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Spanish -AR Verbs (present tense)

To conjugate a regular -ar verb in the present tense, drop -ar and add the ending for the subject: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an. Hablar becomes hablo, hablas, habla, and so on.

  • CEFR A1
  • 8-question quiz
  • 2 exercises
Present tense of hablar (to speak)
  1. yo→habloI speak
  2. tú→hablasyou speak
  3. él / ella / usted→hablahe / she speaks, you (formal) speak
  4. nosotros / nosotras→hablamoswe speak
  5. vosotros / vosotras→habláisyou all speak (Spain)
  6. ellos / ellas / ustedes→hablanthey speak, you all speak

Spanish –ar verbs, in particular, are an essential part of learning Spanish. -Ar verbs share the same construction, so you can easily link them in your mind. This will make all of the words easier to remember.

In Spanish we conjugate our verbs just like we do in English. But, what does conjugate mean?

Conjugating verbs is when we change the ending (and sometimes the stem!) of a verb based on the subject of the sentence. Let’s take the verb “to be” for example. Watch how “be” changes based on the subject of the sentence in these examples: I am, You are, He is. We do this with every verb we use – unless using it in its infinitive form.

In order to conjugate verbs in Spanish, we need to know which type of verb we are conjugating. To determine the type of verb you are working with, you will simply look at its ending. The ending of a verb will always be the last two letters.

NOTE! The verb type simply means a verb ends in either -ar, -er or -ir.

The stem is the remaining beginning part of the verb. There are three types of verbs in Spanish. They are: -AR verbs (ex: caminar, hablar, trabajar), -ER verbs (ex: comer, vender, leer), and -IR verbs (ex: permitir, vivir, recibir).

Verb StemVerb EndingWhole Verb
HABL-ARHABLAR
COM-ERCOMER
VIV-IRVIVIR

Once you determine the type of verb you are conjugating, you are ready to conjugate the verb using these three short steps:

STEPS TO CONJUGATING REGULAR PRESENT TENSE VERBS IN SPANISH

  1. Chop off your -AR, -ER or -IR ending (viajar, beber, abrir) so that you are left with just the stem.
  2. Determine the subject of the sentence (yo, tú, él, etc.).
  3. Add your new ending based on the subject of the sentence. (yo viajo, tú bebes, nosotros abrimos)

For step 3, here are the new endings you will add to -AR verbs only (we will talk about -ER and -IR verbs in our upcoming lessons!).

-O-AMOS
-AS-ÁIS
-A-AN

Here is the verb MIRAR (to look at) conjugated in each form. Look closely at the new ending in each form.

Yo miroNosotros(as) miramos
Tú mirasVosotros(as) miráis
Él/Ella/Usted miraEllos/Ellas/Ustedes miran

Key vocabulary

WordMeaningExample
hablarto speak, to talkHablo con mi jefe todos los lunes.
trabajarto workTrabajamos desde casa los viernes.
llamarto call¿Llamas al cliente o lo llamo yo?
escucharto listen (to)Escucho podcasts en el tren.
mirarto look at, to watchEllos miran las noticias por la noche.
caminarto walkCamino a la oficina cuando hace buen tiempo.
colaborarto collaborate, to work togetherColaboro con el equipo de ventas.
necesitarto needNecesitamos más tiempo para el informe.
viajarto travelMi socia viaja a México cada mes.

Practice: Spanish -AR Verbs (present tense)

Work through the exercises, then test yourself with the quiz. Learn from your mistakes and try again as often as you like.

Exercises

Conjugate the -ar verb

Write the present-tense form of the verb that matches the subject.

  1. Me gusta la música. Yo ______ siempre. (cantar)

    I always sing.

    Show answer

    canto

  2. Le gusta la clase de arte. Ella ______ en la biblioteca. (dibujar)

    She draws in the library.

    Show answer

    dibuja

  3. Nos gusta hablar. Nosotros ______ todo el tiempo. (hablar)

    We talk all the time.

    Show answer

    hablamos

  4. Os gusta la radio. Vosotros ______ mucha música. (escuchar)

    You all listen to a lot of music.

    Show answer

    escucháis

  5. Les gustan los programas de televisión. Ellos ______ la televisión cada día. (mirar)

    They watch TV every day.

    Show answer

    miran

  6. Nosotros ______ por teléfono todos los días. (hablar)

    We talk on the phone every day.

    Show answer

    hablamos

  7. Tú ______ mucho durante la semana. (trabajar)

    You work a lot during the week.

    Show answer

    trabajas

  8. Yo ______ con mi compañero en la oficina. (colaborar)

    I collaborate with my coworker at the office.

    Show answer

    colaboro

Match the ending

Write the subject pronoun that goes with each -ar ending, then complete the sentences.

  1. -o → ______

    I

    Show answer

    yo

  2. -amos → ______

    we

    Show answer

    nosotros

  3. -an → ______

    they

    Show answer

    ellos

  4. -áis → ______

    you all (Spain)

    Show answer

    vosotros

  5. -as → ______

    you (informal)

    Show answer

    tú

  6. -a → ______

    she

    Show answer

    ella

  7. Yo ______ en la escuela. (trabajar)

    I work at the school.

    Show answer

    trabajo

  8. Nosotros ______ por la calle. (caminar)

    We walk down the street.

    Show answer

    caminamos

  9. Vosotros ______ francés. (hablar)

    You all speak French.

    Show answer

    habláis

  10. Él ______ la televisión. (mirar)

    He watches television.

    Show answer

    mira

Quiz: 8 questions

1. What is the stem of trabajar?
2. Yo ______ con clientes todos los días. (hablar)
3. ¿Tú ______ los fines de semana? (trabajar)
4. Mi jefa ______ mucho por trabajo. (viajar)
5. Nosotros ______ más tiempo. (necesitar)
6. Which ending goes with vosotros?
7. Los empleados ______ la presentación. (escuchar)
8. Usted ______ al cliente mañana. (llamar)

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