C HAPTER 7

Introducing
the Verb

THE VERB IS ARGUABLY the most important part of the sentence. In fact, many Spanish verbs can form a complete sentence all by themselves: ¡Siéntate! (Sit down!) Caminan. (They are walking.)

Spanish verbs contain much more information in their endings than English verbs, but the flipside is that there are many more endings to choose from. This is why many non-native students have difficulty mastering Spanish verbs. In English, there are just a few basic forms and endings, like the –ed ending to represent past tense. In Spanish, each verb has as many as 106 forms.

Fortunately, verb conjugations follow a set of rules with only a few exceptions, so being able to conjugate many verbs doesn’t actually involve memorizing conjugations for each one separately.

Action or State of Being

A verb is a part of speech that refers to the action or state of the subject—what the subject does, what is happening to it, or what it is. In addition to meaning, which remains in the stem (or root) of the verb, the verb is conjugated according to its person, number, voice, mood, tense, and aspect. For example, the verbs discutir, discutirán, and discutan all carry the inherent meaning of “discussing,” but each of the endings carries additional information about the verb and how it acts together with the subject.

In Person

Spanish verbs may appear in one of three grammatical persons. The first person represents the speaker, the second person the addressee, and the third person the object of speech.

I. yo (I), nosotros (we), nosotras (we, feminine)

II. tú (you, informal), vosotros (you, informal/plural), vosotras (you, informal/plural/feminine)

III. él (he), ella (she), ello (it), ellos (they), ellas (they, feminine).

English grammar works the same way—we also have three persons— but our verbs rarely change form accordingly. The one exception is the verb “to be.” In the present tense, its forms are “am,” “are,” and “is,” depending on the person (and number, explained next).

ALERT

Although usted and ustedes, the two formal “you” pronouns, represent the person spoken to and should theoretically be second person pronouns, they are actually used with third-person verbs. The reason goes back to the original meaning of these words, vuestra merced and vuestras mercedes, which are third-person nouns.

Singular and Plural

Verbs are also conjugated according to number:

1. Singular: yo, tú, él, ella, ello, and usted

2. Plural: nosotros, nosotras, vosotros, vosotras, ellos, ellas, and ustedes

Together, person and number form the six basic forms of the verb within each tense. In this book (as in many others), conjugations will be presented as follows:

first person/singular	first person/plural
second person/singular	second person/plural
third person/singular	third person/plural

This way, if you need the verb in the tú form, you’ll need to use the second person/singular form. For ustedes, the third person/plural is the right form. The same works with subjects that are not expressed as pronouns. La estudiante (the student) will take on the third person/singular form; Marisca y yo (Marisca and I) the first person/plural form.

Verbal Voice

A verb may be in active voice or passive voice. Active-voice verbs express the action of the subject:

Yo hablo francés. Hablo francés.

I speak French.

Verbs in passive voice express the action done to the subject (in which the subject is passive):

En Quebec se habla francés.

French is spoken in Quebec. (In Quebec, people speak French.)

How passive voice works in Spanish is covered in greater detail in Chapter 9.

In the Mood

Spanish verbs are also conjugated by mood. Spanish grammar includes three moods (the same is true in English):

1. Indicative mood expresses the way things are: Trabajo mucho. (I work a lot.)

2. Subjunctive mood expresses possibility or opinion, something that isn’t necessarily true but could be: No quiero que mi hijo trabaje. (I don’t want my son to work.)

3. Imperative mood expresses commands and requests: ¡Abre la puerta! (Open the door!)

ESSENTIAL

Many people don’t realize that subjunctive mood does exist in English, even though it is not used frequently. For example, in the phrase “if I were a rich man,” the verb “were” is in the subjunctive mood. This is why “were” and not “was” is the correct verb here, even though normally we say “I was” when the phrase is in past tense.

It’s About Time

Verbs are also broken down by tense. Most languages have at least three basic tenses—the past, present, and future. Some tenses are simple, which means they are expressed with a one-word verb form. Others are compound tenses: These are made up of a conjugated auxiliary verb like estar (to be) or haber (to have), and another verb in a particular form (present or past participle):

Estoy cansada.

I’m tired.

¿Has comido?

Have you eaten?

Spanish grammar boasts ten tenses in the indicative mood, six tenses in the subjunctive, and one tense in the imperative.

