In Spanish, the present tense is called "el presente" and it's one of the most commonly used tenses. It is used to talk about habits, routines, actions taking place in the present and general truths. Here's how it works for regular verbs:
There are three types of regular verbs in Spanish: -ar, -er, and -ir verbs. To conjugate them in the present tense, you remove the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, or -ir) and add the endings specific for each type of verb and each subject pronoun.
**-ar verbs**
- yo (+o): habl**o** (I speak)
- tú (+as): habl**as** (you speak, familiar singular)
- él/ella/usted (+a): habl** (he/she speaks, you formal singular)
- nosotros/nosotras (+amos): habl**amos** (we speak)
- vosotros/vosotras (+áis): habl**áis** (you speak, familiar plural Spain)
- ellos/ellas/ustedes (+an): habl**an** (they speak, you formal plural)
**-er verbs**
- yo (+o): com**o** (I eat)
- tú (+es): com**es** (you eat, familiar singular)
- él/ella/usted (+e): com**e** (he/she eats, you formal singular)
- nosotros/nosotras (+emos): com**emos** (we eat)
- vosotros/vosotras (+éis): com**éis** (you eat, familiar plural Spain)
- ellos/ellas/ustedes (+en): com**en** (they eat, you formal plural)
**-ir verbs**
- yo (+o): viv**o** (I live)
- tú (+es): viv**es** (you live, familiar singular)
- él/ella/usted (+e): viv**e** (he/she lives, you formal singular)
- nosotros/nosotras (+imos): viv**imos** (we live)
- vosotros/vosotras (+ís): viv**ís** (you live, familiar plural Spain)
- ellos/ellas/ustedes (+en): viv**en** (they live, you formal plural)
Please note that in Latin America, the "vosotros/vosotras" forms are not used; instead, "ustedes" is used for both formal and informal plural addresses and conjugated like "ellos/ellas".
Also, there are many irregular verbs that do not follow these patterns, and their present tense forms must be memorized separately. These include common verbs like "ser" (to be), "ir" (to go), "tener" (to have), "hacer" (to do/make), and "venir" (to come), among others.
present tense spanish
1 answer