-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).
