Spanish verb conjugation follows clear, learnable patterns. Every Spanish verb belongs to one of three groups, determined by the last two letters of its infinitive: -ar, -er, or -ir. Each group has its own set of endings.
Once you learn the patterns, you can conjugate thousands of verbs — without memorising each one individually.
The Three Verb Groups
| Group | Ending | Model verb | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st conjugation | -ar | hablar | to speak |
| 2nd conjugation | -er | comer | to eat |
| 3rd conjugation | -ir | vivir | to live |
Present Tense Endings
To conjugate in the present tense: remove the infinitive ending (-ar/-er/-ir), then add the appropriate ending.
-ar verbs (hablar)
| Person | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | hablo |
| tú | -as | hablas |
| él/ella/usted | -a | habla |
| nosotros | -amos | hablamos |
| vosotros | -áis | habláis |
| ellos/ustedes | -an | hablan |
Other -ar verbs that follow this pattern: trabajar, escuchar, comprar, caminar, bailar, buscar, llegar…
-er verbs (comer)
| Person | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | como |
| tú | -es | comes |
| él/ella/usted | -e | come |
| nosotros | -emos | comemos |
| vosotros | -éis | coméis |
| ellos/ustedes | -en | comen |
Other -er verbs: beber, leer, correr, vender, aprender, entender…
-ir verbs (vivir)
| Person | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | vivo |
| tú | -es | vives |
| él/ella/usted | -e | vive |
| nosotros | -imos | vivimos |
| vosotros | -ís | vivís |
| ellos/ustedes | -en | viven |
Other -ir verbs: escribir, subir, abrir, recibir, decidir, permitir…
Notice: -er and -ir verbs share almost the same endings — only the nosotros and vosotros forms differ.
Practice present tense conjugations for hablar, comer, and vivir.
Hablito drills verb conjugations across all tenses until they become automatic — free, no account needed.
Preterite Tense Endings
The preterite (simple past) has its own set of endings.
-ar verbs (hablar)
| Person | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -é | hablé |
| tú | -aste | hablaste |
| él/ella/usted | -ó | habló |
| nosotros | -amos | hablamos |
| vosotros | -asteis | hablasteis |
| ellos/ustedes | -aron | hablaron |
-er / -ir verbs (comer / vivir)
-er and -ir verbs share identical preterite endings:
| Person | Ending | Comer | Vivir |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | -í | comí | viví |
| tú | -iste | comiste | viviste |
| él/ella/usted | -ió | comió | vivió |
| nosotros | -imos | comimos | vivimos |
| vosotros | -isteis | comisteis | vivisteis |
| ellos/ustedes | -ieron | comieron | vivieron |
Imperfect Tense Endings
The imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
-ar verbs
| Person | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -aba | hablaba |
| tú | -abas | hablabas |
| él/ella/usted | -aba | hablaba |
| nosotros | -ábamos | hablábamos |
| vosotros | -abais | hablabais |
| ellos/ustedes | -aban | hablaban |
-er / -ir verbs
| Person | Ending | Comer | Vivir |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | -ía | comía | vivía |
| tú | -ías | comías | vivías |
| él/ella/usted | -ía | comía | vivía |
| nosotros | -íamos | comíamos | vivíamos |
| vosotros | -íais | comíais | vivíais |
| ellos/ustedes | -ían | comían | vivían |
Future Tense Endings
Good news: all three verb groups use the same future endings, and you add them directly to the full infinitive (not a stem):
| Person | Ending | Hablar | Comer | Vivir |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | -é | hablaré | comeré | viviré |
| tú | -ás | hablarás | comerás | vivirás |
| él/ella | -á | hablará | comerá | vivirá |
| nosotros | -emos | hablaremos | comeremos | viviremos |
| vosotros | -éis | hablaréis | comeréis | viviréis |
| ellos | -án | hablarán | comerán | vivirán |
Irregular Verbs
Many of the most common verbs don’t follow these patterns exactly. Key irregulars to learn:
- ser (to be) — completely irregular: soy, eres, es, somos, sois, son
- ir (to go) — completely irregular: voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van
- tener (to have) — irregular first person: tengo, then follows -er pattern
- hacer (to do) — irregular first person: hago, irregular preterite: hice
- decir (to say) — irregular: digo, dices, dice…
These high-frequency verbs are worth learning as individual forms.
Where to Start
- Learn the three model verbs: hablar, comer, vivir
- Master the present tense patterns first
- Add the preterite once the present feels automatic
- Then tackle the imperfect and future
- Only then start learning irregular verbs
Practice regular -ar, -er, and -ir conjugations to lock in the patterns.
Hablito drills verb conjugations across all tenses until they become automatic — free, no account needed.