What are infinitive endings?
Infinitive endings are basically the base form of a verb before any conjugations or changes are made to it. In English, infinitive verbs are often preceded by the word “to,” such as “to run,” “to sing,” or “to dance.”
In Spanish, infinitive endings come in three forms: -ar, -er, and -ir. These endings indicate the verb’s infinitive form and help distinguish it from other types of verbs. For example, “hablar” (to speak), “comer” (to eat), and “vivir” (to live) are all infinitive verbs with different endings.
Regular -ar endings
Regular -ar verbs in Spanish are quite common and easy to conjugate once you get the hang of it. When conjugating a regular -ar verb, all you have to do is drop the -ar ending and add the appropriate ending depending on the subject. For example, for the verb “hablar” (to speak), in the present tense, you would say “yo hablo” (I speak), “tú hablas” (you speak), “él/ella habla” (he/she speaks), “nosotros/as hablamos” (we speak), “vosotros/as habláis” (you all speak), and “ellos/as hablan” (they speak).
Another important thing to note about regular -ar verbs is that they follow a specific pattern when conjugated. This means that once you learn the endings for one -ar verb, you can apply the same endings to the majority of regular -ar verbs. So, if you understand how to conjugate verbs like “hablar” or “estudiar” in the present tense, you’ll have a good foundation for conjugating other regular -ar verbs as well. It’s a helpful way to streamline the learning process and make conjugating verbs in Spanish a bit less daunting.
Regular -er endings
When it comes to regular -er endings in Spanish verbs, they follow a simple pattern that makes them easy to identify and conjugate. Verbs that end in -er are found in a variety of everyday actions, from eating (comer) to reading (leer). Let’s dive into how these verbs are conjugated in the present tense.
To conjugate regular -er verbs in the present tense, you simply need to remove the -er ending and replace it with the appropriate endings for each subject pronoun. For example, for the verb “comer” (to eat), you would say “yo como” (I eat), “tú comes” (you eat), “él/ella/usted come” (he/she/you eat), “nosotros/nosotras comemos” (we eat), “vosotros/vosotras coméis” (you all eat), and “ellos/ellas/ustedes comen” (they/you all eat). So, next time you’re conjugating a regular -er verb, remember this simple pattern to get it right every time.