Spanish verbs and infinitives

In Spanish, the form of a verb you find in a dictionary is the infinitive, the “to ___” form. In English that is “to walk”; in Spanish it is caminar. Every verb card in Vocabulario Español uses the infinitive, so each one gives you the base form that all the other forms are built from.

Three families: -ar, -er, and -ir

Spanish infinitives end in -ar, -er, or -ir, and the ending tells you which pattern a verb follows. The game has examples of each:

• -ar: caminar (to walk), ayudar (to help), buscar (to search), saludar (to greet)
• -er: comer (to eat), beber (to drink), correr (to run), leer (to read)
• -ir: escribir (to write), vivir (to live), decidir (to decide), dormir (to sleep)

The -ar verbs are the largest group, so learning that pattern first covers a lot of ground.

Regular present tense

For a regular verb, drop the ending and add the one that matches the person. Here is caminar:

• yo camino (I walk)
• tú caminas (you walk)
• él / ella camina (he / she walks)
• nosotros caminamos (we walk)
• ellos / ellas caminan (they walk)

-er and -ir verbs work the same way with different endings: como, comes, come, comemos, comen for comer, and vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, viven for vivir. In Spain there is also a form for “you all,” vosotros, such as camináis, coméis, and vivís.

Reflexive verbs

A verb that ends in -se, like despedirse (to say goodbye), is reflexive. The se moves in front of the verb and changes with the person: me despido, te despides, se despide, nos despedimos, se despiden.

Irregular verbs

Some of the most common verbs don’t follow the pattern, and the game includes many of them: ser (to be), ir (to go), tener (to have), hacer (to do or make), poder (to be able to), querer (to want), and decir (to say). Learn these one at a time. For example, ser is soy, eres, es, somos, son, ir is voy, vas, va, vamos, van, and tener is tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tienen.

Stem-changing verbs

In some verbs, the vowel in the stem changes when it is stressed. Querer (to want) becomes quiero, quieres, quiere, queremos, quieren. Poder (to be able to) becomes puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, pueden. Dormir (to sleep) becomes duermo, duermes, duerme, dormimos, duermen. The nosotros form keeps the original vowel, so if you draw a box around the forms that change, it looks like a boot. That is why these are sometimes called boot verbs.

Verbs with an irregular “yo” form

Some verbs are regular everywhere except in the yo form. The game includes many of them: hacer becomes hago, poner becomes pongo, salir becomes salgo, venir becomes vengo, decir becomes digo, dar becomes doy, and saber becomes sé. When you meet a new verb, check its yo form first, since that is where the surprises usually are.

Using two verbs together

When one verb follows another, the second one stays in the infinitive. That is why learning the infinitive matters so much. Quiero comer means “I want to eat,” Puedo leer means “I can read,” and Voy a caminar means “I am going to walk.” The pattern ir a plus an infinitive is the easiest way to talk about the future, and it works with every verb in the game.

Tips for learning verbs

• Write the infinitive with its full ending so you remember which family it belongs to.
• Practice the yo form first, then add the others.
• Make one short sentence for every verb you collect, such as Yo busco la llave (I look for the key).

Keep learning

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