Yo escribo todos los días: the present indicative in Spanish
he present indicative is a very commonly used verb tense in the Spanish language, and it has several uses. In this article we will see the regular conjugation in the present indicative, irregular conjugation patterns and frequently used verbs that follow them, the conjugation of some verbs that are very frequently used and are completely irregular, and the uses of this verb tense. Let's go!
In Spanish there are 3 groups of verbs, namely those ending, in infinitive, in -ar (hablar “to speak,” volar “to fly,” 1st group), those ending in -er (comer “to eat,” saber “to know,” 2nd group) and those ending in -ir (vivir “to live,” dormir “to sleep,” 3rd group). Most verbs in Spanish belong to the 1st group, that is, in infinitive they end in -ar, and most verbs from all 3 groups follow a regular conjugation. The first thing we will see, then, is the regular conjugation patterns for each verb group in the present indicative. To conjugate a regular verb, you simply remove the ending of the verb, that is -ar, -er or -ir, and attach to what remains, called the verbal root, the endings that we will see below.
1st conjugation: -ar. Hablar (to speak).
Yo hablo
Tú hablas
Él/Ella/Usted habla
Nosotros/as hablamos
Vosotros/as habláis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes hablan
Other regular verbs in this group: aceptar (to accept), bailar (to dance), buscar (to look for), caminar (to walk), comprar (to buy), cocinar (to cook), desear (to wish), entrar (to enter), escuchar (to listen), esperar (to wait), explicar (to explain), ganar (to win), llamar (to call), llegar (to arrive), llevar (to carry), mirar (to look), nadar (to swim), necesitar (to need), pagar (to pay), preparar (to prepare), regresar (to return), terminar (to finish), tomar (to take), usar (to use), viajar (to travel), visitar (to visit).
2nd conjugation: -er. Comer (to eat).
Yo como
Tú comes
Él/Ella/Usted come
Nosotros/as comemos
Vosotros/as coméis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes comen
Other regular verbs in this group: barrer (to sweep), beber (to drink), comprender (to understand), conceder (to grant), creer (to believe), deber (to owe/should), depender (to depend), esconder (to hide), lamer (to lick), leer (to read), meter (to put in), poseer (to possess), prometer (to promise), responder (to respond), romper (to break), sorprender (to surprise), tejer (to weave), vender (to sell).
3rd conjugation: -ir. Vivir (to live).
Yo vivo
Tú vives
Él/Ella/Usted vive
Nosotros/as vivimos
Vosotros/as vivís
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes viven
Other regular verbs in this group: abrir (to open), asistir (to attend), cumplir (to fulfill), decidir (to decide), discutir (to discuss), escribir (to write), existir (to exist), imprimir (to print), insistir (to insist), permitir (to allow), recibir (to receive), subir (to go up), unir (to unite), batir (to beat), dividir (to divide), ocurrir (to occur), partir (to leave), permitir (to allow), sufrir (to suffer).
Irregular verbs.
There are irregular verbs in all 3 verb groups. While we will see some patterns of irregularity in conjugation, we will also see that they have their exceptions, that the changes that constitute the irregularity are not repeated in all persons, etc. This is one of those things that when you start learning them can be a headache, but with practice they are learned. And I say this, furthermore, from my personal experience: I am learning French, a language that shares with Spanish the characteristic of having many irregular verbs and many of them very frequently used. And yes, it is something you suffer through, but that you learn :). An important detail is that in this type of verbs the irregularity, if it occurs, occurs in the root: the verbal endings are the same as those of the regular conjugation of their group.
Vowel change e – ie: querer (to want).
Yo quiero
Tú quieres
Él/Ella/Usted quiere
Nosotros/as queremos
Vosotros/as queréis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes quieren
Other verbs with this change: cerrar (to close), empezar (to begin), entender (to understand), fregar (to scrub), mentir (to lie), pensar (to think), perder (to lose), preferir (to prefer), regar (to water).
