LOS VERBOS
Verbs in Spanish:
For beginning students of Spanish, verbs are the key to communication. It is important
to learn the basic rules and patterns, including any prepositions that follow the verb,
from the very beginning of language study. Verbs are divided first into moods
(indicative, infinitive, subjunctive, imperative). Each mood includes various tenses
(present, past, etc.) Most students and many introductory texts only identify two
moods, the indicative and the subjunctive. In this course, you will only encounter the
present indicative. For example, “I read” is in the present indicative, as is “Jack throws
(the ball).”
In addition to moods, verbs are also categorized as either regular (they follow a
standard pattern when conjugating) or irregular (they do not follow a standard pattern
when conjugating). In English, to be is an irregular verb and to walk is a regular verb.
However, regular verbs in Spanish are more highly inflected than in English. In other
words, they change forms each time you change person (first, second and third) and
number (singular or plural). The chart below illustrates the differences in regular
verbs.
HABLAR
TO SPEAK
(N.B. The ar ending on the infinitive in Spanish is
the equivalent of “to” in the English infinitive.
Always learn the infinitive when you learn a verb.
You will need to be able to determine the
infinitive in order to look it up in the dictionary.)
(N.B. This is the infinitive. It is the equivalent in
English of hablar.)
1
(yo) hablo
(nosotros) hablamos
1
I speak
we speak
2
(tú) hablas
(vosotros) habláis
2
you speak
you speak
3
he speakS
she speakS
they speak
(familiar form of address)
(familiar form of address,
used in Spain, not LA)
3
(ellos) hablan
(ellas) hablan
(Ustedes) hablan
(él) habla
(ella) habla
(Usted) habla
(N.B. The verb in
Spanish changes in
each person in both
singular & plural.)
(used in LA for both
familiar and polite, plural)
(N.B. This is the only
place where a regular
English verb changes.)
You will also notice in the chart above that the second person singular and plural forms
of the verb are listed as familiar form of address. In Spanish, as in many other
languages, one uses the familiar when speaking with friends, family, animals, and
children (whether you know them or not). One uses the polite (Usted or Ustedes) form
when addressing people one does not know, one’s superiors at work or professors, or
anyone in a position that requires an extra measure of respect (an elected official, a
priest, etc.) As a non-native speaker of Spanish, it is always preferable to be perceived
as overly polite instead of rude and insulting. Since English-speakers do not make
these distinctions, it is important to be sensitive to possible inappropriate uses of the
familiar form of address. Customs vary widely in the hispanophone world; therefore, it
is best to let the native speakers take the lead in deciding whether it is tú/vosotros OR
Usted/Ustedes.
To complicate matters even further, verbs in Spanish are divided into
First conjugation: those with infinitives ending in –AR (e.g., hablar, to speak)
Second conjugation: those with infinitives ending in –ER (e.g., aprender, to
learn)
Third conjugation: those with infinitives ending in –IR (vivir, to live)
Stem changing: these are verbs that can belong to either of the three
“conjugation categories” and that have a spelling change in the stem in some
tenses, particularly the present indicative. The stem is the part of the verb left
after dropping the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, or –ir). An example is pensar (to
think) which changes the e of the stem (pens-) to ie in the first, second, and
third person singular and in the third person plural: pienso (I think).
Other things to remember about verbs (and subject pronouns) in Spanish:
The familiar tú of the second person singular and is traditionally used with
people one knows well and with inferiors. Non-native speakers must be careful
with its usage so as not to encourage negative stereotypes of “Anglos” who look
down on Latinos as inferiors who should be sent back to their country of origin.
This usage has been customary for centuries.
Vosotros (and vosotras for groups that are “feminine” in gender) appeared first
in the thirteenth century as a result of the linguistic confusion resulting from
the use of another familiar form (vos) which, although originally singular in
number, had begun to be used indiscriminately for both singular and plural.
The vos as a singular familiar form of the verb is found in a number of Latin
American countries and is a continuation of a speech form brought over during
the Conquest of the Americas by Spain. In the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries, vos was common in rural areas and among soldiers, hence its
appearance and persistence in the Americas. Vosotros/Vosotras is now used
only in Spain.
The Usted/Ustedes forms began to appear in common usage in the fifteenth
century in Spain due to the decline in usage of vos as a form of respect. From
the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries, vos was a term of respect. It is used
interchangeably for the next two centuries, and by the eighteenth century it
had dropped out of usage in Spain, persisting only in some regions in the
Americas as a familiar form of address. Usted is derived from Vuestra Merced
(Your Grace), which came into more common usage in the fourteenth century
to eliminate the confusion surrounding the use of vos. Eventually the “v” was
lost, leaving Usted and ultimately Ud. as the abbreviation (singular) and
Ustedes/Uds. for the plural. The abbreviations Vd./Vds., however, can still be
found in older texts and in materials printed in Spain.