Verbal Aspects

Finally, Spanish verbs may be subdivided into imperfect and perfect forms. Imperfect forms represent action that is being carried out, while perfect forms represent action that has been completed. In general, this is not an important distinction in Spanish because all simple (one-word) forms are imperfect and all compound forms are perfect. The one exception is the preterite (past) tense: it is a simple form that represents action that has been completed.

In the Infinitive

With so many verb conjugations to choose from, the “generic” form that simply identifies the verb is the infinitive. It is an impersonal form that is used in dictionaries and to talk about the verb without a particular tense or person.

In English, infinitives are verbs that are preceded by the particle “to”: to think, to walk, to have. In Spanish, infinitives may be recognized by one of the following three endings: –ar, –er, and –ir. For example, hablar (to speak), vender (to sell), vivir (to live). All Spanish verbs can be classified into one of these three groups, so any particular verb may be referred to as an –ar verb, –er verb, or –ir verb. Each group has its own set of regular endings.

The Present Tense

Generally the first tense students will learn in Spanish class is the present tense (in the indicative mood). In Spanish, this is a versatile tense that can be used in many situations. Most obviously, it may be used to indicate simple present tense, just as in English:

Tomo clases de salsa los viernes.

I take salsa lessons on Fridays.

Hace mucho frío.

It’s very cold (outside).

Whereas in English we use the present progressive form (I’m thinking, you’re going, etc.) to describe actions that are in the process of being completed now as opposed to in general, in Spanish the simple present tense may be used in both cases:

Cantas bien.

You sing well.

Canto en la lluvia.

I’m singing in the rain.

ESSENTIAL

To talk about something that began in the past but continues to the present, use the expression hace + (amount of time) + que + (present-tense verb). For example: Hace tres días que no puedo dormir. (I haven’t been able to sleep for three days.)

The simple present tense in Spanish can also be used to indicate actions that will actually happen in the future, but which are planned in the present:

Venimos a la fiesta a las diez.

We’ll come to the party at ten.

(We’re coming to the party at ten.)

Voy de compras mañana.

I’m going shopping tomorrow.

Regular Conjugations

To conjugate regular verbs in the present tense, all you need to do is drop the infinitive ending of the verb, and choose the correct ending based on the verb’s group (whether it’s an –AR, –ER, or –IR verb), person, and number.

–AR Endings	–ER Endings	–IR Endings
–o    –amos	–o    –emos	–o    –imos
–as    –áis	–es    –éis	–es    –ís
–a    –an	–e    –en	–e    –en

As examples, let’s take the verbs hablar (to speak), vender (to sell), and vivir (to live):

(yo) hablo, vendo, vivo

(nosotros, nosotras) hablamos, vendemos, vivimos

(tú) hablas, vendes, vives

(vosotros, vosotras) habláis, vendéis, vivís

(él, ella, usted) habla, vende, vive

(ellos, ellas) hablan, venden, viven

Hablo alemán.

I speak German.

Clarisa vende flores en la calle.

Clarisa sells flowers on the street.

(Clarisa is selling flowers on the street.)

¿Vivís aquí?

Do you live here?

Practice Makes Perfect

Add the correct present-tense conjugation of the regular verbs (in parentheses):

1. Ellos __________________(hablar) inglés.

2. Nosotras __________________(vivir) en Madrid.

3. Usted __________________(abrir) la puerta.

4. Vosotros __________________(vender) frutas en el mercado.

5. Elena __________________(preparar) el desayuno.

6. Ustedes __________________(decidir) que hacer.

Translate into English:

1. El profesor arregla los papeles.

________________________________________

2. Yo ayudo a mis padres con las tareas de la casa.

________________________________________

3. Nosotros entramos por la puerta de atrás.

________________________________________

4. Ella limpia su casa cada semana.

________________________________________

5. Tú necesitas ayuda.

________________________________________

6. Ellos queman hojas en el jardín.

________________________________________

Translate into Spanish:

1. You (informal) dance well.

________________________________________

2. You (plural) wash the dishes.

________________________________________

3. We send letters to our friends.

________________________________________

4. They teach classes in the mornings.

________________________________________

5. I drink a lot of water each day.

________________________________________

6. He watches a movie.

________________________________________

To check your answers, refer to the answer key in Appendix D.