Simple present tense - Regular verbs

Nosotros practicamos yoga todos los domingos.

The simple present tense (el presente de indicativo) is one of the first tenses you’ll learn in Spanish. It’s used to talk about habits, daily routines, general truths, and things happening now.

The good news?

Regular verbs follow clear and predictable patterns! Let’s explore them step by step.

Three Verb Groups

In Spanish, all verbs end in one of three infinitive endings:

• -ar (e.g. hablar → to speak)

• -er (e.g. comer → to eat)

• -ir (e.g. vivir → to live)

  
  

Each group has its own regular conjugation pattern. You can create a song to learn this pattern. Many of my students like to do this.

Let’s see how to conjugate these verbs

To form the simple present tense of a regular verb:

1. Remove the -ar, -er, or -ir ending from the infinitive.

2. Add the correct ending depending on the subject - person - (yo, tú, él/ella, etc.).

   
   

 -AR Verbs (hablar – to speak)

Subject - Person	ending	Verb conjugated  - hablar (to speak)
yo	-o	Hablo  (I speak)
tú	-as	hablas (you speak)
Él / ella / usted	-a	habla (he/she/you speak)
nosotros	-amos	hablamos (we speak)
vosotros	-áis	habláis (you all speak)
Ellos / ellas / ustedes	-an	hablan (they/you all speak)

-ER Verbs (comer – to eat)

Subject - Person	ending	Verb conjugated  - comer (to eat)
yo	-o	como (I eat)
tú	-es	comes (you eat)
Él / ella / usted	-e	come (he/she/you eat)
nosotros	-emos	comemos (we eat))
vosotros	-éis	coméis (you all eat)
Ellos / ellas / ustedes	-en	comen (they/you all eat)

-IR Verbs (vivir – to live)

Subject - Person	ending	Verb conjugated  - vivir (to live)
yo	-o	vivo (I live)
tú	-es	vives (you live)
Él / ella / usted	-e	vive (he/she/you live)
nosotros	-imos	vivimos (we live)
vosotros	-ís	vivís (you all live)
Ellos / ellas / ustedes	-en	viven (they/you all live)

Por ejemplo:

• Yo hablo inglés y español. (I speak English and Spanish.)

• Nosotros comemos en casa todos los días. (We eat at home every day.)

• Ellos viven en Madrid. (They live in Madrid.)

A very important note

• Remember: subject pronouns (yo, tú, etc.) are often dropped in Spanish because the verb ending already tells us who is doing the action. This means that you don’t need to repeat them all the time.

• Regular patterns make it easier to learn, once you master one group, the others will follow.

  
  

Let’s remember

• -ar, -er, -ir verbs each follow their own pattern.

• Conjugation = verb stem + ending.

• Use the simple present tense to describe habits, facts, and things happening now.

  
  

Start with these regular verbs and you’ll quickly build confidence in everyday conversations. 

Keen on practising?

Exercise 1: Fill in the Blanks

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in brackets.

1. Yo __________ (hablar) español e inglés.

2. Nosotros __________ (comer) en casa todos los días.

3. ¿Tú __________ (vivir) en Madrid o Barcelona?

4. Ella __________ (bailar) muy bien.

5. Vosotros __________ (leer) muchos libros.

   
   

Exercise 2: Translate into Spanish

Translate these sentences into Spanish using the simple present tense:

1. I speak French every day.

2. We live in London.

3. Do you (informal) eat fish?

4. They write letters to their friends.

5. He drinks coffee in the morning.

   
   

Exercise 3: Correct the Mistakes

Each sentence has an error. Rewrite them correctly.

1. Yo hablas inglés.

2. Nosotros vive en España.

3. Tú come pizza.

4. Ellos escribes correos electrónicos.

5. Vosotros beben agua.