Present tense of regular –ar verbs
In English IN SPANISH CANTO CANTAS CANTA In English, most verbs have only two forms in the present tense so subject pronouns can’t be left out. I sing We sing You sing you sing He sings They sing IN SPANISH The verb endings tells you who the subject is. CANTO CANTAS CANTA
Habl -ar Com -er Escrib -ir Every verb has a stem followed by an ending. The stem tells the verbs meaning. An infinitive ending doesn’t name a subject or a tense Habl -ar Com -er Escrib -ir Infinitive endings Verb stems
To Conjugate a verb: Step 1: Drop the ending Step 2: Add the ending that matches the subject Yo - o Nosotros (as) - amos Tú - as Vosotros (as) - áis Usted - a Uds. - an Él - a Ellos/Ellas - an Ella - a (it) - a
Conjugations Example of a full conjugation: Cantar- to Sing ¿Cantan ustedes mucho? No, casi nunca cantamos. Do you sing a lot? No, we hardly ever sing. I sing- Yo canto We sing- Nosotros (as) cantamos You sing- Tú cantas You sing- Vosotros (as) cantáis You sing- usted canta You sing- Uds. cantan He sings- Él canta They sing- Ellos/ Ella, cantan She sings- ella canta It sings- canta
Since most of the time the ending of the verb tells the subject, the subject pronoun is normally left out. Use the subject pronouns to add emphasis, or when it wouldn’t otherwise be clear who the subject is. ¿Patinan ustedes mucho? Ellos patinan. Yo nunca patino. Do you skate a lot? They skate. I never skate.
Conjugate the following verbs for the subject pronouns given. 1. Yo (cantar) 2. Ustedes (bailar) 3. Nosotras (patinar) 4. Mario y Mario (hablar) 5. Juan (descansar) 6. Tu (estudiar) 7. El y Ella (trabajar) 8. Usted y yo (practicar deportes) Your turn