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2.11: Verbos regulares "-ar"

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    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

          downward blue arrow.png

    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.

    		 rght bracket.png 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.

     

    This page titled 2.11: Verbos regulares "-ar" is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by M. Barrio De Mendoza, K Gutiérrez, H.Ho, C. Lin, & A Stere Lugo (ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative) .