A tense is a verb form that shows time. To make the present tense, take the verb’s dictionary form, remove its last two letters (-ar, -er or -ir) and add one of six endings, one for each person. That ending does the work of “I”, “you” or “we”, so Spanish usually leaves those words out.
The infinitive is the dictionary form, the “to” form in English (hablar, to speak). The stem is what is left when you remove -ar, -er or -ir.
Regular endings for -ar, -er and -ir verbs
Every Spanish verb belongs to one of three groups by its infinitive ending. Choose a group: the stem stays black, the ending turns red. -er and -ir share four of their six endings, so you really learn two and a half patterns.
In a sentence
Hablamos(we) speakinglésEnglishenatcasa.home
ah-BLAH-mohs een-GLES en KAH-sah“We speak English at home.”Why:The -amos ending means “we”, so nosotros is not needed. Languages take no capital letter.More verbs like this: trabajar (to work), estudiar (to study), comprar (to buy), llamar (to call)
Stem-changing verbs: the boot pattern
In many common verbs, the last vowel of the stem changes when it is stressed. The endings stay regular. The change happens in four of the six forms; only “we” and “you all” keep the original vowel, because their endings pull the stress away from the stem. Drawn on a table, the changed forms make the shape of a boot.
Querer (to want, to love): e becomes ie inside the boot. Nosotros and vosotros stay outside it.
e → ieThe most common change.
o → ueSecond most common.
e → iOnly -ir verbs.
Verbs with an irregular “I” form
A group of very common verbs is irregular only in the “I” form; the other five forms follow the normal pattern. Several of them add a g. Some, like tener and venir, combine a special “I” form with a stem change.
Verb
I…
you (tú)…
Example
hacerto do, make
hago
haces
Hago la cena. · I make dinner.
ponerto put
pongo
pones
Pongo la mesa. · I set the table.
salirto go out, leave
salgo
sales
Salgo a las ocho. · I leave at eight.
tenerto have
tengo
tienes
Tengo dos hermanos. · I have two brothers.
venirto come
vengo
vienes
Vengo mañana. · I’m coming tomorrow.
decirto say
digo
dices
Digo la verdad. · I’m telling the truth.
conocerto know (a person, place)
conozco
conoces
Conozco Madrid. · I know Madrid.
saberto know (a fact)
sé
sabes
No sé. · I don’t know.
Ser, estar and ir (to go) are irregular throughout: voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van. Ser and estar have their own lesson: ser and estar.
Four jobs the present tense does
The Spanish present covers more ground than the English one. One form, hablo, can mean “I speak”, “I am speaking”, “I do speak” and, with a time word, “I’ll speak”.
Habits and facts
Trabajo(I) worklosthelunes.Mondays
trah-BAH-hoh lohs LOO-nes“I work on Mondays.”Los lunes, “the Mondays”, means every Monday.
Happening now
¿Quéwhathaces?(you) do
keh AH-thes“What are you doing?”English needs “are doing”; Spanish uses the plain present. Estar + -ando also exists for emphasis.
The near future
Mañanatomorrowsalgo(I) leavetemprano.early
mah-NYAH-nah SAHL-goh tem-PRAH-noh“I’m leaving early tomorrow.”A time word like mañana turns the present into a plan.
How long so far
Vivo(I) liveaquíheredesdesince2020.2020
BEE-boh ah-KEE DES-deh dohs meel BEIN-teh“I’ve lived here since 2020.”English uses “have lived”; Spanish keeps the present because the situation is still true.
Tú, usted, and when to say “I”
Words like I, you and she are subject pronouns: they name who does the action. In Spanish they are optional, because the verb ending already says it. You add them for contrast or emphasis, or when “he”, “she” and “you” share a form and the context is unclear.
No pronoun: the normal case
Estudio(I) studymedicina.medicine
es-TOO-dyoh meh-dee-THEE-nah“I study medicine.”Adding yo here would sound heavy, like saying “I myself study medicine”.
With a pronoun: contrast
YoIestudiostudyyandellashetrabaja.works
yoh es-TOO-dyoh ee EH-yah trah-BAH-hah“I study and she works.”Two people are contrasted, so both pronouns are used.
Tú and usted
¿Ustedyou (polite)hablaspeaksinglés?English
oos-TEDH AH-blah een-GLES“Do you speak English?”Usted takes the “she” form, habla. Use it with strangers and at work; tú (hablas) with friends, family and children.
More than “now”: four uses of the present
The Spanish present covers more ground than English “I do”. It can mean “I am doing”, “I’m going to do” and even “shall I?”.
Habit
TrabajoI-worken un banco.in a bank
trah-BAH-hoh en oon BAN-koh · “I work in a bank.”Why:Regular, ongoing facts.
History
En 1492in 1492ColónColumbusllegaarrivesa América.to America
en meel kwah-troh-THYEN-tohs noh-BEN-tah ee DOHS koh-LON YEH-gah ah ah-MEH-ree-kah · “In 1492 Columbus reached America.”Why:History writing often tells past events in the present.
Instructions
Primerofirstcogesyou-takeel metro.the metro
pree-MEH-roh KOH-hes el MEH-troh · “First you take the metro.”Why:Directions and recipes use the present.
Offer
¿Teyouayudo?I-help
teh ah-YOO-doh · “Shall I help you?”Why:The present as a question = “shall I?”.
Vivo aquí desde 2019: present + desde / hace
For something that started in the past and is still going on, Spanish uses the present, where English uses “have been”.