Grammar – Verbs
El presente: Used to talk about actions that are happening now e.g. I am eating. Actions that
happen regularly e.g. we go to school every day and general statements e.g. I live in Peru.
All regular verbs follow the patterns shown in hablar, comer and vivir:
Infinitive Hablar Comer Vivir Ser Estar Tener Quer
& Meaning to speak to eat to live to be to be to have to wa
yo hablo como vivo soy estoy tengo quier
tú hablas comes vives eres estás tienes quier
él/ella habla come vive es estás tiene quier
nosotros hablamos comemos vivimos somos estamos tenemos quere
vosotros habláis coméis vivís sois estáis tenéis queré
ellos/ellan hablan comen viven son están tienen quier
Lavarse
Infinitive Volver Cerrar Saber Conocer Venir Salir
to have a
& Meaning to return to close to know to know to come to go
wash
yo vuelvo cierro sé conozco vengo me lavo salgo
tú vuelves cierras sabes conoces vienes te lavas sales
él/ella vuelve cierra sabe conoce viene se lava sale
conocemo
nosotros volvemos cerramos sabemos s venimos nos lavamos salem
vosotros volvéis cerráis sabéis conocéis venís os laváis saléis
ellos/ellan vuelven cierran saben conocen vienen se lavan salen
Hacer
Infinitive Ir Decir Poner Ver Dar
to Llam
& Meaning to go to say/tell to put on to see to give
do/make be ca
yo voy hago digo pongo veo doy Me ll
tú vas haces dices pones ves das Te lla
él/ella va hace dices pone ve da Se lla
nosotros vamos hacemos decimos ponemos vemos damos Nos l
vosotros vais hacéis decís ponéis veis dais Os lla
ellos/ellan van hacen dicen ponen ven dan Se lla
There are some verbs in the table which are just irregular in the first person present, while
in all other parts they follow model –ar/-er/-ir endings. Other verbs like this include:
Caber – to fit -> quepo; Dar – to give -> doy; saber -> sé; salir – to go out -> salgo; ver – to
see -> veo; traer – to bring -> traigo; poner – to put on -> pongo; coger – to take –> cojo
hacer – to do/make -> hago; conducir – to drive -> conduzco; Conocer – to know -> conozco.
The following verbs are some more irregulars which aren’t in the table:
Oir – to hear -> oigo -> oyes -> oye -> oímos -> oís -> oyen.
Poder – to be able to/can -> puedo -> puedes -> puede -> podemos -> podéis -> pueden
, Regular verbs:
Andar – to walk; ayudar – to help; bailar – to dance; buscar – to look for; cantar – to sing;
cenar – to have dinner; escuchar – to listen; aprender – to learn; beber – to drink; comer –
to eat; correr – to run; leer – to read; vender – to sell; ver – to see; abrir – to open; escribir –
to write; recibir – to receive; subir – to go up; vivir – to live; anunciar – to announce.
Reflexive Verbs: The reflexive pronoun is placed before the verb. In the infinitive form the
reflexive pronoun is added to the end. Reflexive verbs are actions that you do to oneself
Example: to get (oneself) up
Levantarse
Me levanto
Te levantas
Se levanta
Nos levantamos
Os levantáis
Se levantan
Gerund: It is the tense which has –ing at the end of the word:
Llevamos un mes viviendo aquí – we have been living here for a month.
-ar -> -ando e.g. hablando
-ir -> -iendo e.g. viviendo
-er -> -iendo e.g. comiendo
Ser, Estar and Hay: Es, está and hay are often confused. Es is used when you mean is, it is or
it’s. It refers to a permanent description of something e.g. La casa es grande. The house is
big.
Está also means is, it is or it’s. It refers to position – where something is, e.g. La casa está en
Barcelona. The house is in Barcelona.
Hay means there is or there are e.g. En Barcelona hay muchos museos. There are lots of
museums in Barcelona
Imperfect Tense: You use the imperfect tense to:
Say what used to happen as a regular routine e.g. Cuando era joven jugaba con mi
hermana. When I was young I used to play with my sister
Say what someone or something was like, e.g. La casa de mis abuelos era muy
grande. My grandparents’ house was very big.
Say what people used to do and what things used to be like, e.g. Cuando iba a la
escuela primaria tenía muchos amigos. When I went (used to go) to primary school, I
had (used to have) lots of friends. Hacía calor – The weather was nice
To form the imperfect, remove the infinitive endings (-ar, -er, -ir) and add the
following endings in the table below:
Hablar Comer Vivir
Hablaba Comía Vivía
Hablabas Comías Vivías
Hablaba Comía Vivía
El presente: Used to talk about actions that are happening now e.g. I am eating. Actions that
happen regularly e.g. we go to school every day and general statements e.g. I live in Peru.
