Present Tense of Regular -AR Verbs

Spanish: El presente de los verbos regulares en -AR

Level: A1 Beginner

Category: verbs

Explanation

Verbs ending in -AR form the largest group of verbs in Spanish. To conjugate them in the present tense, we remove the -AR ending from the infinitive (for example, from "hablar" we get the stem "habl-") and add the endings that correspond to each person. The endings are: -o (I), -as (you, informal), -a (he/she/you formal), -amos (we), -áis (you all, Spain) and -an (they/you all). So the verb "hablar" is conjugated: yo hablo, tú hablas, él habla, nosotros hablamos, vosotros habláis, ellos hablan. This pattern is completely regular, which means almost all -AR verbs follow exactly the same endings. Very common verbs like trabajar (to work), estudiar (to study), comprar (to buy), escuchar (to listen) and cocinar (to cook) all work the same way. If you learn this model, you can use hundreds of verbs correctly. In Spanish it is not always necessary to use the pronoun (yo, tú, etc.) because the verb ending already shows who performs the action. That is why we simply say "Hablo español" instead of "Yo hablo español", although both forms are correct.

Examples

• Yo hablo español con la camarera. - I speak Spanish with the waitress.
• ¿Tú trabajas aquí en el hotel? - Do you work here at the hotel?
• Ella estudia el menú con calma. - She studies the menu calmly.
• Nosotros compramos fruta en el mercado. - We buy fruit at the market.
• Vosotros escucháis al guía del museo. - You all listen to the museum guide.