{"id":17853,"date":"2025-07-10T01:26:37","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T23:26:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/yo-escribo-todos-los-dias-the-present-indicative-in-spanish\/"},"modified":"2025-07-17T06:04:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T04:04:16","slug":"yo-escribo-todos-los-dias-the-present-indicative-in-spanish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/yo-escribo-todos-los-dias-the-present-indicative-in-spanish\/","title":{"rendered":"Yo escribo todos los d\u00edas: the present indicative in Spanish"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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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!\n<\/p>\n\t<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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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.<\/p>

1st conjugation: -ar.<\/strong> Hablar<\/strong> (to speak).<\/p>

Yo hablo<\/strong>
T\u00fa hablas<\/strong>
\u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted habla<\/strong><\/p>

Nosotros\/as hablamos<\/strong>
Vosotros\/as habl\u00e1is<\/strong>
Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes hablan<\/strong><\/p>

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).<\/p>

2nd conjugation: -er.<\/strong> Comer<\/strong> (to eat).<\/p>

Yo como<\/strong>
T\u00fa comes<\/strong>
\u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted come<\/strong><\/p>

Nosotros\/as comemos<\/strong>
Vosotros\/as com\u00e9is<\/strong>
Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes comen<\/strong><\/p>

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).<\/p>

3rd conjugation: -ir.<\/strong> Vivir<\/strong> (to live).<\/p>

Yo vivo<\/strong>
T\u00fa vives<\/strong>
\u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted vive<\/strong><\/p>

Nosotros\/as vivimos<\/strong>
Vosotros\/as viv\u00eds<\/strong>
Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes viven<\/strong><\/p>

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).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Irregular verbs.\n<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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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.<\/p>

Vowel change e – ie: querer (to want).<\/strong><\/p>

Yo quie<\/strong>ro
T\u00fa quie<\/strong>res
\u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted quie<\/strong>re<\/p>

Nosotros\/as queremos
Vosotros\/as quer\u00e9is
Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes quie<\/strong>ren<\/p>

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).<\/p>

A frequently used verb with this vowel change that has an exception in the first person singular is the verb venir (to come):<\/p>

Yo vengo<\/strong>
T\u00fa vie<\/strong>nes
\u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted vie<\/strong>ne<\/p>

Nosotros\/as venimos
Vosotros\/as ven\u00eds
Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes vie<\/strong>nen<\/p>

Also the verb tener (to have):<\/p>

Yo tengo<\/strong>
T\u00fa tie<\/strong>nes
\u00c9l\/Ella tie<\/strong>ne<\/p>

Nosotros\/as tenemos
Vosotros\/as ten\u00e9is
Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes tie<\/strong>nen<\/p>

Vowel change o – ue: dormir (to sleep).<\/strong><\/p>

Yo due<\/strong>rmo
T\u00fa due<\/strong>rmes
\u00c9l\/Ella due<\/strong>rme<\/p>

Nosotros\/as dormimos
Vosotros\/as dorm\u00eds
Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes due<\/strong>rmen<\/p>

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), so\u00f1ar (to dream), volar (to fly), volver (to return).<\/p>

A particular frequently used verb with this change is the verb oler (to smell), which also adds an h in some cases:<\/p>

Yo hue<\/strong>lo
T\u00fa hue<\/strong>les
\u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted hue<\/strong>le<\/p>

Nosotros\/as olemos
Vosotros\/as ol\u00e9is
Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes hue<\/strong>len<\/p>

Vowel change e – i: pedir (to ask for).<\/strong><\/p>

Yo pi<\/strong>do
T\u00fa pi<\/strong>des
\u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted pi<\/strong>de<\/p>

Nosotros\/as pedimos
Vosotros\/as ped\u00eds
Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes pi<\/strong>den<\/p>

Other verbs with this change: elegir (to choose), conseguir (to get), fre\u00edr (to fry), medir (to measure), re\u00edr (to laugh), repetir (to repeat), seguir (to follow), sonre\u00edr (to smile).<\/p>

A frequently used verb with this vowel change that has an exception in the first person singular is the verb decir (to say):<\/p>

Yo digo<\/strong>
T\u00fa di<\/strong>ces
\u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted di<\/strong>ce<\/p>

Nosotros\/as decimos
Vosotros\/as dec\u00eds
Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes di<\/strong>cen<\/p>

Verbs ending in -cer and -cir.<\/strong>
Many of these verbs present an irregularity in the first person singular.<\/p>

Conocer (to know):<\/p>

Yo conozco<\/strong>
T\u00fa conoces
\u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted conoce<\/p>

Nosotros\/as conocemos
Vosotros\/as conoc\u00e9is
Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes conocen<\/p>

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).<\/p>

Conducir (to drive):<\/p>

Yo conduzco<\/strong>
T\u00fa conduces
\u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted conduce<\/p>

Nosotros\/as conducimos
Vosotros\/as conduc\u00eds
Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes conducen<\/p>

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).<\/p>

Other verbs with irregular first person.<\/strong><\/p>

Hacer (to do\/make): hago, haces, hace…
Poner (to put): pongo, pones, pone…
Salir (to leave): salgo, sales, sale\u2026
Tener (to have): tengo, tienes, tiene\u2026
Traer (to bring): traigo, traes, trae…
Valer (to be worth): valgo, vales, vale\u2026<\/p>

Verbs ending in -uir.<\/strong><\/p>

Construir (to build)<\/p>

Yo construyo<\/strong>
T\u00fa construyes<\/strong>
\u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted construye<\/strong><\/p>

