Video:Intro to Spanish Conjugation in the Present Tense

Transcript:Intro to Spanish Conjugation in the Present Tense

Hola, I'm Milo for About.com and today we're talking about the present tense in Spanish.

Spanish Has More Conjugations Than English

Spanish has more conjugations than English so it can seem a little daunting. The truth is that with a little practice you'll soon be speaking with confidence. It helps to work on internalizing some patterns. Here are some basic patterns for the present tense.

Verbs in Spanish generally end in ar, er, or ir. Most verbs are regular verbs, verbs that follow the same pattern for conjugation. In English we have First person: I, Second person: you, Third person: he, she, it. These voices can be singular or plural (we, you, they).

Examples of English and Spanish Conjugation in the Present Tense

The verb to talk, when conjugated in the present tense, doesn't change much: I talk, you talk, he/she/it, talks, we talk, you talk, they talk.

In Spanish the verb changes more, as the subject, the person doing the action, is embedded in the verb. Also there are more differences between the persons: yo: I (first person singular), tú: you (second person singular informal), usted: you (second person singular formal), él, ella: he, she (third person singular) -- verbs for usted, el, and ella are all conjugated the same, so that is a little easier -- nosotros: we (first person plural), vosotros: you (second person plural informal), ustedes: you (second person plural formal), ellos, ellas: them (third person plural).

In Latin America only use ustedes for plural you, which luckily is the same conjugation as ellos and ellas, like in singular third person, much easier.

Spanish Conjugation in the Present Tense for Hablar

Let’s work with three simple verbs: hablar (to talk), comer (to eat), abrir (to open). So Hablar:

• yo hablo
• tú hablas
• él/usted habla
• nosotros hablamos
• vosotros habláis
• ellos/ustedes hablan

Spanish Conjugation in the Present Tense for Comer

To make this easier, regular verbs ending in er and ir, are conjugated the same except in nosotros and vosotros. Comer:

• yo como
• tú comes
• él/usted come
• nosotros comemos
• vosotros coméis
• ellos/ustedes comen

Spanish Conjugation in the Present Tense for Abrir

Abrir:

• yo abro
• tú abres
• él/usted abre
• nosotros abrimos
• vosotros abrís
• ellos/ustedes abren

Patterns in Spanish Conjugation in the Present Tense

You can already see some easy patterns to remember for regular verbs. Yo will end in "o." Informal you, tú, will end in "s." For formal you, usted, and 3rd person, just remove the "r" at the end. First person plural ends in "mos." Vosotros ends in "is" and third person plural ends in "n."

Practicing these patterns will have you speaking with confidence in no time. For more information on Spanish, check us out at About.com.