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Spanish has one present tense where English has several forms: trabajo means “I work” and “I am working”, ¿trabajas? “do you work?”, and no trabajo “I don't work”. Each person has its own ending, so a verb is learnt with its six forms, in the order yo, tú, él / ella, nosotros, vosotros, ellos / ellas. Regular verbs fall into three conjugations according to the ending of the infinitive, -ar, -er and -ir; ser, estar, ir, tener, querer and hacer have forms of their own.
The present indicative#
Formation
The present is formed from the stem, the infinitive without -ar, -er or -ir, followed by the ending of the person. The first person singular ends in -o in all three conjugations; in the other persons, the vowel of the ending is a for verbs in -ar and e for verbs in -er and -ir.
| Person | hablar (to speak) | comer (to eat) | vivir (to live) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Verbs in -er and -ir. They have the same endings, except in the first and second persons plural: comemos, coméis, but vivimos, vivís. Conjugated like hablar: trabajar, estudiar, cantar, bailar, cocinar, comprar, escuchar, llegar; like comer: beber, aprender, leer, correr; like vivir: escribir, abrir, recibir.
The written accent. The forms of vosotros take a written accent: habláis, coméis, vivís. The other forms are stressed on the second-to-last syllable, with no written accent: hablo, comen, viven.
Ser, estar and ir. These three very frequent verbs have forms of their own in every person. Ser and estar are presented in “Ser and estar: the two Spanish verbs for be”. Ir (“to go”) is conjugated voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van; the place you go to is introduced by a (Voy a Madrid, Vamos al cine), and the means of transport by en (ir en tren, en coche, en autobús), except in ir a pie (“to go on foot”).
| ir | |
|---|---|
| yo | voy |
| tú | vas |
| él/ella | va |
| nosotros | vamos |
| vosotros | vais |
| ellos/ellas | van |
Tener and querer. Tener (“to have”) has a first person of its own, tengo. In the other persons singular and in the third person plural, the stressed e of the stem becomes ie: tienes, tiene, tienen; in the first and second persons plural, the stem stays ten-: tenemos, tenéis. Querer (“to want”) changes in the same way: quiero, quieres, quiere, quieren, but queremos, queréis. Tener expresses possession, age (tener … años) and hunger (tener hambre, “to be hungry”), where English uses “to be”; querer is followed by a noun (Quiero un café) or by an infinitive (“The infinitive: quiero comer, para viajar, estudiar es fácil”).
| tener | querer | |
|---|---|---|
| yo | tengo | quiero |
| tú | tienes | quieres |
| él/ella | tiene | quiere |
| nosotros | tenemos | queremos |
| vosotros | tenéis | queréis |
| ellos/ellas | tienen | quieren |
Hacer. Hacer has one form of its own, the first person hago; the others follow the model of comer: haces, hace, hacemos, hacéis, hacen. It covers both English “to do” and “to make”: hacer los deberes (“to do your homework”), hacer la cama (“to make the bed”), hacer deporte (“to do sport”). In Spain, a photo is “made” too: hacer una foto (“to take a photo”). It is never an auxiliary: a question or a negative is formed without it.
| hacer | |
|---|---|
| yo | hago |
| tú | haces |
| él/ella | hace |
| nosotros | hacemos |
| vosotros | hacéis |
| ellos/ellas | hacen |
Hay. Hay (“there is”, “there are”) is the impersonal present form of haber; it does not change with number or person. Its use is explained in “Hay or estar: hay un banco, el banco está aquí”.
Use
The present expresses what is happening at the moment of speaking, what lasts (a job, a place of residence, a taste) and what is repeated, like a habit. It translates both the English simple present and the present continuous: ¿Qué haces ahora? is “What are you doing now?”.
- Mi madre trabaja en una tienda de ropa.My mother works in a clothes shop.
- ¿Coméis en casa los domingos?Do you eat at home on Sundays?
- Mis hermanos viven en un piso pequeño.My brothers live in a small flat.
- Tengo dos perros y un gato.I have two dogs and a cat.
- Los sábados vamos al supermercado en autobús.On Saturdays we go to the supermarket by bus.
- ¿Qué haces ahora? — Escribo una carta.What are you doing now? — I'm writing a letter.
Difference from English
In English, only the third person singular has an ending of its own (“he speaks”), and the pronoun shows the person. In Spanish, each ending is heard: hablo, hablas, habla, hablan. One Spanish form does the work of three English ones: escribo is “I write” and “I am writing”, and the question ¿Escribes? and the negative No escribo need no “do”. “I am hungry” is said with tener: Tengo hambre.
Common mistakes
Nosotros vivemos en Lima.→ Nosotros vivimos en Lima.In the first person plural, verbs in -ir take -imos.¿Hablais inglés?→ ¿Habláis inglés?The vosotros form takes a written accent.Yo teno un coche.→ Yo tengo un coche.The first person of tener is tengo.Quieremos un café.→ Queremos un café.In the first person plural, the stem of querer stays quer-.Estoy hambre.→ Tengo hambre.“To be hungry” is tener hambre.Yo hace los deberes.→ Yo hago los deberes.The first person of hacer is hago.
