The present tense: -ar, -er, -ir
Regular verbs fall into three groups by their ending: -ar, -er, -ir. You drop that ending and add one of your own, chosen by who acts. For example: “Hablo español” — I speak Spanish. A rule from the Spanish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Regular verbs fall into three groups by their ending: -ar, -er, -ir. You drop that ending and add one of your own, chosen by who acts.
The pronoun usually disappears, because the ending already names the person. Hablo español is 'I speak Spanish' with no yo anywhere: the -o in hablo does that work. English has to keep its subject, since its verbs barely change.
Table
| hablar | comer | vivir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablo | como | vivo |
| tú | hablas | comes | vives |
| él/ella | habla | come | vive |
| nosotros | hablamos | comemos | vivimos |
| ellos | hablan | comen | viven |
By example
- Hablo españolI speak Spanish
- Comemos en casaWe eat at home
- Viven en MadridThey live in Madrid
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 Spanish?
Regular verbs fall into three groups by their ending: -ar, -er, -ir. You drop that ending and add one of your own, chosen by who acts.
What does it look like in an example sentence Spanish?
“Hablo español” — I speak Spanish. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.