Greetings! Today we are going to see “Present Simple” in Spanish, but, firstly, what is “Present Simple”?
“Present Simple” is used to describe actions that we do in our every day, for example “I eat fish in the morning“, “You run in the park every day“, “Do you learn Spanish every day?“
In this lesson, you will learn how to conjugate verbs (that are the words to mean action). By the end of this class, you will be able to form simple phrases about your routine and your activities. Let’s get into it!
Step 1: The Protagonists – The Personal Pronouns
First, you have to know who are the “protagonists” of our sentences. In spanish, we use the following personal pronouns:
| Pronoun | Meaning in english (approximate) |
|---|---|
| yo | I |
| tú | you (informal, for a friend) |
| él | he |
| ella | she |
| usted | you (formal, for respect) |
| nosotros / nosotras | we (masculine or mixed / femenine) |
| ustedes | you (plural, for a group) |
| ellos / ellas | they (masculine or mixed / femenine) |
Step 2: How do verbs work? The secret formula
In spanish, verbs in their original form (infinitive) end in -ar, -er, or -ir. Think of them like “uncooked” verbs.
- Example: hablar (to talk), comer (to eat), vivir (to live).
To use them in a sentence, we have to “cook them”, or, how we say, conjugate them. The formula is simple:
- Finding the root: Remove the ending (-ar, -er, -ir)
- Add the correct ending: Add the new ending according to the pronoun.
Let’s see how it works with the first group, the most common!
Step 3: The first pattern – Verbs that end in “-ar”
This are the most common verbs.
The rule is: remove “-ar” and add the following endings:
| Pronoun | Ending | Example: HABLAR (habl + ending) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | yo hablo |
| tú | -as | tú hablas |
| él, ella, usted | -a | él habla |
| nosotros/as | -amos | nosotros hablamos |
| ustedes, ellos/as | -an | ellos hablan |
Just that easy! 😀 The pattern repeats for all the regular verbs that end in -ar.
✍️ Quick Practice:
Now you, Try to complete this phrases using the pattern that you just learned.
Step 4: The second pattern – Verbs that end in “-er
¡Muy bien! Now that you have mastered the first pattern, the second one is similar. The main vowel changes from ‘a’ to ‘e’.
The rule is: remove “-er” and add the following endings:
| Pronoun | Ending | Example: COMER (com + ending) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | yo como |
| tú | -es | tú comes |
| él, ella, usted | -e | ella come |
| nosotros/as | -emos | nosotros comemos |
| ustedes, ellos/as | -en | ellos comen |
Do you notice the pattern? The ending of “yo” is the same (-o). The others use the vowel “e”.
✍️ Quick Practice:
Step 5: The third pattern – Verbs that end in “-ir”
¡We are almost done! This last pattern is a “twin” of the “-er” pattern. ¡It is almost identical!
The rule is: remove “”-ir” and add the following endings:
| Pronoun | Ending | Example: VIVIR (viv + ending) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | yo vivo |
| tú | -es | tú vives |
| él, ella, usted | -e | ella vive |
| nosotros/as | -imos | nosotros vivimos |
| ustedes, ellos/as | -en | ellos viven |
¡Quick tip! The only difference with “-er” verbs is in “nosotros”, wich uses “-imos” instead of “-emos”. The rest is the same.
✍️ Quick Practice: Let’s try with the last group.
📓 General Summary: ¡Your Cheat Sheet!
Here you have all the patters side by side. Seeing them like this will help you to remember them.
| Pronoun | Verbos -AR | Verbos -ER | Verbos -IR |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | -o | -o |
| tú | -as | -es | -es |
| él, ella, usted | -a | -e | -e |
| nosotros/as | -amos | -emos | -imos |
| ustedes, ellos/as | -an | -en | -en |
🖍️ ¡Now let’s create! Final practice
Now that you have learned the petterns. The last step is to use them to talk about you.
Answer these questions with a full sentence.