Nosotros\/as construimos
Vosotros\/as constru\u00eds
Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes construyen<\/strong><\/p>

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).<\/p>

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.<\/p>

Ser (to be):<\/strong><\/p>

Yo soy
T\u00fa eres
\u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted es<\/p>

Nosotros\/as somos
Vosotros\/as sois
Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes son<\/p>

Estar (to be):<\/strong><\/p>

Yo estoy
T\u00fa est\u00e1s
\u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted est\u00e1<\/p>

Nosotros\/as estamos
Vosotros\/as est\u00e1is
Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes est\u00e1n<\/p>

Ir (to go):<\/strong><\/p>

Yo voy
T\u00fa vas
\u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted va<\/p>

Nosotros\/as vamos
Vosotros\/as vais
Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes van<\/p>

Haber (to have – auxiliary):<\/strong><\/p>

Yo he
T\u00fa has
\u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted ha<\/p>

Nosotros\/as hemos
Vosotros\/as hab\u00e9is
Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes han<\/p>

O\u00edr (to hear):<\/strong><\/p>

Yo oigo
T\u00fa oyes
\u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted oye<\/p>

Nosotros\/as o\u00edmos
Vosotros\/as o\u00eds
Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes oyen<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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S\u00ed, como se puede ver, las excepciones son muchas. Veamos ahora verbos completamente o casi completamente irregulares de uso muy frecuente en el idioma.<\/p>

Ser<\/strong>:<\/p>

Yo soy<\/p>

T\u00fa eres<\/p>

\u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted es<\/p>

Nosotros\/as somos<\/p>

Vosotros\/as sois<\/p>

Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes son<\/p>

Estar<\/strong>:<\/p>

Yo estoy<\/p>

T\u00fa est\u00e1s<\/p>

\u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted est\u00e1<\/p>

Nosotros\/as estamos<\/p>

Vosotros\/as est\u00e1is<\/p>

Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes est\u00e1n<\/p>

Ir<\/strong>:<\/p>

Yo voy<\/p>

T\u00fa vas<\/p>

\u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted va<\/p>

Nosotros\/as vamos<\/p>

Vosotros\/as vais<\/p>

Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes van<\/p>

Haber:<\/p>

Yo he<\/p>

T\u00fa has<\/p>

\u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted ha<\/p>

Nosotros\/as hemos<\/p>

Vosotros\/as hab\u00e9is<\/p>

Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes han<\/p>

Oir<\/strong>:<\/p>

Yo oigo<\/p>

T\u00fa oyes<\/p>

\u00c9l\/Ella\/Usted oye<\/p>

Nosotros\/as o\u00edmos<\/p>

Vosotros\/as o\u00eds<\/p>

Ellos\/Ellas\/Ustedes oyen<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Usos del presente de indicativo.<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Asking for or giving information about the present.<\/strong><\/p>

\u00bfD\u00f3nde vives t\u00fa? (Where do you live?)
Yo vivo en Montevideo. (I live in Montevideo.)<\/p>

Habitual or repetitive actions.<\/strong><\/p>

Todos los d\u00edas 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.)<\/p>

Permanent or lasting states.<\/strong><\/p>

Mi hermana es m\u00e9dica. (My sister is a doctor.)
Esta casa tiene 3 habitaciones. (This house has 3 bedrooms.)<\/p>

General or universal truths.<\/strong><\/p>

El agua hierve a 100 grados. (Water boils at 100 degrees.)
Los gatos son felinos. (Cats are felines.)<\/p>

Actions in progress.<\/strong><\/p>

\u00bfQu\u00e9 haces? (What are you doing?)
Estudio para mi examen. (I’m studying for my exam.)<\/p>

In spoken language it is more common to use the structure estar + gerund<\/em> for actions in progress, something we will see in a future article.<\/p>

Near or scheduled future:<\/strong> 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.<\/p>

Ma\u00f1ana voy al m\u00e9dico. (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.)<\/p>

Giving instructions:<\/strong> although in Spanish there is the imperative mood for giving instructions, you can also use the present indicative, which adds politeness.<\/p>

Primero lavas las verduras, y luego las cortas en trozos peque\u00f1os. (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.)<\/p>

Asking for advice or making suggestions.<\/strong>
\u00bfPor qu\u00e9 no te pones algo m\u00e1s abrigado? (Why don’t you put on something warmer?)
\u00bfQu\u00e9 piensas? \u00bfVendo mi coche o no? (What do you think? Should I sell my car or not?)<\/p>

Offering help.<\/strong>
\u00bfTe llevo la maleta? (Shall I carry your suitcase?)
\u00bfTe ayudo con tu deber de espa\u00f1ol? (Shall I help you with your Spanish homework?)<\/p>

Asking for favors.<\/strong><\/p>

\u00bfMe haces un caf\u00e9? (Will you make me a coffee?)
\u00bfLavas t\u00fa los platos, por favor? (Will you wash the dishes, please?)<\/p>

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<\/strong> <\/a>I leave you exercises to practice this topic and, if you have doubts, feel free to write to me.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>Prev<\/span><\/span>Anterior<\/span>\u00bfSer o estar? Fill in the blanks (II)<\/span><\/span><\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\tSiguiente<\/span>Presente indicative, regular conjugation: fill in the blanks<\/span><\/span><\/path><\/svg>Next<\/span><\/span><\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The present indicative in Spanish: verb conjugation and uses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[144],"tags":[158],"class_list":["post-17853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grammar","tag-feed-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17853"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17853\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18248,"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17853\/revisions\/18248"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conexionsp.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}