Conjugating –ar verbs



Conjugating –ar verbs

All Spanish verbs fit into one of three categories: -ar, -er, or -ir verbs.

In this section we will learn to conjugate regular –ar verbs. But let’s review a little first.

Verb – A word that represents an action or a state of being.

Infinitive - the simple or basic form of the verb, the unchanged verb with

the –ar, -er, or –ir still attached to the end of the word. Generally means “to do something” ex: hablar – to speak

Subject – the person doing the action

Subject pronouns – Words that replace the person’s name and used as the

subject of a noun, in English: I, you, he, she, we, they, you all. In Spanish: yo, tú, él, ella, Ud., Nosotros(as), ellos, ellas, Uds.

Conjugate – changing the verb to match the subject

Conjugations – the forms of the verb after it has been conjugated or

changed to match the subjects

In Spanish we can tell which category a verb belongs to by looking at the ending of the infinitive.

Examples :

Hablar (to speak) is an -ar verb because it ends in –ar.

Comer (to eat) is an -er verb because it ends in –er.

Vivir (to live) is an –ir verb because it ends in –ir.

It’s that easy!

Each category has its own endings. We will learn –er and –ir endings in a later chapter. For now let’s look at regular present tense –ar verbs.

Hablar – to speak usar – to use or wear

Buscar – to look for Llevar – to take, to carry, to wear

Mirar – to look at desear – to desire, to want

Necesitar – to need trabajar- to work

Comprar – to buy calzar – to wear (shoes)

Pagar – to pay estudiar – to study

To conjugate –ar verbs follow these steps:

1. Take off the –ar ending.

Hablar –ar = habl (this is called the stem)

2. Figure out who the subject is

a. Yo = I

b. Tú = you (informal, familiar)

c. Él = he

d. Ella = she

e. Usted (Ud.) = you (formal)

f. Nosotros (as) = we

g. Vosotros(as)= you all (Spain)

h. Ellos, ellas = they

i. Ustedes (Uds.) = you all

3. Add the appropriate ending: Using the regular endings shown in Table 1, you would place the base of the verb in front of those endings.

|Table 1. Regular – ar Verb Endings |

|Singular Pronoun |Ending |Plural Pronoun |Ending |

|yo |–o |nosotros or nosotras |–amos |

|tú |–as |vosotros or vosotras |–áis |

|usted (Ud.) |–a |ustedes (Uds.) |–an |

|él |–a |ellos |–an |

|ella |–a |ellas |–an |

Table 2 shows the conjugation chart for the verb hablar in the present tense.

|Table 2. Conjugation Chart for the Verb Hablar |

|Singular Pronoun |Verb |Plural Pronoun |Verb |

|yo |hablo (I speak) |nosotros or nosotras |hablamos (we speak) |

|tú |hablas (you [informal] speak) |vosotros or vosotras |habláis (you [informal] |

| | | |speak) |

|usted (Ud.) |habla (you [formal] speak) |ustedes (Uds.) |hablan (you [formal] speak)|

|él |habla (he speaks) |ellos |hablan (they speak) |

|ella |habla (she speaks) |ellas |hablan (they speak) |

| |

|Table 3. Regular –er Verb Endings |

|Singular Pronoun |Ending |Plural Pronoun |Ending |

|yo |–o |nosotros or nosotras|–emos |

|tú |–es |vosotros or vosotras|–éis |

|usted (Ud.) |–e |ustedes (Uds.) |–en |

|él |–e |ellos |–en |

|ella |–e |ellas |–en |

Now, take a look at Table 4 for the conjugated form of the verb comer (to eat).

|Table 4. Conjugation Chart for the Verb Comer |

|Singular Pronoun |Verb |Plural Pronoun |Verb |

|yo |como (I eat) |nosotros or nosotras |comemos (we eat) |

|tú |comes (you [informal] eat) |vosotros or vosotras |coméis (you [informal] eat) |

|usted (Ud.) |come (you [formal] eat) |ustedes (Uds.) |comen (you [formal] eat) |

|él |come (he eats) |ellos |comen (they eat) |

|ella |come (she eats) |ellas |comen (they eat) |

Verbs of the third type are called – ir verbs. In the present tense a verb ending in –

|Table 5. Regular –ir Verb Endings |

|Singular Pronoun |Ending |Plural Pronoun |Ending |

|yo |–o |nosotros or nosotras |–imos |

|tú |–es |vosotros or vosotras |–ís |

|usted (Ud.) |–e |ustedes (Uds.) |–en |

|él |–e |ellos |–en |

|ella |–e |ellas |–en |

Escribir (to write) was one of the – ir verbs presented earlier as an infinitive. The forms of the verb escribir in Table 6 will serve as an example for any regular – ir verb.

|Table 6. Conjugation Chart for the Verb Escribir |

|Singular Pronoun |Verb |Plural Pronoun |Verb |

|yo |escribo (I write) |nosotros or nosotras escribimos (we write) |excribimos (we write) |

|tú |escribes (you [informal] |vosotros or vosotrasescribís (you [informal] |escribís (you [informal] |

| |write) |write) |write) |

|usted (Ud.) |escribe (you [formal] write) |ustedes (Uds.) |escriben (you [formal] write)|

|él |escribe (he writes) |ellos |escriben (they write) |

|ella |escribe (she writes) |ellas |escriben (they write) |

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