Regular present-tense verbs

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Form the present tense from an infinitive

Spanish infinitives end in -ar, -er, or -ir. For a regular present-tense form, remove that ending and add the ending for the subject. Hablar means to speak, comer means to eat, and vivir means to live.

With yo, all three groups use -o: hablo, como, vivo. Estudiar and trabajar follow the same -ar pattern as hablar, giving estudio and trabajo. Add a useful detail to make a whole message: estudio español; trabajo en una escuela.

Match the verb ending to the subject

With tú, use -as for regular -ar verbs and -es for regular -er and -ir verbs: hablas, comes, vives. With él, ella, or usted, use -a or -e: habla, come, vive. Usted is grammatically paired with the third-person form.

For nosotros or nosotras, use -amos, -emos, and -imos. For ellos, ellas, or ustedes, use -an or -en. We use ustedes for plural you in this course. In much of Spain, informal vosotros or vosotras uses -áis, -éis, or -ís.

Use pronouns, negatives, and questions

You can omit a subject pronoun when the ending or context makes it clear. Vivo en Toronto is complete. Add the pronoun when it helps distinguish people or emphasize a contrast: yo vivo aquí, pero ella vive allí.

Put no directly before the conjugated verb to make a basic negative statement. A question can keep the same word order, using question intonation and written question marks. Practice three versions of one idea: a statement, a negative statement, and a question.

Lesson vocabulary

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Practice questions

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Independent practice

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