Present Tense - Regular -ir Verbs
More on Present Tense - Regular Verbs
Let's consider the present tense of a regular "ir" verb. The verb meaning (to write) in Spanish is (escribir).
Now we take off the -ir ending:
escribir - ir = escrib
Now we add on one of the present tense endings: o, es, e, imos, ís, en (The ending chosen will depend upon the gender of the subject and whether it is singular or plural.)
escrib + (ending) --> escribo, escribes, escribe, escribimos, escribís, escriben
The different forms of the verb escribir are shown in the table below.
| yo |  escribo |
(I write) | |
| tú | escribes |
(you write) | |
| Ud./él/ella | escribe |
(you/he/she writes) | |
| nosotros (as) | escribimos |
(we write) | |
| vosotros (as) | escribís |
(you write) | |
| Uds./ellos/ellas | escriben |
(they write) |
There are many verbs that follow the same pattern. Some of the more common ones are listed as follows:
-
abrir - to open (example sentences)
asistir - to attend (example sentences)
descubrir - to discover (example sentences)
recibir - to receive (example sentences)
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