In Spanish, the present tense is used to talk about actions that happen right now, habits, or general truths.
Verbs ending in -ar are the most common. Remove -ar and add these endings:
| yo | -o (I) → hablo (I speak) |
| tú | -as (you) → hablas (you speak) |
| él/ella/usted | -a (he/she) → habla (he speaks) |
| nosotros | -amos (we) → hablamos (we speak) |
| vosotros | -áis (you all) → habláis |
| ellos/ellas | -an (they) → hablan (they speak) |
The verb "hablar" (to speak) is used as an example throughout Spanish grammar—it's the most regular!
-ER verbs (like comer = to eat) and -IR verbs (like vivir = to live) share most endings:
| yo | -o → como, vivo |
| tú | -es → comes, vives |
| él/ella/usted | -e → come, vive |
| nosotros | -emos/-imos → comemos, vivimos |
| ellos/ellas | -en → comen, viven |
In Spanish, the subject pronoun is often omitted because the verb ending tells you who is doing the action.
Hablo español. = I speak Spanish. (subject "yo" is understood)
¿Hablas inglés? = Do you speak English?
María habla tres idiomas. = Maria speaks three languages.
Use the subject pronoun when you want to emphasize or clarify who is speaking:
Yo hablo español, pero mi hermano habla inglés. (I speak Spanish, but my brother speaks English.)
Here are some useful regular verbs you'll see often:
Can you match the correct verb form?
nosotros / vivir → vivimos (we live)
tú / estudiar → estudias (you study)
ellos / comer → comen (they eat)
Traps for English speakers
These are the errors English speakers make most often.