Learning Spanish Grammar: Present Tense
Introduction
In Spanish grammar, the present tense is used to talk about actions that are happening now or routinely happen. It is important to understand how to conjugate regular verbs in the present tense to properly communicate in Spanish.
Regular Verb Conjugation
Regular verbs in Spanish are categorized into three groups: -ar, -er, and -ir verbs. The present tense conjugation patterns for each group are as follows:
- -ar verbs:
- Yo (I) -o
- Tú (You) -as
- Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You formal) -a
- Nosotros/Nosotras (We) -amos
- Vosotros/Vosotras (You all) -áis
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes (They/You all formal) -an
- -er verbs:
- Yo -o
- Tú -es
- Él/Ella/Usted -e
- Nosotros/Nosotras -emos
- Vosotros/Vosotras -éis
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes -en
- -ir verbs:
- Yo -o
- Tú -es
- Él/Ella/Usted -e
- Nosotros/Nosotras -imos
- Vosotros/Vosotras -ís
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes -en
Practice
Now, let's practice conjugating regular verbs in the present tense.
Exercise:
1. Claudia pone los libros en la clase. Nosotros ____________________ los libros en la clase. Yo ____________________ los libros en la clase.
Fill in the blanks with the correct present tense form of the verb:
Answer: Nosotros "ponemos" los libros en la clase. Yo "pongo" los libros en la clase.