2.4: En contexto- Los verbos -AR
- The present tense of regular -ar verbs
Los verbos en presente (present tense of regular “-ar” verbs)
Carolina en la biblioteca
Carolina, the new student we met in this module, is still learning how to do things at the university. Today Eileen and Amy are helping her at the library. ¿Qué necesita Carolina? Listen to their conversation and look at the transcript below. Pay attention to the verbs. What do you notice about the endings?
Carolina : ¡Hola, compañeras! Necesit o un libro para mi clase de lingüística. ¿Me ayud an ( help ) a busc ar ( to look for ) el libro?
Eileen : ¡Sí, claro!
Amy : Es fácil. Lo busc as en la computadora.
Eileen : Aquí busc as el título.
Carolina : ¡Oh! ¡Aquí está!
Eileen : Y ahora reserv as el libro.
Amy : Luego us as tu tarjeta de estudiante ( student card ) y busc as el libro en el escritorio principal ( front desk ). ¡Y ya!
Carolina : ¡Gracias, amigas!
¿Comprendiste?
Responde estas preguntas sobre la conversación.
Let’s talk about verbs first. See if you can find an example of the following in the dialogue:
An infinitive verb does not have a conjugation. (E.g., to talk, to write) In Spanish, infinitives end in - ar , - er , or - ir .
Find an example of an infinitive in the dialogue above.
- Answer
-
Buscar
Now find verbs conjugated in second person singular ( tú form):
- Answer
-
Buscas, reservas, usas
Now find verbs conjugated in second person plural ( ustedes form):
- Answer
-
Ayudan
What do these verbs share? What do you already know about these verbs’ endings?
Now let’s talk about the content of the dialogue (continue paying attention to the verb endings):
¿Qué necesit a Carolina en la biblioteca?
- Answer
-
Carolina necesita un libro para la clase de lingüística.
¿Quiénes ayud an a Carolina?
- Answer
-
Eileen y Amy ayudan.
All the conjugated verbs that appear in the dialogue are in the present tense ( el tiempo presente ). In this section, we will learn how to conjugate verbs with the -ar ending in the present tense.