Spanish verbs in their infinitive form (the “to” form, like “to speak”) always end in one of three ways: -ar, -er, or -ir. This ending tells you exactly which conjugation group the verb belongs to — it’s that simple!

• -ar verbs (most common, e.g., hablar – to speak, cantar – to sing): Follow one set of patterns.
• -er verbs (e.g., comer – to eat, beber – to drink): Another pattern.
• -ir verbs (e.g., vivir – to live, escribir – to write): Very similar to -er, with just a few differences.

Just look at the ending of the infinitive, and you’ll know how to conjugate it in any tense. No guessing needed — the verb tells you itself! (Bonus: -ar verbs are the easiest and most regular.)

Verbs are the heart of any Spanish sentence, they tell us what’s happening, Unlike English, Spanish verbs change a lot depending on who is doing the action and when.

Take the common verb hablar (to speak):

• Yo hablo (I speak)
• Tú hablas (You speak – informal)
• Él/Ella habla (He/She speaks)
• Nosotros hablamos (We speak)
• Vosotros habláis (You all speak – Spain)
• Ellos/Ellas hablan (They speak)

See how the ending changes? That’s called conjugation. Most everyday verbs follow similar patterns.

Here are some useful verbs in the present tense:

1. Ser (to be – permanent things)
   
   Soy estudiante. (I am a student.)
2. Estar (to be – temporary states or location)
   
   Estoy cansado. (I am tired.)
   ¿Dónde estás? (Where are you?)
3. Tener (to have)
   
   Tengo hambre. (I’m hungry – literally “I have hunger.”)
   Tenemos un perro. (We have a dog.)

Verbs are the main part of sentences, they show action or states of being. They tell you who and when the action was done. Start with a simple subject, add a strong verb, and watch your sentence come to life!

Step 1: Choose a subject (who or what).
Step 2: Pick a verb (when, what they do or are).
Step 3: Add details to make it interesting.

Example: The cat → The cat sleeps → The cat sleeps on the couch.
El gato → El gato duerme → El gato duerme en el sofá.

Verb structures are important in all languages, they express the tense and how often an action is done.

In both languages, Simple Structure is used for actions that you do habitually.

That’s why most of the time you’ll add “last week, last year, sometimes, everyday, every week,…” at the end of a simple structure sentense

Spanish verb phrases can be built using these five core structures, allowing for precise expression of time, aspect, and description:

• Simple: Basic single-verb forms (e.g., hablo, hablaba) for straightforward actions.
• Perfect: Uses haber + past participle (e.g., he hablado) to indicate completed actions.
• Progressive: Uses estar + gerund (e.g., estoy hablando) to show ongoing actions.
• Descriptive: Combines ser or estar + adjective (e.g., es alto, está cansado) for states or descriptions.
• Compound Descriptive: Perfect or progressive applied to descriptive structures (e.g., ha estado enfermo, estaba siendo difícil) for nuanced ongoing or completed states.

Mastering these structures forms the foundation of fluent Spanish expression.

Spanish verb phrases can be built using these five core structures, allowing for precise expression of time, aspect, and description:

• Simple: Basic single-verb forms (e.g., hablo, hablaba) for straightforward actions.
• Perfect: Uses haber + past participle (e.g., he hablado) to indicate completed actions.
• Progressive: Uses estar + gerund (e.g., estoy hablando) to show ongoing actions.
• Descriptive: Combines ser or estar + adjective (e.g., es alto, está cansado) for states or descriptions.
• Compound Descriptive: Perfect or progressive applied to descriptive structures (e.g., ha estado enfermo, estaba siendo difícil) for nuanced ongoing or completed states.

Mastering these structures forms the foundation of fluent Spanish expression.