Because the verb endings in the first and second person plural indicate whether
the subject pronoun is I, we, or you, subject pronouns are not often used in
Spanish. When they are used, it is generally for emphasis. However, confusion
may occur in the third person singular and plural, thus making the use of
subject pronouns more common, especially if the context is not clear.
The present indicative in Spanish can be rendered in three different ways in
English.
(yo) hablo = I speak, I do speak, I am speaking
(tú) estudias = you study, you do study, you are studying
In English, we need “do” in order to ask a question: Do you study Spanish? In
Spanish this extra verb is unnecessary. Rising inflection in the voice lets the
listener know that a question is being asked: ¿Estudias español? (N.B. Later in
your study of Spanish, but not in this course, you will learn about the present
progressive tense which can also be rendered in English as “I am
speaking/studying.” However, the progressive is only used to express an action
or idea that is in progress when an individual is speaking. In other words, it
conveys the idea of “right now”→ Estás estudiando = You are studying (right
now, at this moment).
Reflexive verbs in Spanish can be recognized because they always have the third
person flexive pronoun se attached to the end of the infinitive: llamarse (to be
called: me llamo = I am called OR in spoken English ► My name is …),
divertirse (to have a good time, enjoy oneself), levantarse (to stand up, to get
up), sentarse (to sit down), ponerse (to put on clothing), quitarse (to take off
clothing) dormirse (to fall asleep). Some of these also fall in the category of
“stem changing” verbs, those that have a spelling change in the stem of the
infinitive.
Me siento = I sit down (the “e” in the infinitive stem, sent-, changes to
“ie” in all singular forms and in all forms of the third person plural.
Although the spelling changes may differ depending upon the verb, this
is the conjugation pattern for all stem changing verbs in the present
indicative.
Other stem changing verbs in the list are:
Divertirse ► divert- is the stem (drop the pronoun “se” and the
infinitive ending, -ir). The vowel in the stem is “e” and it will change to
“ie” in all singular forms and the third person plural forms of the present
indicative. For example: Juan se divierte mucho (Juan is have a very
good time; enjoying himself a lot).
Sentarse ► sent- is the stem; the “e” of the stem changes to “ie” when
conjugating the verb in the present indicative. Juan se sienta (Juan sits
down).
Dormirse ► dorm- is the stem; the “o” of the stem changes to “ue”
when conjugating the verb in the present indicative. Juan se duerme
(Juan falls asleep).
A final word about reflexive verbs: When conjugating the verb, the
correct reflexive pronoun must be used, i.e. the one that agrees with the verb,
just as the correct subject pronoun must be used. For example, levantarse
becomes
(yo) me levanto
(nosotros/nosotras) nos levantamos
(tú) te levantas
(vosotros/vosotras) os levantáis
él, ella, Usted se levanta
ellos, ellas, Ustedes se levantan
Verbs with an irregular form in the first person singular (yo-I)
Some verbs like “poner” (to put, to place) have an irregular form in the first
person singular and then follow the rules for conjugating regular verbs when
you come to second and third person singular and all forms of the plural.
Fortunately, there is a pattern for the majority of these verbs because the first
person singular form will end in “go” → pongo. For example, “pongo el libro
en la mesa.” (I put the book on the table.) Notice that “poner” can also be used
as a reflexive verb, but the meaning changes. This is true of many verbs in
Spanish.
Ejemplos de verbos regulares
Hablar → See page 1.
Comer [to eat] (drop the infinitive ending, -er, and add the appropriate
endings. See below.)
(yo) como
(tú) comes
(él , ella, Ud.) come
(nosotros/nosotras) comemos
(vosotros, vosotras) coméis
(ellos, ellas, Uds.) comen
Vivir [to live] (drop the infinitive ending, -ir, and add the appropriate
endings. See below.)
yo) vivo
(tú) vives
(él, ella, Ud.) vive
(nosotros/nosotras) vivimos
(vosotros/vosotras) vivís
(ellos, ellas, Uds.) viven
¡OJO! (N.B.) Notice that there are commonalities among the endings for
these three conjugations. For example,
the “O” always indicates first person singular (I, in English),
the “S” indicates second person singular/familiar (you, in English),
the single vowel by itself (“A” or “E”) indicates third person singular,
the “MOS” indicates first person plural (we, in English)
the “IS” indicates second person plural/familiar (you all, in English)
the final “N” preceded by a vowel (either “A” or “E”) indicates third
person plural (they for ellos/ellas and you all for Uds.).
VERBS ARE VERY IMPORTANT IN SPANISH. THESE
NOTES REPRESENT ONLY A BRIEF INTRODUCTION. A
GOOD VERB REFERENCE BOOK, 501 VERBS, IS HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED AND IT IS AVAILABLE IN MOST
BOOKSTORES (BARNES & NOBLE, BORDERS, ETC.).