Review of Rocket Spanish Spanish Pronunciation Spanish Lessons - Gender Spanish Language Courses Spanish Lessons - Gender2 Spanish Pronouns and Verbs Spanish Verbs Family Names in Spanish Spanish Questions Spanish Numbers Spanish Months Telling Time in Spanish Spanish Language Lessons Conversational Spanish More Conversational Spanish Spanish Verbs in the Present Tense Spanish Present Progressive Irregular Verbs in Spanish Spanish Lessons Online Learn Spanish Learner Spanish Spanish Family Spanish Verb Spanish Family Relatives Spanish Possession Spanish Vocabulary Spanish Language Software

Spanish Verbs

Los verbos or Spanish Verbs come in two forms: regular and irregular. Luckily, there aren't that many irregular, main Spanish verbs. Other regular verbs fall under three categories: 'ar', 'er', & 'ir' verbs.

A verb's infinitive is its base form. In English, the verb 'to talk' is an infinitive. In Spanish, for example, the infinitive of 'to talk' is 'hablar'.

English Infinitive: Spanish Infinitive:
To talk Hablar
English Conjugation: Spanish Conjugation:
I talk Yo hablo - yoh ah-bloh
You talk Tu hablas - too ah-blas
He talks El habla - el ah-blah

A verb has to change to match the person speaking or the person to whom you are referring. If you are talking about yourself, you use one verb form, the 'Yo' form, a above. If you are talking about your brother Alberto, then you will use another, the 'El' from. Verbs have to agree with the subject.

The above are only examples, but take note on the first part of each under the Spanish Conjugation section. Notice how the verb is 'hablar', but that only the last part of the verb changes when it is conjugated. This is true for almost all members of the 'AR' family. They will be conjugated in the same way: keep the base of the verb (the first part) and conjugate (or change) the last part.FAMILY I:

The 'AR' family of verbs:

Subject: Verb ends in:
Yo -o
Tu -as
El, Ella, Usted (Ud.) -a
Nosotros -amos
Vosotros -ais
Ellos, Ellas, Ustedes (Uds.) -an

We can use the verb Hablar (to talk, speak) to help us see this conjugation in action.

HABLAR - ah-blar (to talk) Habl + ending
Subject: Verb Conjugation:
Yo Hablo
Tu Hablas
El, Ella, Ud. Habla
Nosotros Hablamos
Vosotros Hablais
Ellos, Ellas, Uds. Hablan

Now that you see the pattern, you can conjugate almost any verb that you come across that ends in 'ar'.

EXERCISE: YOUR TURN!

Fill in the blank with the correct verb form.

  1. Yo _________ (hablar) con mi hermano. (I talk with my brother.)
  2. Tu _________ (mirar) el programa en la TV. (I watch the program on TV)
  3. El __________ (observar) los estudiantes malos. (He observes the bad students.)
  4. Nosotros _________ (andar) con nuestras abuelos. (We walk with our grandparents.)
  5. Ellos _________ (nadar) en el mar. (They swim in the ocean.)
All Rights Reserved. ©Copyright 2006-07 LearnerSpanish.com