-ER & -IR Verbs

As we saw in the previous presentation, there are three conjugations of verbs in Spanish: –AR, –ER, and –IR.

-ER and –IR verbs are often studied together because all of their endings (except one) are identical.

BEBER

Let’s look at an

example, the verb

BEBER, which

means “to drink.” It

ends in –ER, so it is

included in this class.

BEBER

The verb can be split into

two parts:

The base: BEB-

The infinitive ending: -ER

BEBER

Now let’s say “I drink.”

Start with the base:

BEB-

When you talk about

yourself, add –O, just as

you did for the –AR

verbs.

BEBER

yo bebo

Are you surprised?

BEBER

Now let’s talk about

you. When the

subject is tú, you add

–ES (remember that

it’s an –ER verb).

BEBER

tú bebes

BEBER

Let’s guess endings

for the other persons:

él, ella, Ud.,

nosotros, ellos, ellas,

Uds.

BEBER

él bebe

ella bebe

Ud. bebe

nosotros bebemos

ellos beben

ellas beben

Uds. beben

-ER endings

The endings for regular -ER verbs are the same as for –AR verbs, except that the vowel is –E-instead of –A-!

yo -o

tú -es

él, ella, Ud. -e

nosotros -emos

ellos -en

ustedes –en

What about the –IR Verbs?

Well, take a look for yourself. Can you find the one difference?

beber vivir

bebo vivo

bebes vives

bebe vive

bebemos vivimos

beben viven

That’s right!

The endings are

identical except for

the nosotros form:

beber: bebemos

vivir: vivimos

Let’s Practice

> ESCRIBIR

Yo _______ muchas

cartas, pero mi

hermana no

_______ cartas.

Escribir

Yo escribo muchas

cartas, pero mi

hermana no escribe

cartas.

RECIBIR, DEBER

Cuando yo _______

(recibir) una carta,

_______ (deber)

leerla [read it].

RECIBIR, DEBER

Cuando yo recibo una

carta, debo leerla.

N.B. There was no

change in subject, so

“yo” was understood to

be the subject for both

verbs. It was not

necessary to repeat “yo.”

LEER, COMPRENDER

Miguel ______

(leer) filosofía pero

no la ________

(comprender) muy

bien.

LEER, COMPRENDER

Miguel lee filosofia

pero no la

comprende muy

bien.

Don’t forget that the base of

leer is le-, so there is a double

–e on the él form.

VIVIR, CORRER

Nosotros _____

(vivir) cerca de

[near] un parque y

______ (correr) allí

[there] por la

mañana.

VIVIR, CORRER

Nosotros vivimos

cerca de un parque

y corremos allí por

la mañana.

Regular Present Tense

To summarize, here are

the endings for the three

verb conjugations:

-AR -ER -IR

-o -o -o

-as -es -es

-a -e -e

-amos –emos –imos

-an -en -en

Regular Present Tense

Now let’s look at

verbs that don’t fit

these neat patterns!

Start the presentation

entitled Tener (#5).