Unit 1 Study Guide- EL PRESENTE
Regular AR, ER, IR Verbs
- these verbs require no extra steps when conjugating.
- Simply follow these 3 steps and you should get them right.
1. Drop the AR, ER, IR ending.
Ejemplo: bailar bail
2. Find the ending matching the given subject.
Ejemplo: Nosotros ____________________ cada día en la clase.
AR Endings
(I) yo- o
(we) nosotros- amos
(you, informal) tú- as
(you all, informal) vosotros- áis
(he, she, you, formal) él, ella, Usted-a
(they, m., they, f., you all formal) ellos, ellas, Ustedes- an
ER Endings
(I) yo- o
(we) nosotros- emos
(you, informal) tú- es
(you all, informal) vosotros- éis
(he, she, you, formal) él, ella, Usted-e
(they, m., they, f., you all formal) ellos, ellas, Ustedes- en
IR Endings
(I) yo- o
(we) nosotros- imos
(you, informal) tú- es
(you all, informal) vosotros- ís
(he, she, you, formal) él, ella, Usted-e
(they, m., they, f., you all formal) ellos, ellas, Ustedes- en
3. Combine step 1 and step 2
Ejemplo: bail+amos= bailamos
The meaning you will get will be a culmination of the verb in the infinitive meaning and the subject. In this
sentence nosotros= we. bailar = to dance, bailamos then means we dance.
This is called conjugation. We do this is English all the time and do not realize it. Here, an example is seen:
HERE  We is the subject and to do is the verb in its infinitive form. 
Some issues you may run into concerning conjugation
1. The subject of the sentence may or may not be specifically stated as a pronoun. In this case, you must
revert back to English to figure out the pronoun. What would you say in English that is equivalent to the
boys? When in doubt decide if the subject is singular or plural, and masculine or feminine and pick the
corresponding pronoun.
Ejemplo: Los niños the boys they= ellos
2. There may be two pronouns put together instead of just one.
Ejemplo: Tú y yo you (informal) and I we= nosotros
y yo  nosotros
y tú  vosotros
y Ud. Ustedes
3. USTEDES means YOU ALL FORMAL! USTED means YOU FORMAL!
4. ELLOS/ ELLAS means THEY!
Irregular AR, ER, and IR Verbs
There are several types of irregularities that occur in the present tense.
-
irregular yo verbs
Types: yo- go, oy- yo, -zco, yo-jo, -guir verbs, and totally irregular yo
-irregular: estar, ir, ser, oír, oler, tener, venir
-stem changing verbs:
Types: ei, eie, oue, uue
You have a chart with a list of all these verbs.
Here are a few quick tips:
1. Yo-go verbs are simply verbs that take on –go as an ending instead of the regular –o only.
Ejemplo: poner- yo ≠ pono, poner- yo = pongo 
**REMEMBER- caer and traer get the letter -i- added to their yo forms. Ejemplo: caer caigo, traer
traigo**
2. The same applies for –guir (verbs ending in -guir), oy-yo, -zco, and yo-jo verbs except you replace the
regular–o with the appropriate ending.
Ejemplo de guir verbs: yo-distinguir ≠ distinguo, yo-distinguir = distingo
Ejemplo de oy-yo: yo-dar ≠ do, yo-dar = doy
Ejemplo de –zco(verbs ending in –cir/-cer with exception of decir and hacer (yo-go’s)
: yo-conocer ≠ conoco, yo-conocer = conozco
Ejemplo de yo-jo: yo-escoger ≠ escogo, yo-escoger = ecojo
3. The totally irregular yo verbs are different, but it’s important to remember that they are only
irregular in the yo form.
Ejemplo: saber sé, caber quepo, ver veo
saber- to know (facts, something)
sé
sabemos
sabes
sabéis
sabe saben
cabe
caber- to fit
quepo
cabemos
cabes
cabéis
caben
ve
ver- to see
veo vemos
ves
veis
ven
4. There are several verbs in the present tense that are totally irregular in all forms. You simply have to
memorize the forms.
Los verbos irregulares: ir, estar, ser, oler, and oír
ir
voy
vas
va
vamos
vais
van
estar
ser
oler
estoy estamos soy somos huelo olemos
estás
estáis
eres sois hueles oléis
está
están
es
son huele huelen
oír
oigo oímos
oyes oís
oye
oyen
5. There are some verbs that stem change and have an irregular yo form. These are verbs such as tener
and venir.
tener
tengo
tienes
tiene
tenemos
tenéis
tienen
venir
vengo
vienes
viene
venimos
venís
vienen
6. The last thing that will probably trip you up in the present tense is a stem changing verb.
There are a lot of them but thankfully, there is a trick to remembering which type each verb is. You
do have to memorize which verbs stem change.
(IR VERBS ONLY)
(AR, ER, IR VERBS) (AR, ER, IR VERBS) (1 AR VERB)
ei
eie
oue
uue
-pedir
-tener (yo-go)
-almorzar
-jugar
-servir
-venir (yo-go)
-morir
-vestirse (reflexive)
-cerrar
-dormir
-repetir
-entender
-mover
-decir (yo-go)
-preferir
-aprobar
-elegir (yo-jo)
-sentarse (reflexive)
-volver
-seguir (-uir verb)
-sentirse (reflexive)
-colgar
-sonreír
-mentir
-mostrar
-encender
-volar
-perder
-encontrar
-pensar
-morder
-empezar
-sonar
-advertir
-hervir
-consentir
-convertir