A frequently used verb with this vowel change that has an exception in the first person singular is the verb venir (to come):
Yo vengo
Tú vienes
Él/Ella/Usted viene
Nosotros/as venimos
Vosotros/as venís
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes vienen
Also the verb tener (to have):
Yo tengo
Tú tienes
Él/Ella tiene
Nosotros/as tenemos
Vosotros/as tenéis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes tienen
Vowel change o – ue: dormir (to sleep).
Yo duermo
Tú duermes
Él/Ella duerme
Nosotros/as dormimos
Vosotros/as dormís
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes duermen
Other verbs with this change: contar (to count), costar (to cost), encontrar (to find), morder (to bite), morir (to die), mover (to move), poder (to be able to), recordar (to remember), sonar (to sound), soñar (to dream), volar (to fly), volver (to return).
A particular frequently used verb with this change is the verb oler (to smell), which also adds an h in some cases:
Yo huelo
Tú hueles
Él/Ella/Usted huele
Nosotros/as olemos
Vosotros/as oléis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes huelen
Vowel change e – i: pedir (to ask for).
Yo pido
Tú pides
Él/Ella/Usted pide
Nosotros/as pedimos
Vosotros/as pedís
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes piden
Other verbs with this change: elegir (to choose), conseguir (to get), freír (to fry), medir (to measure), reír (to laugh), repetir (to repeat), seguir (to follow), sonreír (to smile).
A frequently used verb with this vowel change that has an exception in the first person singular is the verb decir (to say):
Yo digo
Tú dices
Él/Ella/Usted dice
Nosotros/as decimos
Vosotros/as decís
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes dicen
Verbs ending in -cer and -cir.
Many of these verbs present an irregularity in the first person singular.
Conocer (to know):
Yo conozco
Tú conoces
Él/Ella/Usted conoce
Nosotros/as conocemos
Vosotros/as conocéis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes conocen
Other verbs with this irregularity: agradecer (to thank) (yo agradezco), crecer (to grow) (yo crezco), obedecer (to obey) (yo obedezco), ofrecer (to offer) (yo ofrezco), parecer (to seem) (yo parezco), pertenecer (to belong) (yo pertenezco), reducir (to reduce) (yo reduzco), nacer (to be born) (yo nazco), restablecer (to restore) (yo restablezco).
Conducir (to drive):
Yo conduzco
Tú conduces
Él/Ella/Usted conduce
Nosotros/as conducimos
Vosotros/as conducís
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes conducen
Other verbs with this irregularity: conducir (to drive) (yo conduzco), traducir (to translate) (yo traduzco), deducir (to deduce) (yo deduzco), introducir (to introduce) (yo introduzco), reducir (to reduce) (yo reduzco), relucir (to shine) (yo reluzco).
Other verbs with irregular first person.
Hacer (to do/make): hago, haces, hace…
Poner (to put): pongo, pones, pone…
Salir (to leave): salgo, sales, sale…
Tener (to have): tengo, tienes, tiene…
Traer (to bring): traigo, traes, trae…
Valer (to be worth): valgo, vales, vale…
Verbs ending in -uir.
Construir (to build)
Yo construyo
Tú construyes
Él/Ella/Usted construye
Nosotros/as construimos
Vosotros/as construís
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes construyen
Other verbs with this irregularity: atribuir (to attribute), concluir (to conclude), contribuir (to contribute), constituir (to constitute), destituir (to dismiss), destruir (to destroy), disminuir (to diminish), distribuir (to distribute), excluir (to exclude), huir (to flee), intuir (to intuit), obstruir (to obstruct), ocluir (to occlude), sustituir (to substitute).
Yes, as you can see, the exceptions are many. Let’s now see completely or almost completely irregular verbs that are very frequently used in the language.
