Today, let’s learn the conjugation of the present tense in Spanish (regular verbs).
This is the first verb to learn if you are a beginner in Spanish and… yes, I know, the conjugation can be boring, but it is necessary if you want to speak and progress with your Spanish.
Take a look at the YouTube Video Lesson (Spanish audio with English subtitles) read the explanation below, and practice with the interactive exercises.
Spanish present tense
YouTube Video Lesson
Spanish present tense
El presente : la conjugación
In Spanish, verbs are conjugated in three different ways, depending on their endings:
-ar (first conjugation), -er (second conjugation) and -ir (third conjugation)
hablar – to speak
comer – to eat
vivir – to live
Conjugating is making a verb agree with its subject (yo, tú, él, ella…)
Follow this 3 Steps to conjugate the verbs in the present tense:
1. Choose an infinitive: hablar
2. Remove ending: habl – ar
3. Add the right ending for each pronoun (yo, tú, él…) at the end. (Take a look at the infographic below to see the new endings).
Examples:
yo habl-o (I speak)
Yo hablo español con mis amigos españoles
tú habl –as (you speak)
¿Tú hablas español?
él /ella habl- a (he/she speaks)
Ella habla un poco de español
For each type of verb -ar, -er, or -ir, we match the verb with each personal subject pronoun, and these new endings are different for each -ar, -er, and -ir verb, as you can see in the following table.
Spanish present tense
Some regular verbs in the present tense: Slides
Spanish present tense
Interactive exercises
EXERCISE 1
EXERCISE 2
EXERCISE 3
Spanish present tense
Practice at your own pace…
Spanish present tense (regular verbs)
Download the infographic + 15 exercises to practice the conjugation + Solutions in a PDF document
Well done! Now, remember to keep practicing your Spanish with your Spanish
You can also to improve and get fluent more quickly with the help of a Spanish teacher. Find out how can I help you with my private online lessons
