The main rule
Take the infinitive (hablar, comer, vivir), remove -ar, -er or -ir, and add the ending of the person: -o, -as / -es, -a / -e, -amos / -emos / -imos, -áis / -éis / -ís, -an / -en. The ending already shows the subject, so yo, tú, él and the others are usually left out.
The forms: hablar, comer, vivir
| Person | hablar (-ar) | comer (-er) | vivir (-ir) |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablo | como | vivo |
| tú | hablas | comes | vives |
| él / ella / usted | habla | come | vive |
| nosotros / nosotras | hablamos | comemos | vivimos |
| vosotros / vosotras | habláis | coméis | vivís |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablan | comen | viven |
-er and -ir verbs differ in only two forms: comemos but vivimos, coméis but vivís. Everything else is identical. Only the vosotros form has a written accent (habláis, coméis, vivís, leéis); the other five forms never do. A noun subject takes the same form as the pronoun it replaces: mi madre trabaja (like ella), mis padres viven (like ellos).
English has just one ending in the present, the -s of he speaks, and the verb is the base form for everyone else (I speak, we speak, they speak). That is why English needs I, you, he and we: the verb alone does not say who acts. Spanish has six different forms, so it can drop the pronoun. The same difference means that English do and does have no Spanish counterpart: you do not say do speak, you simply say hablo or no hablo. English speakers also tend to reuse one form for every person (*nosotros habla), but Spanish needs hablamos.
Examples
- Hablo inglés y español. I speak English and Spanish.
- Mi madre trabaja en un banco. My mother works in a bank.
- Comemos pan y queso en el desayuno. We eat bread and cheese for breakfast.
- Mis padres viven en Lima. My parents live in Lima.
- No bebo café por la noche. I don't drink coffee at night.
- ¿Vives en Madrid? Do you live in Madrid?
- Escribimos cartas a una amiga. We write letters to a friend.
- Pablo estudia inglés por la tarde. Pablo studies English in the afternoon.
- ¿Habla usted inglés? Do you speak English?
- Vosotros leéis muchos libros. You read a lot of books. (Spain, to several people)
Leaving out the subject
In Spanish the subject pronoun is normally omitted: Vivo en Lima is more usual than Yo vivo en Lima. The pronoun comes in when you want to stress or contrast: Yo trabajo en casa, pero ella trabaja en una tienda. Adding the pronoun is never wrong, only less natural. Habla, vive and come can mean él, ella or usted, so the context or a name decides: Ana estudia, but ¿Estudia usted? in a question to someone you address formally.
Negatives and yes/no questions
For a negative, put no directly before the verb: No como carne. Mis padres no viven aquí. There is no helper verb like do or does, and no goes before the verb, never after it.
A yes/no question has the same words as a statement; the voice rises at the end and the written question is framed by ¿...?: ¿Vives en Lima? ¿Trabajan ellos hoy? The subject may follow the verb (¿Habla usted inglés?) or be left out. Short answers repeat the verb: Sí, vivo en Lima. / No, no vivo en Lima.
Vosotros in Spain, ustedes everywhere
To address several people, people in Spain use vosotros (habláis, coméis, vivís) with friends and family, and ustedes (hablan, comen, viven) in formal situations. In Latin America and the Canary Islands, ustedes is the only plural you, also among friends. If you are not sure, use ustedes; everyone understands it. Remember the accent whenever you do write vosotros forms.
Common mistakes
Yo no hago hablar español.Yo no hablo español. There is no do or does; the conjugated verb stands alone after no.Hablo no español.No hablo español. No goes before the verb.Nosotros habla español.Nosotros hablamos español. Every person has its own ending, not only the third.Mis padres vive en Lima.Mis padres viven en Lima. A plural noun subject takes the -n form, like ellos.Vosotros vivis aquí.Vosotros vivís aquí. The vosotros form has a written accent.Nosotros vivemos en Lima.Nosotros vivimos en Lima. -ir verbs have -imos, only -er verbs have -emos.¿Haces tú vives en Madrid?¿Vives en Madrid? No helper verb: the question is the statement with ¿...? and rising intonation.Yo comer pan.Yo como pan. The infinitive must be replaced by a conjugated form.
Questions and answers
How do you conjugate regular verbs in the Spanish present tense?
Remove -ar, -er or -ir from the infinitive and add the ending of the person. For hablar: hablo, hablas, habla, hablamos, habláis, hablan. Comer and vivir follow the same pattern with -er and -ir endings.
What is the difference between -er and -ir verbs in the present?
Only two forms: nosotros (comemos / vivimos) and vosotros (coméis / vivís). The other four forms are identical.
Do I have to say yo, tú, él in Spanish?
No. The ending shows the person, so the pronoun is usually omitted. You add it for emphasis or contrast, and it is never an error.
How do I make a negative sentence or a question in Spanish without do and does?
Put no before the verb: No como carne. For a yes/no question keep the statement and add ¿...? with rising intonation: ¿Vives en Lima?
Why does habláis have an accent?
The vosotros forms of -ar, -er and -ir verbs are stressed on the ending, and the written accent marks that stress: habláis, coméis, vivís. No other present form of a regular verb has one.
Should I use vosotros or ustedes?
Vosotros is used only in Spain, among friends and family. Ustedes is the plural you everywhere, and the only one in Latin America, so it is the safe choice.