Verbs

Verbs

Verbs

Regular Verbs

Regular Spanish verbs fall into three categories: -ar, -er, and -ir verbs.
Each category has its own set of endings which must be memorised.
For example, in the present tense, the -ar verb hablar (to speak) is conjugated as yo hablo, tú hablas, él/ella/usted habla, nosotros/nosotras hablamos, ellos/ellas/ustedes hablan.
Regular -er and -ir verbs follow similar patterns.

Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs don’t follow the regular conjugation patterns and need to be learned individually.
Important irregular verbs include ser (to be), tener (to have), estar (to be), ir (to go), hacer (to do, to make), and venir (to come).
For example, the verb ser in present tense is conjugated as yo soy, tú eres, él/ella/usted es, nosotros/nosotras somos, ellos/ellas/ustedes son.

Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive verbs are used when the action of the verb reflects back on the subject, i.e. the subject does something to themselves.
A reflexive verb is identified by the presence of a reflexive pronoun, e.g. me, te, se, nos, os, se, attached to the infinitive, e.g. lavarse (to wash oneself).
Examples include despertarse (to wake up), ducharse (to shower), vestirse (to get dressed).

Tenses

There are various verb tenses in Spanish including the present, preterite, imperfect, future and conditional. Each has its own set of endings.

Modal Verbs

Modal verbs express possibility, necessity, obligation, or permission.
Some commonly used modal verbs include deber (must, to owe), poder (can, to be able to), querer (to want), and tener que (to have to).
Modal verbs are usually followed by an infinitive verb: e.g. tienes que estudiar (you have to study).

Verb Conjugation

Conjugation is the way a verb changes form to show who is doing the action and when.
The subject of the verb can often be implied by the conjugation: e.g. hablas can mean ‘you speak’, without needing to say ‘tú’.
Conjugation changes the verb ending according to who is doing the action (e.g. yo, tú, él, nosotros) and the tense.