Spanish For Dummies
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Spanish verbs fall into different groups, and each group is conjugated a little differently. If you’re going to master Spanish verbs like vivir, you need to be able to identify which group a verb belongs to: regular (follows regular conjugation rules for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs), stem-changing (morphs depending on how you use it in a sentence), spelling-changing (has consonant-spelling changes in some forms to follow pronunciation rules), or reflexive (reflects the action back on the subject of the sentence).

Vivir (bvee-bveer) (to live) is a regular -ir verb, so its conjugation is pretty straightforward. Here it is in the present tense:

The Present Tense of Vivir
Conjugation Translation
yo vivo I live
tú vives You (informal) live
él/ella/ello/uno vive He/she/one lives
usted vive You (formal) live
nosotros vivimos We live
vosotros vivís You all (informal) live
ellos/ellas viven They live
ustedes viven You all (formal) live

The following examples show you vivir in action:

  • ¿En qué ciudad vives? (What city do you live in?)

  • Vivo en la ciudad de Bogotá, Colombia. (I live in the city of Bogotá, Colombia.)

Need to know how to conjugate vivir in another tense? The following tables show you the preterit, imperfect, and future forms.

The Preterit Tense of Vivir
Conjugation Translation
yo viví I lived
tú viviste You (informal) lived
él/ella/ello/uno vivió He/she/one lived
usted vivió You (formal) lived
nosotros vivimos We lived
vosotros vivisteis You all (informal) lived
ellos/ellas vivieron They lived
ustedes vivieron You all (formal) lived

You use the preterit tense like this:

  • ¿Vivieron tus padres por muchos años? (Did your parents live for many years?)

  • Sí. Ellos vivieron por mucho tiempo. (Yes. They lived for many years.)

The Imperfect Tense of Vivir
Conjugation Translation
yo vivía I used to live
tú vivías You (informal) used to live
él/ella/ello/uno viviá He/she/one used to live
usted vivía You (formal) used to live
nosotros vivíamos We used to live
vosotros vivíais You all (informal) used to live
ellos/ellas vivían They used to live
ustedes vivían You all (formal) used to live

Here are some examples of the imperfect tense:

  • ¿Dónde vivían ustedes? (Where did you use to live?)

  • Vivíamos en una casa pequeña. (We used to live in a small house.)

The Future Tense of Vivir
Conjugation Translation
yo viviré I will live
tú vivirás You (informal) will live
él/ella/ello/uno vivirá He/she/one will live
usted vivirá You (formal) will live
nosotros viviremos We will live
vosotros viviréis You all (informal) will live
ellos/ellas vivirán They will live
ustedes vivirán You all (formal) will live

The following samples put the future tense to work:

  • Viviremos con o sin dinero. (We will live with or without money.)

  • María vivirá junto a sus padres. (Mary will live close to her parents.)

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