In Spanish grammar, as in English, you conjugate verbs to reflect the tense (when the action occurred, is occurring, or will occur) and to agree with the subject in person and number. To conjugate regular Spanish verbs ending in -ar, -er, or -ir in the present tense, you drop the ending and add endings to specify the subject (in person and number) that’s performing the action. Here’s what those endings look like:
| Verb Infinitive Ending | Present Tense Endings |
|---|---|
| -ar | -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an |
| -er | -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en |
| -ir | -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en |
Here’s a conjugation chart for a regular -ar verb conjugated in the present tense:
| yo canto | nosotros/nosotras cantamos |
| tú cantas | vosotros/vosotras cantáis |
| él/ella/usted canta | ellos/ellas/ustedes cantan |
Here’s a conjugation chart for a regular -er verb conjugated in the present tense:
| yo bebo | nosotros/nosotras bebemos |
| tú bebes | vosotros/vosotras bebéis |
| él/ella/usted bebe | ellos/ellas/ustedes beben |
Here’s a conjugation chart for a regular -ir verb conjugated in the present tense:
| yo vivo | nosotros/nosotras vivimos |
| tú vives | vosotros/vosotras vivís |
| él/ella/usted vive | ellos/ellas/ustedes viven |