Verbs & Actions
What happens in the story?
The heart of every sentence
Verbs bring stories to life. They tell you what characters do, want, can do, and must do. Luckily, most Spanish verbs follow three predictable patterns.
The irregular verbs we cover are so frequent that you will encounter them in almost every paragraph. With this knowledge, you can follow the main thread of any story.
Chapter
7
The 3 Regular Patterns
Spot the pattern, understand hundreds of verbs
About 90% of all Spanish verbs follow one of these three patterns. If you know them, you can often guess the meaning of new verbs. Note: in Spanish, the subject (yo, tú, él, etc.) is usually omitted because the verb form already indicates who performs the action.
-AR verbs (the largest group)
This pattern is the most common. Look at the endings:
hablar = to speak/to talk
yo
hablo
(I speak)
tú
hablas
(you speak)
él/ella
habla
(he/she speaks)
nosotros
hablamos
(we speak)
vosotros
habláis
(you (plural) speak)
ellos/ellas
hablan
(they speak)
Common -AR verbs
amar
→
to love
Amo el chocolate
-
I love chocolate
bailar
→
to dance
Baila muy bien
-
He/she dances very well
caminar
→
to walk
Camina rápido
-
He/she walks fast
cantar
→
to sing
María canta bien
-
María sings well
comprar
→
to buy
Compran pan
-
They buy bread
cocinar
→
to cook
Cocina muy bien
-
She cooks very well
desayunar
→
to have breakfast
Desayuno temprano
-
I have breakfast early
escuchar
→
to listen
Escucha música
-
He listens to music
esperar
→
to wait/to hope
Esperamos el bus
-
We wait for the bus
estudiar
→
to study
Estudian español
-
They study Spanish
llegar
→
to arrive
Llega tarde
-
He arrives late
llamar
→
to call/to name
Te llamo mañana
-
I will call you tomorrow
mirar
→
to look/to watch
Miro la tele
-
I watch TV
necesitar
→
to need
Necesito ayuda
-
I need help
pagar
→
to pay
Paga la cuenta
-
He pays the bill
preguntar
→
to ask
Pregunta mucho
-
He asks a lot
trabajar
→
to work
Trabaja en un banco
-
He works at a bank
viajar
→
to travel
Viajan a España
-
They travel to Spain
-ER verbs
The second group — fewer verbs, but very frequent:
comer = to eat
yo
como
(I eat)
tú
comes
(you eat)
él/ella
come
(he/she eats)
nosotros
comemos
(we eat)
vosotros
coméis
(you (plural) eat)
ellos/ellas
comen
(they eat)
Common -ER verbs
aprender
→
to learn
Aprende español
-
He learns Spanish
beber
→
to drink
Bebo agua
-
I drink water
comprender
→
to understand
No comprendo
-
I do not understand
correr
→
to run
Los niños corren
-
The children run
creer
→
to believe
No lo creo
-
I do not believe it
deber
→
to have to/must
Debes estudiar
-
You must study
leer
→
to read
Lee un libro
-
He reads a book
meter
→
to put in
Meto la llave
-
I put the key in
prometer
→
to promise
Te prometo
-
I promise you
responder
→
to answer
Responde rápido
-
Answer quickly
romper
→
to break
Rompe el vaso
-
He breaks the glass
temer
→
to fear
Teme la oscuridad
-
He fears the dark
vender
→
to sell
Venden la casa
-
They sell the house
-IR verbs
The third group — similar to -ER, but with a few differences:
vivir = to live/to reside (regular)
yo
vivo
(I live)
tú
vives
(you live)
él/ella
vive
(he/she lives)
nosotros
vivimos
(we live)
vosotros
vivís
(you (plural) live)
ellos/ellas
viven
(they live)
Common -IR verbs
abrir
→
to open
Abro la ventana
-
I open the window
asistir
→
to attend
Asiste a clase
-
He attends class
compartir
→
to share
Comparte su comida
-
He shares his food
decidir
→
to decide
Decido ahora
-
I decide now
describir
→
to describe
Describe la casa
-
He describes the house
discutir
→
to discuss
Discuten mucho
-
They discuss a lot
escribir
→
to write
Escribo una carta
-
I write a letter
existir
→
to exist
Existe un problema
-
A problem exists
ocurrir
→
to happen
Ocurre algo
-
Something is happening
partir
→
to leave/depart
Parten mañana
-
They leave tomorrow
recibir
→
to receive
Recibe una carta
-
She receives a letter
subir
→
to go up
Subo las escaleras
-
I go up the stairs
sufrir
→
to suffer
Sufre mucho
-
He suffers a lot
Chapter
8
The Essential Irregulars
These verbs are everywhere
These verbs are irregular, but so frequent that you should know them by heart. They appear in almost every conversation and story.