Ser (to be):
Yo soy
Tú eres
Él/Ella/Usted es
Nosotros/as somos
Vosotros/as sois
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes son
Estar (to be):
Yo estoy
Tú estás
Él/Ella/Usted está
Nosotros/as estamos
Vosotros/as estáis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes están
Ir (to go):
Yo voy
Tú vas
Él/Ella/Usted va
Nosotros/as vamos
Vosotros/as vais
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes van
Haber (to have – auxiliary):
Yo he
Tú has
Él/Ella/Usted ha
Nosotros/as hemos
Vosotros/as habéis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes han
Oír (to hear):
Yo oigo
Tú oyes
Él/Ella/Usted oye
Nosotros/as oímos
Vosotros/as oís
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes oyen
Sí, como se puede ver, las excepciones son muchas. Veamos ahora verbos completamente o casi completamente irregulares de uso muy frecuente en el idioma.
Ser:
Yo soy
Tú eres
Él/Ella/Usted es
Nosotros/as somos
Vosotros/as sois
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes son
Estar:
Yo estoy
Tú estás
Él/Ella/Usted está
Nosotros/as estamos
Vosotros/as estáis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes están
Ir:
Yo voy
Tú vas
Él/Ella/Usted va
Nosotros/as vamos
Vosotros/as vais
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes van
Haber:
Yo he
Tú has
Él/Ella/Usted ha
Nosotros/as hemos
Vosotros/as habéis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes han
Oir:
Yo oigo
Tú oyes
Él/Ella/Usted oye
Nosotros/as oímos
Vosotros/as oís
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes oyen
Usos del presente de indicativo.
Asking for or giving information about the present.
¿Dónde vives tú? (Where do you live?)
Yo vivo en Montevideo. (I live in Montevideo.)
Habitual or repetitive actions.
Todos los días me levanto a las 8. (Every day I get up at 8.)
Tengo clases 3 veces por semana. (I have classes 3 times a week.)
Permanent or lasting states.
Mi hermana es médica. (My sister is a doctor.)
Esta casa tiene 3 habitaciones. (This house has 3 bedrooms.)
General or universal truths.
El agua hierve a 100 grados. (Water boils at 100 degrees.)
Los gatos son felinos. (Cats are felines.)
Actions in progress.
¿Qué haces? (What are you doing?)
Estudio para mi examen. (I’m studying for my exam.)
In spoken language it is more common to use the structure estar + gerund for actions in progress, something we will see in a future article.
Near or scheduled future: normally accompanied by temporal indicators, the present indicative is used to talk about future actions that are already planned and are certain and close in time.
Mañana voy al médico. (Tomorrow I’m going to the doctor.)
Mi madre llega el lunes. (My mother arrives on Monday.)
La semana que viene empiezo a trabajar. (Next week I start working.)
En marzo tengo vacaciones. (In March I have vacation.)
Giving instructions: although in Spanish there is the imperative mood for giving instructions, you can also use the present indicative, which adds politeness.
Primero lavas las verduras, y luego las cortas en trozos pequeños. (First you wash the vegetables, and then you cut them into small pieces.)
Para usar el lavarropas primero lo enciendes y luego eliges el programa de lavado. (To use the washing machine first you turn it on and then you choose the wash program.)
Asking for advice or making suggestions.
¿Por qué no te pones algo más abrigado? (Why don’t you put on something warmer?)
¿Qué piensas? ¿Vendo mi coche o no? (What do you think? Should I sell my car or not?)
Offering help.
¿Te llevo la maleta? (Shall I carry your suitcase?)
¿Te ayudo con tu deber de español? (Shall I help you with your Spanish homework?)
Asking for favors.
¿Me haces un café? (Will you make me a coffee?)
¿Lavas tú los platos, por favor? (Will you wash the dishes, please?)
We have reached the end of this long article. I understand that, especially, the irregular conjugations of verbs can seem like a headache. But with practice they are learned and, furthermore, one gets used to them, because they don’t exist only in the present indicative: they exist in all verb tenses. Here I leave you exercises to practice this topic and, if you have doubts, feel free to write to me.
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