Present Tense - Regular -ar Verbs
Let's consider the present tense of a regular "ar" verb. To determine the correct forms of a verb, we start with its infinitive form. The infinitive form of the verb meaning (to walk) in Spanish is (caminar).
Now we take off the -ar ending:
caminar - ar = camin
Now we add on one of the present tense endings: o, as, a, amos, an (The ending chosen will depend upon the whether the subject is singular or plural.)
camin + (ending) --> camino, caminas, camina, caminamos, caminan
The different forms of the verb caminar is shown in the table below.
| yo |  camino |
(I walk) | |
| tú | caminas |
(you walk) | |
| Ud./él/ella | camina |
(you/he/she walks) | |
| nosotros (as) | caminamos |
(we walk) | |
| vosotros (as) | camináis |
(you walk) | |
| Uds./ellos/ellas | caminan |
(you all/they walk) |
There are many verbs that follow the same pattern. Some of the more common ones are listed as follows:
ayudar - to help
cantar - to sing
comprar - to buy
enseñar - to teach
estudiar - to study
llamar - to call
llegar - to arrive
preguntar - to ask about
tocar - to play, touch
trabajar - to work
visitar - to visit
For regular Spanish verbs the ending is identical and you can simply follow a specific rule to determine the form for them all. See the table below.
Present Tense Endings for (ar), (er) and (ir) verbs
| ar verbs | er verbs | ir verbs | |
| yo | o | o | o |
| tú | as | es | es |
| Ud./él/ella | a | e | e |
| nosotros (as) | amos | emos | imos |
| vosotros (as) | áis | éis | ís |
| Uds./ellos/ellas | an | en | en |
Footnote: yo = I, tú = you (informal), usted (Ud.) = you (formal), él = he, ella = she, nosotros = we (males/mixed group), nosotras = we (females), vosotros = you guys (informal, males/mixed group), vosotras = you guys (informal, females), ellos = they (males/mixed group), ellas = they(females), ustedes (Uds.) = you all (formal)
Additional Information
EL VERBO - SPANISH VERBS - LE VERBE
Category: Study Spanish