LESSON - 10 REVISION OF GRAMMAR:

All Spanish verbs end in either -ar, -er or -ir. This form of the verb is called the infinitive. For example:

• hablar - to talk
• comer - to eat
• vivir - to live

The infinitive is the form of the verb you will find in a dictionary.

However, the infinitive doesn't tell us the person of the verb (ie who is doing the action) or the tense of the verb (ie when the action takes place / took place / will take place, etc). To do this you need to conjugate the verb (ie change it into a different form).

To work out how to conjugate a verb correctly, ask yourself:

• Which type of verb is it (-ar / -er / -ir)?
• Which tense is it?
• Which person is it?

• When to use the present tense

  The present tense is used to:

  • say what we do regularly
  • say what is happening now
  • describe what things are like

  For example:

  • Toco la guitarra todos los días. - I play the guitar every day.
  • Estudio inglés y español. - I study English and Spanish.
  • Mi uniforme es muy feo. - My uniform is very ugly.

  • The present tense - regular verbs

    Most verbs are regular. This means that they follow a pattern.

    To conjugate regular verbs in the present tense, remove the -ar / -er / -ir from the infinitive and then add the correct ending:

    	subject pronoun	hablar (to talk)	comer (to eat)	vivir (to live)
    I	yo	hablo	como	vivo
    you	tú	hablas	comes	vives
    he/she/it/you (polite)	él/ella/usted	habla	come	vive
    we	nosotros/as	hablamos	comemos	vivimos
    you (plural)	vosotros/as	habláis	coméis	vivís
    they/you (polite plural)	ellos/ellas/ustedes	hablan	comen	viven

    In Spanish, it isn't usually necessary to use the subject pronoun. The verb ending makes it clear who is doing the action. For example:

    • bailas - you dance
    • bebemos - we drink
    • escriben - they write

    • The present tense and reflexive verbs

      Reflexive verbs are formed in the same way as regular -ar / -er / -ir verbs but include a reflexive pronoun (eg me, te, se).

      Reflexive verbs are often used to describe actions that we do to ourselves. They are particularly useful when talking about daily routine. For example:

      • acostarse - to go to bed
      • ducharse - to have a shower
      • despertarse - to wake up
      • vestirse - to get dressed

      They are also used for talking about relationships with other people. For example:

      • casarse - to get married
      • llevarse bien - to get on well
      • divorciarse - to get divorced
      • pelearse - to argue

      The reflexive pronoun

      The reflexive pronoun is attached to the end of the infinitive (eg bañarse - to have a bath).

      In the present tense, the pronoun comes before the verb and changes according to the person (eg me baño - I have a bath, nos bañamos - we have a bath).

      	levantarse (to get up)
      (yo)	me levanto
      (tu)	te levantas
      (él/ella/usted)	se levanta
      (nosotros/as)	nos levantamos
      (vosotros/as)	os levantáis
      (ellos/ellas/ustedes)	se levantan

      The present tense and irregular verbs

      Some of the most common verbs in Spanish are irregular verbs. This means that they don't follow the usual pattern in the present tense. You have to learn each one separately.

      The four most common irregular verbs are:

      	ser (to be)	estar (to be)	tener (to have)	ir (to go)
      (yo)	soy	estoy	tengo	voy
      (tu)	eres	estás	tienes	vas
      (él/ella/usted)	es	está	tiene	va
      (nosotros/as)	somos	estamos	tenemos	vamos
      (vosotros/as)	sois	estáis	tenéis	vais
      (ellos/ellas/ustedes)	son	están	tienen	van

      These irregular verbs are also useful:

      • decir (to say) digo, dices, dice, decimos, decís, dicen
      • venir (to come) vengo, vienes, viene, venimos, venís, vienen

      Verbs which are irregular in the 'I' form only

      Some verbs are only irregular in the first person ('I' form) of the verb. These include:

      • conocer (to know) → conozco (I know)
      • dar (to give) → doy (I give)
      • hacer (to do/make) → hago (I do/make)
      • poner (to put/set) → pongo (I put/set)
      • saber (to know) → sé (I know)
      • salir (to go out/leave) → salgo (I go out/leave)
      • ver (to see/watch) → veo (I see/watch)