Verbs in the Present Tense (Los verbos en el tiempo presente) First conjugation: -ar

The fundamental parts of the Spanish verb The infinitive: The whole verb. For example, to speak, to work, to sing, etc. The Spanish infinitive always ends in r

hablar comer escribir cantar aprender leer salir conocer costar correr finalizar freír The fundamental parts of the Spanish verb

The ending: The last two letters of the infinitive. The ending always consists of two letters. The fundamental parts of the Spanish verb

hablar comer escribir cantar aprende r leer hablar comer escribir cantar aprende r leer The ending always consists of two letters salir conoce r costar correr finaliza r freír salir conoce r costar correr finaliza r freír There are three types or categories of verbs in Spanish: those that end in ar,those that end in er,and those that end in ir The fundamental parts of the Spanish verb

The stem or root: Whatever is left after removing the ending from the infinitive. The stem can consist of a variable number of letters, depending on the length of the verb in question. The fundamental parts of the Spanish verb

The infinitive – the ending = the stem salir conocer costar correr finalizar freír hablar comer escribir cantar aprender leer The fundamental parts of the Spanish verb

The infinitive: The basic, unconjugated form of the verb. estudiar The fundamental parts of the verb The ending: The last two letters of the infinitive. The stem: What is left after taking the ending from the infinitive. ar estudi

When we conjugate any verb we always begin with its stem. To conjugate: To put a verb in its correct person and number so that we know who is doing the action. Verb Conjugation

The following verbs are regular -ar verbs and are conjugated according to the pattern in the following slides. hablar to speak ayudarto help bailar to dance buscar to look for caminar to walk comprar to buy Regular verbs in the Present Tense(-ar) conversar to converse enseñar to teach escuchar to listen estudiarto study llegarto arrive mirar to look at nadarto swim necesitarto need preparar to prepare regresarto return tomar to take or to drink trabajarto work viajarto travel

a hablar ahbloa ah asa ahblaa hablmosa áhablisá ahblana Regular verbs in the Present Tense(-ar) All persons and numbers are based on the stem. Notice which vowel gets the emphasis! yo tú Ud. él ella nosotros/as vosotros/as ellos ella s Uds.

trabajar aa trab joa a jasa atrabjaa trabaj mosa átrabajisá atrabjana Regular verbs in the Present Tense(-ar) Its stem? The emphasis?

buscar aubsc o u ub as u ubscau busc mosa ábuscisá ubsc an u Regular verbs in the Present Tense(-ar ) Its stem? The emphasis?

a estudiar uestdiou uestdiasu u est diau estudi mos a á estudi isá uestdianu Regular verbs in the Present Tense(-ar) Its stem? The emphasis?

Verb usage The Spanish present indicative tense has several equivalents in English. As in English, it can express present habitual actions: Estudiamos español en la universidad. We study Spanish at the university. But, unlike English, it can also express ongoing actions: En este momento estudiamos en la biblioteca. Right now we’re studying in the library. It can even express future actions: Esta noche estudiamos para el examen. Tonight we will study for the exam.

Regular Present Tense -er and –ir Verbs

There are three types of regular verbs in Spanish: verbs that end in –ar, verbs that end in –er, and verbs that end in –ir. You’ve already learned –ar verbs: yo hablonosotros hablamos tú hablasvosotros habláis él, ella hablaellos hablan

Now for –er verbs: To form –er verbs, take off the –er and then add the following endings: comer (to eat) -o-emoscomocomemos -es -éiscomes coméis -e-encomecomen Notice that the only difference between –er verbs and –ar verbs is that you use e’s instead of a’s: -ar -er -o-amos -o-emos -as-áis -es-éis -a-an -e-en

Now for –ir verbs. Drop the –ir and add the following endings: abrir (to open) -o-imosabroabrimos -es-ísabresabrís -e-enabreabren Do you see what the difference is between –er and –ir verbs? They’re just alike except for the nosotros and vosotros forms: -er -ir -o-emos -o-imos -es-éis -es-ís -e-en

So the only difference between –ar verbs and –er verbs is that you use e’s instead of a’s in the –er verbs. And the only difference between –er verbs and –ir verbs is the nosotros and vosotros forms.

