There are three “kinds”, or “types” or verbs in Spanish.
They are:
-AR verbs
-ER verbs
-IR verbs
When you see a Spanish word that ends in one of these
three letter combinations, it is almost always a verb*.
*-There are some nouns that end in these letters, but they would have an „el‟, „la‟, „los‟, „las‟ in
front of them, i.e. “el lugar” = “place”
We will need to learn how to use verbs in Spanish so we can
communicate our ideas. We‟ll start with how to use –AR verbs.
First, we will need to know the –AR verb „endings‟ (present tense).
These endings are used to show “who” is doing the action
(remember, verbs are action words).
They are:
yo
tú
él/ella
usted
-o
-as
-a
-a
nosotros/as -amos
ellos/as -an
ustedes -an
(Uds.)
(Ud.)
Notice that each ending is paired with a specific subject or subjects.
They cannot be mixed and matched.
Here‟s how we use these endings:
„Hablar‟ means „to talk‟. If you wanted to say… “I talk” … for example,
you might think you would say… “yo hablar” …but not quite.
Here‟s how to do it:
Step One: Write down the subject and the verb.
Step Two: Remove the “ar” from the verb.
Step Three: Add your new ending, making sure
it „matches‟ the subject.
yo hablar
yo habl
yo hablo
So… “yo hablo” …means… “I talk” … in Spanish.
Here‟s what the verb “hablar” would look like in all 5 forms:
yo hablo = I talk/I am talking
tú hablas = you talk/you are talking
él habla = he talks/he is talking
ella habla = she talks/she is talking
usted (Ud.) habla = you talk/you are talking
nosotros/as hablamos = we talk/we are talking
ellos/as hablan = they talk/they are talking
ustedes (Uds.) hablan = you (all) talk/you (all) are talking
The same would be done with all –AR verbs in the present tense:
nadar = to swim
yo nado
tú nadas
cantar = to sing
yo canto
tú cantas
él/ella canta
él/ella nada
caminar = to walk
nosotros/as nadamos
yo camino
ellos/as nadan
tú caminas
Uds. nadan
él/ella camina
nosotros/as cantamos
nosotros/as caminamos
ellos/as cantan
ellos/as caminan
Uds. cantan
Uds. caminan
Let‟s compare an -AR verb to the two verbs you are already
familiar with. The endings are not similar by accident!! Look for
patterns in the words:
ser = to be
tener = to have
hablar = to talk
yo soy
yo tengo
yo hablo
tú eres
tú tienes
tú hablas
él/ella es
él/ella tiene
él/ella habla
nosotros/as somos
nosotros/as tenemos
nosotros/as hablamos
ellos/as son
ellos/as tienen
ellos/as hablan
Uds. son
Uds. tienen
Uds. hablan
DO YOU SEE THE PATTERNS?
There are three “kinds”, or “types” or verbs in Spanish: -AR, -ER, and -IR
To use an –AR verb, you need to know the proper “endings”. These
endings tell “who” is doing an action.
The –AR verb endings for present tense are: -o, -as, -a, -amos, and -an
Each ending matches with a specific subject(s):
yo=o , tú=as, él/ella/Ud.=a, nosotros/as=amos, and ellos/as/Uds.=an
To use an ending, drop the –AR off of the verb first, then add the new
ending in its place based on who is doing the action.
Ex. hablar  habl__ hablo
These “endings” work for all –AR verbs in present tense.
Knowing this will help you communicate your ideas in Spanish!!!