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Reflexive verbs: me llamo, me levanto#
Formation
A reflexive verb is conjugated with a reflexive pronoun of the same person as the subject: me, te, se, nos, os, se. The pronoun is placed before the conjugated verb; in the infinitive, se is attached to the end of the verb: llamarse, levantarse, quedarse. The pronoun se serves for both the third person singular and the third person plural, and for usted and ustedes.
| llamarse | levantarse | |
|---|---|---|
| yo | me llamo | me levanto |
| tú | te llamas | te levantas |
| él/ella | se llama | se levanta |
| nosotros | nos llamamos | nos levantamos |
| vosotros | os llamáis | os levantáis |
| ellos/ellas | se llaman | se levantan |
The negative no comes before the pronoun: No me llamo Pedro Ruiz. Reflexive verbs follow the regular models: bañarse (me baño), ducharse (te duchas), relajarse (nos relajamos), quedarse (os quedáis).
Use
The reflexive pronoun shows that the action falls on the subject itself, as in “I wash myself”: me baño, se ducha. Many verbs that are reflexive in Spanish are not in English: levantarse is “to get up”, quedarse “to stay”, llamarse “to be called”. Where English says “My name is Elena”, Spanish says, word for word, “I call myself Elena”: Me llamo Elena. The question is formed with cómo (“how”): “What's your name?” is ¿Cómo te llamas?
- ¿Cómo se llama tu profesora?What is your teacher's name?
- Los domingos me levanto tarde.On Sundays I get up late.
- Mis hijos se bañan por la noche.My children have their bath in the evening.
- Hoy nos quedamos en casa.Today we're staying at home.
Difference from English
English marks a reflexive action with “myself”, “yourself” after the verb, and often not at all: “I get up”, “she showers”. In Spanish, the pronoun is required and comes before the conjugated verb: me levanto, se ducha. Without it, the verb changes its meaning: levanto is “I lift”, llamo “I call”. The pronoun of nosotros is nos and that of vosotros is os: nos levantamos, os levantáis.
Common mistakes
Yo llamo Pedro.→ Me llamo Pedro.Llamarse takes the reflexive pronoun; without it, llamo means “I call”.Levanto a las siete.→ Me levanto a las siete.“To get up” is levantarse; without me, levanto means “I lift”.Me quedo a casa.→ Me quedo en casa.The place where you are is introduced by en, even where English says “at”.Vosotros se levantáis.→ Vosotros os levantáis.The reflexive pronoun of vosotros is os.
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The direct object: compro pan; sí, tengo#
Formation
A direct object that refers to a thing is placed after the verb, without a preposition, as in English: Compro pan, Leo el periódico, Escribo un mensaje. After hablar, the name of a language is used without an article: Hablo inglés.
The short answer. When the question is about a noun without an article, after tener or after hay, the answer repeats the verb alone, without a pronoun: ¿Tienes hermanos? — Sí, tengo.; ¿Hay fruta en la cocina? — No, no hay. At A1, the thing is not taken up by an object pronoun. With a number, the answer repeats the number: ¿Tienes hermanos? — Sí, tengo dos.; with “a” or “one”, it uses uno or una: Sí, tengo uno.
- Mi madre compra fruta en el supermercado.My mother buys fruit at the supermarket.
- ¿Lees el periódico?Do you read the newspaper?
- ¿Tienes hermanos en Madrid? — No, no tengo.Do you have any brothers or sisters in Madrid? — No, I don't.
- ¿Hay café en casa? — Sí, hay.Is there any coffee at home? — Yes, there is.
Difference from English
An English short answer takes up the auxiliary: “Do you have a car? — Yes, I do.” Spanish has no auxiliary to take up: the answer repeats the verb of the question, Sí, tengo, or Sí, hay. English “any” and “some” before a noun have no equivalent here: “Do you have any brothers?” is ¿Tienes hermanos? “One”, said alone, is uno or una: Sí, tengo uno; un is used only before a masculine noun.
Common mistakes
¿Tienes perro? — Sí, hago.→ ¿Tienes perro? — Sí, tengo.Hacer is not an auxiliary; the answer repeats the verb of the question.¿Tienes coche? — Sí, tengo un.→ ¿Tienes coche? — Sí, tengo uno.Without a noun after it, “one” is uno.
→ See also: The direct object: lo, la, los, las, me, te, nos, os (A2)
In short
| Point | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| verbs in -ar | -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an | hablo, habláis |
| verbs in -er | -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en | como, coméis |
| verbs in -ir | -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en | vivo, vivimos |
| one present | “I work” and “I am working” | Trabajo. |
| tener, querer | e → ie, except nosotros and vosotros; tengo | tienes, quiere, queremos |
| tener for “to be” | age, hunger | Tengo veinte años. Tengo hambre. |
| ir | voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van; ir a + place | Voy a Lima. |
| hacer | hago, then regular | hago, haces |
| reflexive verbs | me, te, se, nos, os, se + verb | me levanto, os quedáis |
| direct object | after the verb, no preposition | Compro pan. |
| short answer | the verb alone | Sí, tengo. Sí, hay. |
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