Regular Verbs
Spanish Grammar 2
Course 2 · Chapter 2 · Regular Verbs: -ar, -er, -ir
⚙️ Regular Verbs — Los verbos regulares
Most Spanish verbs follow one of three patterns, one for each infinitive ending. Learn the three sets of endings once and you can conjugate thousands of verbs. This chapter gives the endings in full, the few spelling adjustments that keep a verb regular in sound, and three small groups of verbs (-uir, -iar, -uar) that look regular but carry a change of their own.
The three sets of endings
| -ar: hablar | -er: comer | -ir: vivir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablo | como | vivo |
| tú | hablas | comes | vives |
| él / ella / usted | habla | come | vive |
| nosotros | hablamos | comemos | vivimos |
| vosotros | habláis | coméis | vivís |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablan | comen | viven |
Some common regular verbs
| -ar | -er | -ir |
|---|---|---|
| trabajar to work · estudiar to study · cantar to sing | beber to drink · aprender to learn · leer to read | escribir to write · abrir to open · recibir to receive |
| comprar to buy · necesitar to need · escuchar to listen | vender to sell · correr to run · creer to believe | subir to go up · decidir to decide · partir to leave, split |
Spelling changes
A regular verb sometimes changes its spelling (not its sound) so that the pronunciation stays the same. In the present tense the change appears only in the yo form of verbs whose stem ends in a soft g or c.
| Infinitive ending | Change in yo | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -ger, -gir | g → j (keeps the "h" sound before o) | coger → cojo, coges · dirigir → dirijo, diriges · escoger → escojo |
| -guir | gu → g | distinguir → distingo, distingues |
| -cer, -cir after a consonant | c → z | vencer → venzo, vences · ejercer → ejerzo |
The rest of the verb is regular: cojo, coges, coge, cogemos, cogéis, cogen.
The -ir verbs: nosotros and vosotros
Compare the two plural forms of -er and -ir verbs, the only place where they differ:
| -er: comer | -ir: vivir | |
|---|---|---|
| nosotros | comemos | vivimos |
| vosotros | coméis | vivís |
This is easy to forget in speech: vivemos and escribemos are mistakes; the forms are vivimos, escribimos.
Verbs in -uir
Verbs ending in -uir (not -guir or -quir) add a y before the endings that start with o, a, e. They have no stress changes, only the y:
| construir (to build) | Examples of the group |
|---|---|
| construyo, construyes, construye, construimos, construís, construyen | incluir to include · destruir to destroy · huir to flee · contribuir to contribute · distribuir to distribute · sustituir to replace |
The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the i and have no y: construimos, construís.
Verbs in -iar and -uar
Many verbs ending in -iar and -uar put a stress accent on the i / u in all forms except nosotros and vosotros:
| enviar (to send) | continuar (to continue) | |
|---|---|---|
| yo | envío | continúo |
| tú | envías | continúas |
| él / ella / usted | envía | continúa |
| nosotros | enviamos | continuamos |
| vosotros | enviáis | continuáis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | envían | continúan |
| With the accent | Without (fully regular) |
|---|---|
| enviar, guiar, esquiar, confiar, variar, vaciar, criar · continuar, actuar, graduar, situar, acentuar | estudiar, cambiar, copiar, limpiar, odiar, anunciar · averiguar (averiguo) |
There is no rule that tells you which -iar verbs take the accent, so learn the common ones: the most useful verbs without it are estudiar, cambiar, copiar, limpiar.
🗣️ In Use — En situación
Find the verb type behind each form.
① Work
② Family
③ Projects
📋 Quick Reference — Resumen
| Topic | Summary |
|---|---|
| -ar | -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an |
| -er | -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en |
| -ir | -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en |
| -ger / -gir | yo: g → j (cojo, dirijo) |
| -guir | yo: gu → g (distingo) |
| -cer / -cir after a consonant | yo: c → z (venzo) |
| -car / -gar / -zar | no change in the present (busco, pago, cruzo) |
| -uir | y before o, a, e (construyo, construyen) |
| -iar / -uar | many take í / ú except nosotros, vosotros (envío, continúo); others regular (estudio) |
✏️ Try It Yourself — Ejercicios
Say the answer first, then click to check.
1. Conjugate trabajar in all six persons.
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trabajo · trabajas · trabaja · trabajamos · trabajáis · trabajan.
2. Fill in: "Nosotros (vivir) en Edimburgo." · "Vosotros (escribir) mucho." · "Ellos (beber) té."
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vivimos · escribís · beben.
3. Give the yo form of: coger, dirigir, vencer, distinguir.
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cojo · dirijo · venzo · distingo.
4. Give the yo form of: buscar, pagar, cruzar. Is there a spelling change?
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busco · pago · cruzo. No change in the present; the changes (busqué, pagué, crucé) come in the preterite.
5. Conjugate construir in the present.
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construyo · construyes · construye · construimos · construís · construyen.
6. Fill in: "Yo (enviar) un correo." · "Tú (continuar) aquí." · "Nosotros (enviar) dos."
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envío · continúas · enviamos.
7. Fill in: "Yo (estudiar) español." · "Ellos (cambiar) de piso."
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estudio · cambian. (estudiar and cambiar take no accent.)
8. Correct: vivemos · escribemos · nosotros come · construen.
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vivimos · escribimos · nosotros comemos · construyen.
9. Say in Spanish: "I read, you read, we read." (leer)
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leo · lees · leemos.
10. Say in Spanish: "I open the door and she opens the window." (abrir)
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Abro la puerta y ella abre la ventana.