Verbs ¡Olé!
Verbs are DOING words
For example…
To Work To Buy To Swim
Trabajar Comprar Nadar
These are all Infinitives…
Infinitives are the ‘pure’ versions of a verb (before you give them a context)
Verbs are ‘conjugated’
i.e. the verb endings change according to who or what is doing the action
I Speak Yo hablo You Speak Tu hablas He Speaks El habla
Notice that in English the verb ending only changes when you are talking in the ‘third person’ 1 2 3
I Speak Yo hablo You Speak Tu hablas He Speaks El habla But in Spanish all the endings are different! 1 2 3
Here are some more examples…
‘Pure’ Verbs (These are known as ‘Infinitives’) TrabajarTo Work ComprarTo Buy NadarTo Swim
‘Conjugated’ Verbs El Infinitivo ‘Infinitive’ Yo ‘I’ Tu ‘You’ El ‘He’ Trabajar To Work Comprar To Buy Nadar To Swim Let’s complete this table together…
‘Conjugated’ Verbs El Infinitivo ‘Infinitive’ Yo ‘I’ Tu ‘You’ El ‘He’ Trabajar To WorkI WorkYou WorkHe Works Comprar To Buy Nadar To Swim
‘Conjugated’ Verbs El Infinitivo ‘Infinitive’ Yo ‘I’ Tu ‘You’ El ‘He’ Trabajar To WorkI WorkYou WorkHe Works Comprar To BuyI BuyYou BuyHe Buys Nadar To Swim
‘Conjugated’ Verbs El Infinitivo ‘Infinitive’ Yo ‘I’ Tu ‘You’ El ‘He’ Trabajar To WorkI WorkYou WorkHe Works Comprar To BuyI BuyYou BuyHe Buys Nadar To SwimI SwimYou SwimHe Swims
‘Conjugated’ Verbs El Infinitivo ‘Infinitive’ Yo ‘I’ Tu ‘You’ El ‘He’ Trabajar To Work Yo Trabajo I Work Tu Trabajas You Work El Trabaja He Works Comprar To BuyI BuyYou BuyHe Buys Nadar To SwimI SwimYou SwimHe Swims
‘Conjugated’ Verbs El Infinitivo ‘Infinitive’ Yo ‘I’ Tu ‘You’ El ‘He’ Trabajar To Work Yo Trabajo I Work Tu Trabajas You Work El Trabaja He Works Comprar To Buy Yo Compro I Buy Tu Compras You Buy El Compra He Buys Nadar To SwimI SwimYou SwimHe Swims
‘Conjugated’ Verbs El Infinitivo ‘Infinitive’ Yo ‘I’ Tu ‘You’ El ‘He’ Trabajar To Work Yo Trabajo I Work Tu Trabajas You Work El Trabaja He Works Comprar To Buy Yo Compro I Buy Tu Compras You Buy El Compra He Buys Nadar To Swim Yo Nado I Swim Tu Nadas You Swim El Nada He Swims
‘Conjugated’ Verbs El Infinitivo ‘Infinitive’ Yo ‘I’ Tu ‘You’ El ‘He’ Trabajar To Work Yo Trabajo I Work Tu Trabajas You Work El Trabaja He Works Comprar To Buy Yo Compro I Buy Tu Compras You Buy El Compra He Buys Nadar To Swim Yo Nado I Swim Tu Nadas You Swim El Nada He Swims Can you see a pattern ?
‘Conjugated’ Verbs El Infinitivo ‘Infinitive’ Yo ‘I’ Tu ‘You’ El ‘He’ Trabajar To Work Yo Trabajo I Work Tu Trabajas You Work El Trabaja He Works Comprar To Buy Yo Compro I Buy Tu Compras You Buy El Compra He Buys Nadar To Swim Yo Nado I Swim Tu Nadas You Swim El Nada He Swims
‘Conjugated’ Verbs El Infinitivo ‘Infinitive’ Yo ‘I’ Tu ‘You’ El ‘He’ Trabajar To Work Yo Trabajo I Work Tu Trabajas You Work El Trabaja He Works Comprar To Buy Yo Compro I Buy Tu Compras You Buy El Compra He Buys Nadar To Swim Yo Nado I Swim Tu Nadas You Swim El Nada He Swims
‘Conjugated’ Verbs El Infinitivo ‘Infinitive’ Yo ‘I’ Tu ‘You’ El ‘He’ Trabajar To Work Yo Trabajo I Work Tu Trabajas You Work El Trabaja He Works Comprar To Buy Yo Compro I Buy Tu Compras You Buy El Compra He Buys Nadar To Swim Yo Nado I Swim Tu Nadas You Swim El Nada He Swims
‘Conjugated’ Verbs El Infinitivo ‘Infinitive’ Yo ‘I’ Tu ‘You’ El ‘He’ Trabajar To Work Yo Trabajo I Work Tu Trabajas You Work El Trabaja He Works Comprar To Buy Yo Compro I Buy Tu Compras You Buy El Compra He Buys Nadar To Swim Yo Nado I Swim Tu Nadas You Swim El Nada He Swims
‘Conjugated’ Verbs El Infinitivo ‘Infinitive’ Yo ‘I’ Tu ‘You’ El ‘He’ Trabajar To Work Yo Trabajo I Work Tu Trabajas You Work El Trabaja He Works Comprar To Buy Yo Compro I Buy Tu Compras You Buy El Compra He Buys Nadar To Swim Yo Nado I Swim Tu Nadas You Swim El Nada He Swims Spanish Verbs (Infinitives) ending in ‘ar’ will follow this pattern
‘Conjugated’ Verbs El Infinitivo ‘Infinitive’ Yo ‘I’ Tu ‘You’ El ‘He’ Trabajar To Work Yo Trabajo I Work Tu Trabajas You Work El Trabaja He Works Comprar To Buy Yo Compro I Buy Tu Compras You Buy El Compra He Buys Nadar To Swim Yo Nado I Swim Tu Nadas You Swim El Nada He Swims Spanish Verbs (Infinitives) ending in ‘ar’ will follow this pattern (usually!)
Ok so far?
‘She’ follows the same pattern as ‘He’
She Works Ella Trabaja He Works El Trabaja
She Buys Ella Compra He Buys El Compra
She Swims Ella Nada He Swims El Nada
The two other common types of verb are er and ir endings
Which we’ll show you another day…
Anyone for tapas?