Present Tense: Regular -ar Verbs

Present Tense: Regular -ar Verbs

In Spanish, verbs change their endings based on who is performing the action. Verbs in their basic, unconjugated form are called infinitives, and they end in -ar, -er, or -ir. Today, we'll focus on the most common type: regular -ar verbs.

There's a simple two-step pattern:

1. Find the stem: Start with the infinitive (e.g., hablar - to speak) and remove the -ar ending. What's left is the stem: habl-.

2. Add the correct ending: Add a new ending to the stem based on the subject (the person or thing doing the action).

Here are the endings for regular -ar verbs:

• yo (I) -> -o (hablo - I speak)
• tú (you, informal) -> -as (hablas - you speak)
• él/ella/usted (he/she/you, formal) -> -a (habla - he/she speaks)
• nosotros/nosotras (we) -> -amos (hablamos - we speak)
• vosotros/vosotras (you all, Spain) -> -áis (habláis - you all speak)
• ellos/ellas/ustedes (they/you all) -> -an (hablan - they speak)

Mastering this single pattern will allow you to correctly use a huge number of Spanish verbs!