2.2: Verbos regulares "-ar"
- Page ID
- 75015
Regular "-ar" verbs
Verbs are words that show action or a state of being. In Spanish, the basic form of a verb, or "the infinitive form", has three endings which are "-ar", "-er", and "-ir". In the chart below, the infinitive endings are indicated in blue.
Infinitive form |
---|
bailar comer escribir |
To make a sentence, a verb must be paired with a subject pronoun. In the chart below, all subject pronouns are in blue.
Singular | Plural |
---|---|
yo tú usted, él/ella |
nosotros/nosotras vosotros/vosotras ustedes, ellos/ellas |
When a verb is paired with a subject pronoun or noun, the infinitive ending changes. This is called "conjugating the verb". In the example below, the infinitive ending and the new ending are in blue.
Example |
---|
bailar
Yo bailo |
To conjugate a regular "-ar" ending verb in the present tense, first remove the "-ar" ending.
After removal of "-ar" |
---|
Yo bail- |
Then, replace the "-ar" ending with the following conjugated endings for regular "-ar" verbs. All endings are labeled in blue, as well as the subject they are conjugated to.
Subject Pronoun (Singular) | Conjugation of -ar (bailar) | Subject Pronoun (Plural) |
Conjugation of -ar (bailar) |
Examples: |
---|---|---|---|---|
Yo | bailo | nosotros, nosotras | bailamos | Yo bailo bien. |
tú | bailas | vosotros, vosotras | bailáis | Beatriz estudia mucho. |
usted, él, ella | baila | ustedes, ellos, ellas | bailan | Ellos no trabajan los lunes. |
In Spanish, the present tense is used to talk about three present tense meanings in English:
English | Spanish | |
---|---|---|
1. Carlos listens to music. 2. Carlos is listening to music. 3. Carlos does listen to music. |
Carlos escucha música. |
When two verbs are used together in a sentence with no change of subject pronoun or noun, the second verb is not conjugated (infinitive). In a negative sentence, place the "no" before the conjugated verb. The subject pronoun and their corresponding endings are labeled in blue.
Examples |
---|
Yo necesito practicar el español. Yo no dibujo mucho. |
Common regular "-ar" verbs
List of common "-ar" verbs: | continued: |
---|---|
bailar - to dance | estudiar - to study |
buscar - to look (for) (as in "searching" for something/someone) | explicar - to explain |
caminar - to walk | hablar - to talk; to speak |
cantar - to sing | llegar - to arrive |
cenar - to have/eat dinner; (Spanish does not use "have/eat" dinner) | llevar - to carry; to take something to a place |
comprar - to buy | mirar - to look (at); to watch |
contestar - to answer | necesitar - to need |
conversar - to converse; to chat | practicar - to practice |
desayunar - to have/eat breakfast (Spanish does not use "have/eat" breakfast) | preguntar - to ask (a question; an explanation of something) |
descansar - to rest | preparar - to prepare |
desear - to desire; to wish | regresar - to return (to a location) |
dibujar - to draw | terminar - to end; to finish |
enseñar - to teach | tomar - to take; to drink |
escuchar - to listen (to) | trabajar - to work |
esperar - to wait (for); to hope | viajar - to travel |
¡Ojo! In Spanish, the verbs "buscar, escuchar, esperar", and "mirar" do not require the additional prepositions "at", "for" or "to" like English does, as they are already part of the verb.
Ejemplos:
-Yo busco unos libros en la biblioteca. -Nosotros esperamos el autobús de la escuela.
I look for some books at the library. We wait for the school bus.
-Los chicos escuchan la música de Juanes. -Sebastián mira los videos de la gramática para su clase de español.
The boys listen to Juanes' music. Sebastián watches the grammar videos for his Spanish class.