So when you’re conjugating verbs, be sure you know if the infinitive (the form ending in –ar or –er or -ir; e.g., hablar and comer and abrir are infinitives) ends with an –ar, –er, or –ir so you’ll know what ending to put on it: You talk: hablas HABLARwe talk: hablamos You eat: comes COMERwe eat: comemos You open: abres ABRIRwe open: abrimos

Irregular Verbs

Verbos Irregulares  Remember that some verbs in Spanish are irregular in the first person singular of the present tense.  Look at the following examples…

Verbos Irregulares  Conocer  Dar  Hacer  Poner  Saber  Salir  Traer  Ver  Caer  Give the “yo” form…  Conozco  Doy  Hago  Pongo  Sé  Salgo  Traigo  Veo  Caigo

Verbos Irregulares  Also, there are some verbs in Spanish that are irregular in all the persons of the present tense:

SER soy eres es somos sois son

IR voy vas va vamos vais van

DECIR digo dices dice decimos decís dicen

ESTAR estoy estás está estamos estáis están

OÍR oigo oyes oye oímos oís oyen

TENER tengo tienes tiene tenemos tenéis tienen

Conjugate stem changers in the present tense Grammar essential #37

Stem changing infinitives Stem changing infinitives are named for what they do– change in the stem. You are going to make some alteration of the stem before adding the verb endings. You will use the endings you already know. The hardest part of stem changers is knowing which ones change and which ones don’t.

Stem changers There are 4 different ways a stem changing infinitive can change (4 categories). The first is u  ue. It is the smallest category with only one infinitive jugar = to play (sports)

Jugar = to play (sports) Separate the stem and the infintive ending. Jug- is the stem Make the stem change u  ue The new stem is jueg- Put it in the conjugation box EXCEPT nosotros and vosotros. Nosotros and Vosotros do not make the stem change.

Jugar = to play sports Yo Jueg- Nosotros/as Jug- Tú Jueg- Vosotros/as Jug- Él Ella jueg- Ud. Ellos Ellas jueg- Uds. Now just add the regular –ar endings.

Jugar = to play sports Yo Juego Nosotros/as Jugamos Tú Juegas Vosotros/as Jugáis Él Ella juega Ud. Ellos Ellas juegan Uds.

Stem changers The second category is one of the largest. It is o  ue. Encontrar = to find is a stem changer. It is the same steps as jugar. Other examples include: acostar (to lie down), almorzar (to eat lunch), contar (to count), costar (to cost), devolver (to return something), dormir (to sleep), poder (can/to be able to), volver (to return)

Encontrar = to find First separate the stem from the infinitive ending. Encontr- is the stem. Make the stem change o  ue New stem encuentr- Put into box– remember it will look like a boot… they are called boot verbs as well.

Encontrar = to find encuentroencontramos encuentrasencontráis encuentraencuentran

Stem changers The third category is again large. It is e  ie. preferir = to prefer is a stem changer. It is the same steps as jugar. *When there is more than one vowel that could possible make the change, choose the vowel closest to the verb ending.

Other e ie verbs Cerrar (to close), Comenzar (to begin), Despertar (to wake up), Divertir (to entertain/ amuse), Empezar (to begin), Entender (to understand), Pensar (to think), Perder (to lose), Querer (to want), Recomendar (to recommend)

Preferir = to prefer First separate the stem from the infinitive ending. prefer- is the stem. Make the stem change e  ie New stem prefier- Put into box– remember it will look like a boot… they are called boot verbs as well.

preferir = to prefer prefieropreferimos prefierespreferís prefiereprefieren

Stem changers The last category is a smaller one. It is e  i. servir = to serve is a stem changer. It is the same steps as jugar.

servir = to serve First separate the stem from the infinitive ending. serv- is the stem. Make the stem change e  i New stem sirv- Put into box– remember it will look like a boot… they are called boot verbs as well.

servir = to serve sirvoservimos sirvesservís sirvesirven

eiei There are some rules that can help you distinguish between e  i and e  ie. In order to be e  i, the infinitive must end in –ir. Now, that could be other categories as well, but –ar and –er cannot be e  i. MR C VeSPeRS is also a way to help if you are needing a pneumonic device.

MR. C VeSPeRS M- medir (to measure) R – reír (to laugh) C – conseguir (To get/ to obtain) V – vestir(se) (to dress) S- servir (to serve) P – pedir (to ask for) R- repetir ( to repeat) S- seguir (to follow/ to continue)

E I Verbs MR. C VeSPeRS does not include all the stem changers in this category. Another infinitive is Sonreír (to smile)

Stem Changers I cannot give you a rule as to which verbs stem change and which ones don’t. These are just something that you have to learn as you continue to use Spanish.  Don’t forget-you have already learned all of the u ue stem-changers.

ACTIVITY IN YOUR WORKBOOK WORK ON PAGES 5 EXERCISE D, 20 EXERCISE J FOR REGULAR VERBS. FOR STEM CHANGING WORK ON PAGES 23 EXERCISE C, 29 EXERCISE F AND 32 EXERCISE D.