Verbos RegularesAn Introduction

Spanish Verbs Start as Infinitives

A.An infinitive is a verbal idea that

includes the English word “to”.

B.There are 3 kinds of

infinitives:-ar

-er

-ir

Hablar

to speak or to talk

Decidir

to decide

Practicar

to practice

Caminar

To walk

Comer

to eat

An infinitive must end with one of these two letters combinations. But every word that

ends with –ar, -er, -ir is not an infinitive.

For example:The word “lugar” ends with

–ar but it is a noun that means “place”.

C.The stem or root is what is left of the

infinitive after the –ar, -er and –ir are

removed.

What is the stem of “hablar”?

habl

What is the stem of “vivir”?

viv

What is the stem of “beber”?

beb

What is the stem of “practicar”?

practic

What is the stem of “responder”?

respond

What is the stem of “escribir”?

escrib

What is the stem of“estudiar”?

estudi

What is the stem of “bailar”?

bail

What is the stem of “terminar”?

termin

Just a little note here that most stems

cannot be pronounced.

The stem of a verb can help you know something about nouns.For example “comer’ is “to eat.

Both “comedor” and “comida” start with the stem of “comer”, so we know they have something to do with eating. The first one is “dining room” and the second is “food”.

D.To conjugate an

infinitive start with the stem and add the

appropriate ending for the subject and tense

you wish to use.

E.Endings are added to

the stem to create subject and time of

action.

The endings used with –ar verbs in the present tense

are:“o” for I

“as” for you“a” for he, she, it, you

polite“amos” for we

“an” for they, you plural

For example:To say “I talk” we must start

with the infinitive “to talk” and continue from there.

hablar

habl

hablo

Try it again. This time “we talk”.

hablar

habl

hablamos

F.The tense is when

something is happening, was happening or will

happen. It is the time of action of the verb.

G.There are 3 things that

every Spanish verb, when it is conjugated, tells us:

What

When

Who

H.What about words like “do, or

does” etc.?Three things to remember about

them:1. They are often implied

2. They tell the tense of the verb3. They show the position of the

verb.

For example:Where do you practice soccer?¿Dónde practicas el fútbol?

Where did you practice soccer?¿Dónde practicaste el fútbol?

When you have a sentence where there are two verbs in a row with no obvious change of subject, the first verb is conjugated and the second remains an infinitive.

For example:I need to study here.Necesito estudiar aquí.

Do you need to study here?¿Necesitas estudiar aquí?

J.In order to make

sentences negative (no, not, n’t) the word “no”

placed before the verb.

For example:I don’t want Taco Bell.Yo no quiero Taco Bell.

We don’t speak French.No hablamos el francés.

K.To find the correct ending, in

any tense, you must know what pronoun would replace the subject noun. More often

then not these subject pronouns in Spanish are

omitted.

L.The Spanish present tense

has three allowable translations. Context and

intended meaning are how you determine which one

to use.

Ramon nada en el lago.

The first translation or usage is habitual.

The second is in progress at the moment.

The third is usually formatted into a question.

Be sure to remember these subject pronoun groups:I weyouhe, she, it they, you plural

These groups determine which endings you will use.

2A. In Spanish the subject groups are:yo nosotrostúél, ella, usted ellos,ellas,

ustedes

2BVerb endings are determined by

number and tense not by gender.

Conjuguemos

Yosacarsaco

Look at letter H on worksheet:The subject is Juana y yo

The pronoun that substitutes is“we”

So we add the we ending to the stem of the verb

bailar>bail>bailamos

Look at letter J on worksheet: The subject is los estudiantesThe pronoun that substitutes is

“they”So we add the they ending to

the stem of the verbhablar>habl>hablan

Look at letter U on the worksheet:

The subject is la escuelaThe pronoun that substitutes is

“it”So we add the it ending to the

stem of the verbllegar>lleg>llega

Dictionary Lesson

Looking up a verb

study

Paco studies in school.

practice

I am practicing tomorrow.

need

We need to buy books.