Grammar – Verbs
The endings attached to the stem of a verb hold a lot of information: who does the action,
when it takes place, and the attitude or perception of the speaker.
Present Indicative: The mood expresses the attitude of the speaker. The indicative mood
indicates that these actions are perceived as a fact or a reality e.g. I sell; you leave.
To form the present tense, drop the –ar, -er, or –ir from the root of the infinitive and add
the ending that corresponds to the subject.
Hablar: hablo, hablas, habla, hablamos, habláis; hablan
Comer: como, comes, come, comemos, coméis, comen
Vivir: vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, vivís, viven
The present tense is used to describe:
An action that is happening now. Often, it is translated with the –ing form in English
e.g. Como – I am eating
An action which takes place regularly, in a habitual way, although the actions may
not be occurring in the present. Expressions of time are often used to indicate that
these actions take place routinely in the present e.g. Normalmente, compro las
frutas en el supermercado – Normally, I buy fruits in the supermarket.
(Sometimes) used to describe events that will take place in the near future. A
reference to the future may appear in the context or sentence. E.g. este verano,
viajo a Alemania – I will travel to Germany this summer.
To ask questions, especially questions requesting permission or someone’s opinion
or preference e.g. ¿Bebes café o té? – Do you drink coffee or tea, ¿Compramos la
casa? – Do we buy the house?
The auxiliary verb do in English is not translated. In Spanish, an auxiliary verb is not
needed to ask a question.
To tell facts considered unquestionable or universal truths e.g. Cinco más quince son
veinte – five plus fifteen is twenty
To describe a past event, making it more vivid. This is called the historical present.
E.g. En 1969 el primer hombre llega a la luna – The first man gets to the moon in
1969.
To refer to possible consequences from an action that took place in the past with
casi… (almost) and por poco… (nearly). E.g. Sacó la pistol y casi me mata – He drew
the gun and nearly killed (kills) me.
The present tense is used to express actions that began in the past and continue in
the present with the construction hace + expression of time + que + verb in the
present tense e.g. Hace tres años que esperamos una respuesta – We have been
waiting for an answer for three years
Note: the formal form of ‘you’, usted or ustedes takes the 3rd person endings.
There are two other expressions which carry the same meaning:
Verb in the present tense + hace + expression of time e.g. Esperamos una repuesta
hace tres años – We have been waiting for an answer for three years
Verb in the present tense + desde hace + expression of time e.g. Esperamos una
repuesta desde hace tres años – We have been waiting for an answer for three years.
, For example, these three questions have the same meanings:
¿Cuánto tiempo hace que observas las estrellas?
¿Desde hace cuánto tiempo observas las estrellas?
¿Desde cuándo observas las estrellas? How long have you been watching the stars?
There are some irregular verbs which are irregular in the first-person singular only; all other
forms in the present are regular: Some have a g in the first person singular only; some
infinitives ending in –cer/-cir have irregular 1st person singular forms with z.
Caber – to fit – quepo; Caer – to fall – caigo; Dar – to give – doy;
Estar – to be - estoy; Hacer – to do – hago Poner – to put – pongo
Saber – to know – sé Salir – to leave – salgo Traer – to bring – traigo
Valer – to be worth – valgo Ver – to see – veo
In the present tense, certain verbs have spelling changes. These are determined by Spanish
rules of pronuniciation to preserve the sound appearing in the infinitive. The following
groups of vebrbs have spelling changes before the verb ending in –o, in the yo form only.
Verbs ending in –ger or –gir change g to j before the –o ending e.g. exijo
Verbs ending in –guir change gu to g before the –o ending. E.g. distingo
Verbs ending in –cer and –cir change c to z before the o ending e.g. convenzo, ejercer,
vencer, elegir, torcer or to cz like conocer. E.g. conozco muy bien a Margo – I know Margo
very well.
-Er verbs like conocer: agradecer – to thank, be grateful; aparecer – to appear
complacer – to please; crecer – to grow; establecer – to establish;
merecer – to deserve; ofrecer – to offer; padecer - to suffer;
permanecer – to remain; pertenecer – to belong; reconocer – to recognize
-Ir verbs like traducer: traducir – to translate; conducir – to drive;
producir – to produce; e.g. produzco
The compounds of these verbs are also irregular in the yo form only; they add the
consonant g between the radical and the verb ending. Compounds are easy to spot as they
have a prefix (des-, dis-, com-, con- etc.) preceding the radical. Here is a list of frequently
used compounds of hacer, poner, and traer.
Componer – to compose – compongo Proponer – to propose – propongo
Deshacer – to undo – deshago Rehacer – to remake – rehago
Disponer – to arrange – dispongo Reponer – to replace – repongo
Distraer(se) – to distract – distraigo Suponer – to suppose - supongo
Irregular verbs:
Decir – to say; digo, dices, dice, decimos, decís, dicen
Ir – to go; voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van
Oír – to hear; oigo, oyes, oye, oímos, oís, oyen
Ser – to be; soy, eres, es, somos, sois, son
Tener – to have; tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tenéis, tienen
Venir – to come; vengo, vienes, viene, venimos, venís, vienen
Haber – to have (sort of) he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han
, However, haber is more frequently used as an impersonal verb in the third-person singular
form. The present tense form is hay. It means there is and there are
Compounds of tener have the same irregular forms:
Contener – to contain; detener – to detain; mantener – to maintain
obtener – to obtain; returner – to retain; sustener – to sustain
Reflexive Verbs: The reflexive pronoun is placed before the verb. In the infinitive form the
reflexive pronoun is added to the end. Reflexive verbs are actions that you do to oneself
Example: to get (oneself) up
Levantarse
Me levanto
Te levantas
Se levanta
Nos levantamos
Os levantáis
Se levantan
The reflexive pronoun goes on the end of the infinitive: levantarse or in front of the
conjugated verb: me levanto.
Note; many reflexive verbs are also stem changing verbs
A reflexive verb is required when:
a) Where English would also use ‘myself’: I hurt myself – me lastimé. Describing actions
related to personal care and hbitual routines.
b) Where English would use the Word ‘get’: to get dressed – to dress yourself – vestirse
c) Where English would say ‘each other’: they hate each other – se odian
d) Where in English you would use the passive: it is recognised that – it recognises itself
that – se reconoce que
e) There are some verbs you just have to remember are reflexive in Spanish: to stay –
quedarse
f) To express feelings and emotions or changes in conditions, modos, and emotional
states.
Some verbs change meanings between the reflexive and non reflexive forms
Acercar – to bring near acercarse – to get closer
Acordar – to agree acordarse – to remember
Colocar – to place colocarse – to get a job
Enfermar – to make ill/sick enfermarse – to become ill, to get sick
Llevar – to take llevarse con – to get along with
Negar – to deny negarse – to refuse
Parecer – to appear parecerse a – to look like (someone)
Volver – to return volverse – to become
As a rule, reflexive pronouns precede the conjugated forms of verbs. The pronouns may also
be attached to the end of the present particle. Both constructions that follow are equally
common, note, the same rules apply to direct or indirect object pronouns:
El gato no está despertándose – The cat is not waking up
El gato no se está despertando - The cat is not waking up
