Regular -IR Verbs (Present Tense)

Spanish: Verbos regulares terminados en -IR (Presente)

Level: A1 Beginner

Category: verbs

Explanation

Verbs ending in -IR form the third group of regular verbs in Spanish, alongside -AR and -ER verbs. Some common examples are vivir (to live), escribir (to write), and abrir (to open). To conjugate them in the present tense, we remove the -IR ending and add the appropriate ending for each person. The endings for regular -IR verbs are: -o (yo / I), -es (tú / you), -e (él/ella/usted / he/she/you formal), -imos (nosotros / we), -ís (vosotros / you all in Spain), and -en (ellos/ellas/ustedes / they/you all). For example, the verb vivir is conjugated: vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, vivís, viven. It is important to note that the endings of -IR verbs are almost identical to those of -ER verbs. The only difference is in nosotros (-imos instead of -emos) and vosotros (-ís instead of -éis). In all other persons, the endings are the same. We use the present tense to talk about habitual actions, general facts, and current situations. For example: "Vivo en Madrid" (I live in Madrid) or "Ella escribe una carta" (She writes a letter).

Examples

• Yo vivo cerca del cafe. - I live near the cafe.
• El camarero abre la cafeteria a las ocho. - The waiter opens the cafe at eight.
• Escribimos nuestros nombres en la lista del hotel. - We write our names on the hotel list.
• Ustedes abren la habitacion con esta llave. - You open the room with this key.
• Tu escribes la lista de la compra. - You write the shopping list.