The Present tense

The Present tense is used to describe what you usually do: I speak, you study, he eats. These are things that you aren't necessarily doing at the moment. The Present tense has three different types of endings depending on the type of verb:
-AR O AS A AMOS IS AN -ER O ES E -IR EMOS IS EN O ES E IMOS IS EN

All verbs use these endings if you are talking about what you usually do. There are some verbs that change their spelling in the present tense but the endings remain the same. -AR verbs Examples : Hablar (to speak), Trabajar (to work)
Step 1: Take the stem of the verb (the verb form without the -ar) and add these endings. Singular Yo hablo T hablas El habla Ella habla Usted habla I speak You speak He speaks She speaks You speak (formal)

HABLAR

Plural We speak You speak They speak They speak You speak

Nosotros(as) hablamos Vosotros(as) hablis Ellos hablan Ellas hablan Ustedes hablan

*Things to keep in mind 1.

Vosotros?

In Latin America, the Vosotros form is not used. Therefore, when you are addressing a friend you use the t form and when you are addressing a group of friends, you use the Ustedes (uds.) form.When speaking formally, you use the Usted

(Ud.) form with one person and the Uds. form with more than one. 2. Nosotros/Nosotras - Ellos/Ellas. . Gender of a group is determined this way: If it is a group of females, then Nosotras and Ellas would be used. However, if one male becomes part of the group, then the masculine forms need to be used (nosotros, ellos) -ER

verbs

Examples: Comer (to eat), Aprender (to learn) Step 1: Take the stem of the verb (the infinitive without the -er) and add these
endings. Singular
Yo como T comes El come Ella come Ud. come I eat You eat He eats She eats You eat (formal)

COMER

Plural
Nosotros(as) comemos We eat Vosotros comis Ellos comen Ellas comen Uds. comen You eat They (m) eat They (f) eat You eat

-IR verbs Examples: Vivir (to live), Recibir (to receive) Step 1: Take the stem of the verb (the infinitive without the -ir) and add these
endings. Singular
Yo vivo T vives El vive I live You live He lives

VIVIR

Plural
Nosotros(as) vivimos Vosotros vivs Ellos viven We live You live They(m) live

Ella vive Ud. vive

She lives You live (formal)

Ellas viven Uds.viven

They (f) live You live

*Tip of the day - the only difference between the -er and -ir regular verbs in the present tense is the Nosotros form.

Preterit e Regular Verbs

AR verbs. Take off the -ar ending and add the preterite endings for -ar verb hablar
habl hablaste habl hablamos hablasteis hablaron

-ER and -IR verbs. These verbs have the same endings. comer
com comiste comi comimos comisteis comieron

escribir
escrib escribiste escribi escribimos escribisteis escribieron

Common regular -AR verbs in the preterite.

aceptar-to accept ayudar-to help acompaar-to accompany bailar-to dance aconsejar-to advise bajar-to go down arreglar-to advise borrar-to erase

caminar-to walk cocinar-to cook dejar-to leave escuchar-to listen firmar-to sign hablar-to speak llorar-to cry necesitar-to need pintar-to paint quitar-to take off tirar-to throw

cantar-to sing comprar-to buy desear-to wish esperar-to wish ganar-to win, to earn invitar-to invite mandar-to send parar-to stop preguntar-to ask regresar-to return tomar-to take

celebrar-to celebrate contestar-to answer empujar-to push esquiar-to ski gastar-to spend llamar-to call mirar-to look at pasar-to spend time preparar-to prepare saludar-to greet trabajar-to work

cenar-to eat dinner cortar-to cut entrar-to enter estudiar-to study gritar-to shout llevar-to wear, to carry nadar-to swim patinar-to skate presentar-to present terminar-to end usar-to use

Common -ER and -IR regular verbs

aprender-to learn correr-to run asistir-to attend subir-to go up beber-to drink romper-to break describir-to describe sufrir-to suffer comer-to eat vender-to sell escribir-to write vivir-to live comprender-to understand abrir-to open recibir-to receive