The name of this tense in Spanish is: "presente simple del indicativo".
In Spanish there are 3 types of regular verbs ("ar", "er" and "ir" verbs). Each type has a different conjugation. But don't worry we will explain you.
Next, we study the conjugation of the verb "cantar", the other Verbs ending in "-ar" follow the same conjugation table:
cantar (to sing)
| First conjugation [stem] + "-ar" | Meaning |
|---|---|
| yo canto | I sing |
| tú cantas | you sing |
| él canta | he sings |
| nosotros cantamos | we sing |
| vosotros cantáis | you sing |
| ellos cantan | they sing |
The conjugation of the "er" verbs is not very different, only changes the vowal "a" to "e", as example we will see the verb "beber":
beber (to drink)
| Second conjugation [stem] + "-er" | Meaning |
|---|---|
| yo bebo | I drink |
| tú bebes | you drink |
| él bebe | he drinks |
| nosotros bebemos | we drink |
| vosotros bebéis | you drink |
| ellos beben | they drink |
The conjugation of the "ir" verbs is the most difficult, but come on!, you can learn it:
vivir (to live)
| Second conjugation [stem] + "-ir" | Meaning |
|---|---|
| yo vivo | I live |
| tú vives | you live |
| él vive | he lives |
| nosotros vivimos | we live |
| vosotros vivís | you live |
| ellos viven | they live |
Next, we will show you a table with the endings of the 3 for you with all of the first, second and third person conjugations of regular verbs in the present indicative.
| Pronoun | first conjugation [stem] + "-ar" | second conjugation [stem] + "-er" | third conjugation [stem] + "-ir" |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | -o | -o |
| tú | -as | -es | -es |
| él ella usted | -a | -e | -e |
| nosotros nosotras | -amos | -emos | -imos |
| vosotros vosotras | -ais | -eis | -ís |
| ellos ellas ustedes | -an | -en | -en |
In Spanish, the present tense is used in the following cases:
Lucía trabaja mucho en casa
Lucía works a lot at home
María vive en Madrid
María lives in Madrid
Lucía lleva un abrigo muy bonito
Lucía is wearing a very nice coat
¡Mira!, María camina muy deprisa
Look!, María is walking very fast
La tierra es redonda
The earth is round
Viajar abre tu mente
Travel opens your mind
Los viernes voy a clases de natación
On Fridays I go to swim lessons
Todos los jueves como paella
Every Thursday I eat paella
¿Quedamos el viernes a comer?
So we´ll go for lunch on Friday?
Te recojo en la estación esta tarde
I´ll meet you in the station this afternoon
Se pone el fuego al máximo,
Put the heat on high,
a continuación pelamos las cebollas y las cortamos en trozos pequeños
then peel the onions and cut them into small pieces
¿No vas a la biblioteca a estudiar?
Aren´t you going to the library to study?
¿Bajas la pelota y jugamos?
Will you bring the ball down to play?
¿Me pongo la falda o (me pongo) el pantalón?
Which one will I put on, the skirt or the pants?
¿Me ayudas con las matemáticas?
Will you help me with math?
¿Te ayudo?
Can I help you?
Mamá, ¿Bajo la basura?
Mom, should I throw out the trash?
When we ask a question, generally, we switch the position of the verb to that of the personal pronoun. This rule is applicable to the three conjugations.
| Affirmation | Interrogation |
|---|---|
| tú cantas you sing | ¿cantas (tú)? do you sing? |
| él come he eats | ¿come (él)? does he eat? |
To make the negative form, simply put the adverb "no" before the verb, or, in other words, to the left of the verb.
| Affirmation | Negation |
|---|---|
| yo quiero I want | yo no quiero I don't want |
| él corre he runs | él no corre he doesn't run |
In Spanish, if we know the personal pronoun in advance, it´s omitted in most cases, because it is implicit in the verb tense used to speak.
You can see more information about omitting the personal pronoun in the following link: Personal pronouns (Pronombres personales)