All regular verbs follow the patterns shown in hablar, comer and vivir:
Infinitive Hablar Comer Vivir Ser Estar Tener Quer
& Meaning to speak to eat to live to be to be to have to wa
yo hablo como vivo soy estoy tengo quier
tú hablas comes vives eres estás tienes quier
él/ella habla come vive es estás tiene quier
nosotros hablamos comemos vivimos somos estamos tenemos quere
vosotros habláis coméis vivís sois estáis tenéis queré
ellos/ellan hablan comen viven son están tienen quier
Lavarse
Infinitive Volver Cerrar Saber Conocer Venir Salir
to have a
& Meaning to return to close to know to know to come to go
wash
yo vuelvo cierro sé conozco vengo me lavo salgo
tú vuelves cierras sabes conoces vienes te lavas sales
él/ella vuelve cierra sabe conoce viene se lava sale
conocemo
nosotros volvemos cerramos sabemos s venimos nos lavamos salem
vosotros volvéis cerráis sabéis conocéis venís os laváis saléis
ellos/ellan vuelven cierran saben conocen vienen se lavan salen
Hacer
Infinitive Ir Decir Poner Ver Dar
to Llam
& Meaning to go to say/tell to put on to see to give
do/make be ca
yo voy hago digo pongo veo doy Me ll
tú vas haces dices pones ves das Te lla
él/ella va hace dices pone ve da Se lla
nosotros vamos hacemos decimos ponemos vemos damos Nos l
vosotros vais hacéis decís ponéis veis dais Os lla
ellos/ellan van hacen dicen ponen ven dan Se lla
There are some verbs in the table which are just irregular in the first person present, while
in all other parts they follow model –ar/-er/-ir endings. Other verbs like this include:
Caber – to fit -> quepo; Dar – to give -> doy; saber -> sé; salir – to go out -> salgo; ver – to
see -> veo; traer – to bring -> traigo; poner – to put on -> pongo; coger – to take –> cojo
hacer – to do/make -> hago; conducir – to drive -> conduzco; Conocer – to know -> conozco.
The following verbs are some more irregulars which aren’t in the table:
Oir – to hear -> oigo -> oyes -> oye -> oímos -> oís -> oyen.
Poder – to be able to/can -> puedo -> puedes -> puede -> podemos -> podéis -> pueden
, Regular verbs:
Andar – to walk; ayudar – to help; bailar – to dance; buscar – to look for; cantar – to sing;
cenar – to have dinner; escuchar – to listen; aprender – to learn; beber – to drink; comer –
to eat; correr – to run; leer – to read; vender – to sell; ver – to see; abrir – to open; escribir –
to write; recibir – to receive; subir – to go up; vivir – to live; anunciar – to announce.
Reflexive Verbs: The reflexive pronoun is placed before the verb. In the infinitive form the
reflexive pronoun is added to the end. Reflexive verbs are actions that you do to oneself
Example: to get (oneself) up
Levantarse
Me levanto
Te levantas
Se levanta
Nos levantamos
Os levantáis
Se levantan
Gerund: It is the tense which has –ing at the end of the word:
Llevamos un mes viviendo aquí – we have been living here for a month.
-ar -> -ando e.g. hablando
-ir -> -iendo e.g. viviendo
-er -> -iendo e.g. comiendo
Ser, Estar and Hay: Es, está and hay are often confused. Es is used when you mean is, it is or
it’s. It refers to a permanent description of something e.g. La casa es grande. The house is
big.
Está also means is, it is or it’s. It refers to position – where something is, e.g. La casa está en
Barcelona. The house is in Barcelona.
Hay means there is or there are e.g. En Barcelona hay muchos museos. There are lots of
museums in Barcelona
Imperfect Tense: You use the imperfect tense to:
Say what used to happen as a regular routine e.g. Cuando era joven jugaba con mi
hermana. When I was young I used to play with my sister
Say what someone or something was like, e.g. La casa de mis abuelos era muy
grande. My grandparents’ house was very big.
Say what people used to do and what things used to be like, e.g. Cuando iba a la
escuela primaria tenía muchos amigos. When I went (used to go) to primary school, I
had (used to have) lots of friends. Hacía calor – The weather was nice
To form the imperfect, remove the infinitive endings (-ar, -er, -ir) and add the
following endings in the table below:
Hablar Comer Vivir
Hablaba Comía Vivía
Hablabas Comías Vivías
Hablaba Comía Vivía
