\"How do you ask a question in the present tense in Spanish?\",\"a\":\"With intonation and question marks, without any word for \\\"do\\\": \u00bfJuegas al f\u00fatbol?<\\\/span> (Do you play football?).\"},{\"q\":\"What are the most common irregular verbs in the Spanish present?\",\"a\":\"Ser<\\\/span>, estar<\\\/span>, ir<\\\/span>, tener<\\\/span>, hacer<\\\/span>, poder<\\\/span>, querer<\\\/span>, decir<\\\/span>, venir<\\\/span>, salir<\\\/span>, saber<\\\/span> and dar<\\\/span>.\"}]","_vd_key":"present-es","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-100","vd_ressource","type-vd_ressource","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource\/100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/vd_ressource"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vd_ressource\/100\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vocadial.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}