The present tense: -ar, -re, -ir
All regular verbs fall into three groups by their infinitive ending. Drop the ending and add your own — by person. For example: “Parlo català” — I speak Catalan. A rule from the Catalan course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
All regular verbs fall into three groups by their infinitive ending. Drop the ending and add your own — by person.
The pronoun is usually dropped, because the ending already says who acts: Parlo català — and it is clear that it is "I" speaking. English cannot do this; Catalan does it all day long.
Table
| parlar | beure | sentir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| jo | parlo | bec | sento |
| tu | parles | beus | sents |
| ell / ella | parla | beu | sent |
| nosaltres | parlem | bevem | sentim |
| ells | parlen | beuen | senteu |
By example
- Parlo catalàI speak Catalan
- Menjem a casaWe eat at home
- Viu a BarcelonaHe lives in Barcelona
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
The present tense: how does it work in Catalan?
All regular verbs fall into three groups by their infinitive ending. Drop the ending and add your own — by person.
What does it look like in an example sentence Catalan?
“Parlo català” — I speak Catalan. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.