Survival Spanish for travelers Lesson 4: Verbs, verbs everywhere! Part 1

Welcom back travelers! This lesson is divided into 2 parts. In the first part we are going to learn how to conjugate the Spanish regular and irregular verbs. In the second part we are going to study how to conjugate the past and the future.

Let’s start taking a general look at the regular and irregular verbs in some steps: 1) Understand subjects. The subject is the noun that the verb is referring to. To conjugate a verb in Spanish, you’ll first need to be familiar with the several different personal subject pronouns in the language. Here they are: 1) Understand subjects. The subject is the noun that the verb is referring to. To conjugate a verb in Spanish, you’ll first need to be familiar with the several different personal subject pronouns in the language. Here they are: YoIFormal TúYouSingular familiar UstedYouSingular formal Él / ellaHe / she Nosotros / asWe Vosotros / asYouPlural familiar UstedesYouPlural formal Ellos / ellasThey

2) Remove the ending. All Spanish verbs have the endings of either “-ar”, “-er” or “-ir”. Once you remove the current ending, you can add on the new corresponding ending. Unless the verb is reflexive; then it will have “se” tacked on past the end of the verb. 2) Remove the ending. All Spanish verbs have the endings of either “-ar”, “-er” or “-ir”. Once you remove the current ending, you can add on the new corresponding ending. Unless the verb is reflexive; then it will have “se” tacked on past the end of the verb.

3) Conjugate “-ar” verbs. Once you learn the form of conjugation for “-ar” verbs in the present tense, you can just add the form to the end of any regular “-ar” verbs. He are the rules for conjugating them in present tense, using the verb “hablar” (To talk) Yo hablo Tú hablas Él/ella habla Nosotros/as hablamos Vosotros/as habláis Ellos/ellas hablan

4) Conjugate “-er” verbs. Learn the form for conjugating “- er” verbs in the present tense and just add it to the end of each verb. Here are the endings for the verb “-er” in the present tense, using the verb “beber” (To drink) Yo bebo Tú bebes Él/ella bebe Nosotros/as bebemos Vosotros/as bebéis Ellos/ellas beben

5) Conjugate “-ir” verbs. Learn the form for conjugating “- ir” verbs in the present tense and just add it to the end of each verb. Here are the endings for the verb “-ir” in the present tense, using the verb “vivir” (To live) Yo vivo Tú vives Él/ella vive Nosotros/as vivimos Vosotros/as vivís Ellos/ellas viven

Now let’s see a little bit how to conjugate the stem-changing verbs. Conjugate verbs with a stem change from “o” to “ue” using “dormir” (To sleep) as an example: Yo duermo Tú duermes El/ella/usted duerme Nosotros/as dormimos Vosotros/as dormís Ellos/ellas/ustedes duermen Conjugate verbs with a stem change from “e” to “ie” using “querer” (To want) as an example Yo quiero Tú quieres Él/ella/usted quiere Nosotros/as queremos Vosotras/as queréis Ellos/ellas/ustedes quieren

Conjugate verbs with a stem change from “e” to “i” using “seguir” (To follow or continue) as an example: Yo sigo Tú sigues Él/ella/usted sigue Nosotros/as seguimos Vosotros/as seguís Ellos/ellas/ustedes siguen

You have to pay attention! Because some verbs are irregular just in the first person. For example Conjugate verbs that change from “c” to “zc” in the first person: Conocer (To be acquainted with): Yo conozco Agradecer (To thank) Yo agradezco Ofrecer (To be acquainted with) Yo ofrezco Conjugate verbs that have a “g” in the first person: Caer (To fall) Yo caigo Salir (To go out) Yo salgo Tener (To have) Yo tengo Conjugate verbs with others changes in the “yo” form: Dar (To give) Yo doy Saber (To know) Yo tengo Ver (To see) Yo veo