The present tense and subject pronouns
In Spanish, the present tense is used to give facts, to talk about what we do on a regular basis, and to say what we are doing right now.
Knowing subject pronouns is very handy when you use verbs in Spanish. A subject pronoun is a word which can be used instead of a person, a place or a thing.
Spanish | English |
---|---|
yo | I |
迟煤 | you (singular) |
茅濒/别濒濒补 | he/she/it |
You could also use someone鈥檚 name or a noun instead of a subject pronoun.
For example:
Amir come fruta - Amir eats fruit.
Mi hermano vive en Bolton - My brother lives in Bolton.
When you are learning about verbs you will come across the term to conjugate.
Conjugating a verb means changing the infinitive ending to match the subject pronoun (yo, 迟煤, 茅濒, ella).
An infinitive is the basic form of a verb before any changes for tense or people are made.
In Spanish there is a unique verb ending for each subject pronoun, therefore the verb ending itself tells you who is doing the action.For this reason, you don鈥檛 always need to use subject pronouns in Spanish, unlike in English.
How to use '-ar' regular verbs in the present tense
To conjugate regular verbs that end in -ar, you need to remove the infinitive -ar ending from the infinitive and add the unique ending that goes with each subject pronoun to the stem.
Remember that an infinitive is the basic form of a verb before any changes for tense or people are made.
The verb left after removing the infinitive ending is called the stem.
This is how to conjugate the verb escuchar (to listen) in Spanish:
Subject Pronoun | Stem | Ending | Example |
---|---|---|---|
yo | escuch | -o | yo escucho |
迟煤 | escuch | -as | 迟煤 escuchas |
茅濒/别濒濒补 | escuch | -a | 茅濒/别濒濒补 escucha |
Now look at this example:
- Yo escucho m煤sica pop pero 茅濒 escucha m煤sica soul - I listen to pop music but he listens to soul music.
Other common regular -ar verbs include:
- hablar (to speak) - hablo espa帽ol - I speak Spanish.
- cocinar (to cook) - 驴Cocinas para tu familia? - Do you cook for your family?
- odiar (to hate) - Mar铆a odia las verduras - Mar铆a hates vegetables.
Remember, because there is a unique verb ending for each subject pronoun and therefore the verb ending itself tells you who is doing the action, subject pronouns are not always needed in Spanish.
How to use '-er' regular verbs in the present tense
To conjugate regular -er verbs, you need to remove the -er ending from the infinitive, and add the unique ending that goes with each subject pronoun to the stem. Be careful as these are different to -ar verb endings.
This is how we conjugate the verb comer (to eat) in Spanish:
Subject Pronoun | Stem | Ending | Example |
---|---|---|---|
yo | com | -o | yo como |
迟煤 | com | -es | 迟煤 comes |
茅濒/别濒濒补 | com | -e | 茅濒/别濒濒补 come |
For example:
- Ella come cereales y 迟煤 comes tostadas - She eats cereal and you eat toast.
Other common regular -er verbs include:
beber (to drink) - bebes limonada - you drink lemonade.
leer (to read) - leo un libro - I read a book.
ver (to see/watch) - veo la televisi贸n - I watch television.
How to use '-ir' regular verbs in the present tense
To conjugate regular '-ir' verbs, you need to remove the '-ir' ending from the infinitive, and add the unique ending that goes with each subject pronoun to the stem. These are the same as '-er' verb endings.
This is how to conjugate the verb vivir (to live) in Spanish:
Subject Pronoun | Stem | Ending | Example |
---|---|---|---|
yo | viv | -o | yo vivo |
迟煤 | viv | -es | 迟煤 vives |
茅濒/别濒濒补 | viv | -e | 茅濒/别濒濒补 vive |
For example:
- Yo vivo en M谩nchester pero 迟煤 vives en Stoke - I live in Manchester but you live in Stoke.
Other common regular -ir verbs include:
escribir (to write) - escribes un e-mail - you write an email.
recibir (to receive) - recibo un mensaje - I receive a message.
Irregular verbs
There are also a lot of verbs which are irregular. This means that they do not follow the expected pattern, like regular -ar, -er and -ir verbs. Each one has its own conjugation!
Some common irregular verbs include:
hacer 鈥 to do/to make
Spanish | English |
---|---|
yo hago | I do or I make |
迟煤 haces | you do or you make |
茅濒/别濒濒补 hace | he/she/it does or he/she/it makes |
For example:
- Yo hago la cama y 迟煤 haces los deberes - I make the bed and you do your homework.
ir - to go
Spanish | English |
---|---|
yo voy | I go |
迟煤 vas | you go |
茅濒/别濒濒补 va | he/she/it goes |
For example:
- Yo voy al gimnasio pero ella va al supermercado - I go to the gym but she goes to the supermarket.
ver - to see/to watch
Spanish | English |
---|---|
yo veo | I see or I watch |
迟煤 ves | you see or you watch |
茅濒/别濒濒补 ve | he/she sees or he/she watches |
For example:
- Manolo ve la pel铆cula y yo veo un partido de f煤tbol - Manolo sees a film and I watch a football match.
Stem-changing verbs
Some verbs are regular (so take the appropriate -ar, -er or -ir verb endings), but they either get an extra vowel or there is a vowel change in the stem when you conjugate them.
These verbs are called stem-changing verbs.
For example:
preferir - to prefer
Spanish | English |
---|---|
yo prefiero | I prefer |
迟煤 prefieres | you prefer |
茅濒/别濒濒补 prefiere | he/she prefers |
For example:
- Yo prefiero leer un libro, pero 迟煤 prefieres salir con los amigos - I prefer to read a book but you prefer to go out with friends.
jugar - to play
Spanish | English |
---|---|
yo juego | I play |
迟煤 juegas | you play |
茅濒/别濒濒补 juega | he/she plays |
For example:
- Selina juega al hockey y yo juego al f煤tbol - Selina plays hockey and I play football.
Reflexive verbs
Reflexive verbs are formed in the same way as -ar, -er and -ir verbs but include a reflexive pronoun. They are used to describe actions that we do to ourselves.
Examples of reflexive verbs include lavarse (to wash yourself), llamarse (to be called) and levantarse (to get up).
Note that the reflexive pronoun goes before the verb.
Examples of reflexive verbs include:
lavarse - to wash yourself
Spanish | English |
---|---|
yo me lavo | I wash myself |
迟煤 te lavas | you wash yourself |
茅濒/别濒濒补 se lava | he/she washes himself/herself |
- Rodrigo se lava todas las ma帽anas - Rodrigo washes himself every morning.
llamarse - to be called
Spanish | English |
---|---|
yo me llamo | I am called |
迟煤 te llamas | you are called |
茅濒/别濒濒补 se llama | he/she is called |
- Yo me llamo Luisa y 迟煤 te llamas Paco - I am called Luisa and you are called Paco.
levantarse - to get up
Spanish | English |
---|---|
yo me levanto | I get up |
迟煤 te levantas | you get up |
茅濒/别濒濒补 se levanta | he/she gets up |
- Yo me levanto a las ocho y Juan se levanta a las ocho y media - I get up at 8 o鈥檆lock and Juan gets up at half past eight.
Have a go at this activity and see how much you know about using the present tense in Spanish.
Quiz
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