HACER (to do/to make)
yo
hago
(I do/make)
Hago la tarea
I do my homework
tú
haces
(you do/make)
¿Qué haces?
What are you doing?
él/ella
hace
(he/she does)
Hace frío
It is cold
nosotros
hacemos
(we do)
Hacemos ejercicio
We exercise
vosotros
hacéis
(you (plural) do)
¿Hacéis deporte?
Do you play sports?
ellos/ellas
hacen
(they do)
Hacen ruido
They make noise
Important expressions with HACER
hacer la cama
→
to make the bed
hacer la comida
→
to make food/to cook
hacer una pregunta
→
to ask a question
hacer ejercicio
→
to exercise
hacer un viaje
→
to take a trip
hacer caso
→
to pay attention
hacer falta
→
to be needed
Hace calor/frío
→
It is hot/cold
(weather expressions)
Hace sol/viento
→
It is sunny/windy
(weather expressions)
IR (to go)
yo
voy
(I go)
Voy a casa
I go home
tú
vas
(you go)
¿Adónde vas?
Where are you going?
él/ella
va
(he/she goes)
Va al trabajo
He goes to work
nosotros
vamos
(we go)
¡Vamos!
Let's go!
vosotros
vais
(you (plural) go)
¿Vais al cine?
Are you going to the cinema?
ellos/ellas
van
(they go)
Van a la playa
They go to the beach
VENIR (to come)
yo
vengo
(I come)
Vengo enseguida
I am coming right away
tú
vienes
(you come)
¿Vienes conmigo?
Are you coming with me?
él/ella
viene
(he/she comes)
Viene de Madrid
He comes from Madrid
nosotros
venimos
(we come)
Venimos mañana
We are coming tomorrow
vosotros
venís
(you (plural) come)
¿Venís también?
Are you coming too?
ellos/ellas
vienen
(they come)
Vienen siempre
They always come
Modal verbs — Want, Can, Must
Use these verbs with an infinitive: puedo comer (I can eat)
QUERER (to want)
quiero
→
I want
Quiero un helado
-
I want an ice cream
quieres
→
you want
¿Quieres venir?
-
Do you want to come?
quiere
→
he/she wants
Quiere dormir
-
He wants to sleep
queremos
→
we want
Queremos salir
-
We want to go out
queréis
→
you (plural) want
¿Queréis comer?
-
Do you want to eat?
quieren
→
they want
Quieren saber
-
They want to know
PODER (to be able to / can)
puedo
→
I can
Puedo ayudarte
-
I can help you
puedes
→
you can
¿Puedes repetir?
-
Can you repeat?
puede
→
he/she can
No puede venir
-
He cannot come
podemos
→
we can
Podemos ir
-
We can go
podéis
→
you (plural) can
¿Podéis esperar?
-
Can you wait?
pueden
→
they can
Pueden entrar
-
They can come in
DEBER (to have to / must)
debo
→
I must
Debo estudiar
-
I must study
debes
→
you must
Debes escuchar
-
You must listen
debe
→
he/she must
Debe salir
-
He must leave
debemos
→
we must
Debemos pagar
-
We must pay
debéis
→
you (plural) must
Debéis decidir
-
You must decide
deben
→
they must
Deben trabajar
-
They must work
Chapter
9
Questions & Negations
Essential for dialogues
In stories, characters ask questions and deny things. Spanish questions start with an inverted question mark (¿).
Question words
¿Quién?
→
Who?
(For people)
¿Quién es?
-
Who is it?
¿Qué?
→
What?
(Things/actions)
¿Qué haces?
-
What are you doing?
¿Dónde?
→
Where?
(Place)
¿Dónde vives?
-
Where do you live?
¿Cuándo?
→
When?
(Time)
¿Cuándo sales?
-
When do you leave?
¿Cómo?
→
How?
(Manner)
¿Cómo estás?
-
How are you?
¿Por qué?
→
Why?
(Reason)
¿Por qué lloras?
-
Why are you crying?
¿Cuánto?
→
How much?
(Quantity)
¿Cuánto cuesta?
-
How much does it cost?
¿Cuál?/¿Cuáles?
→
Which?
(Choice)
¿Cuál prefieres?
-
Which do you prefer?
¿De quién?
→
Whose?
(Possession)
¿De quién es esto?
-
Whose is this?
¿Con quién?
→
With whom?
(Company)
¿Con quién vas?
-
Who are you going with?
¿A qué hora?
→
What time?
(Time)
¿A qué hora llegas?
-
What time do you arrive?
Forming questions
Intonation
Example
¿Hablas español?
Translation
Do you speak Spanish?
Explanation
Just raise your tone
Question word first
Example
¿Dónde vas?
Translation
Where are you going?
Explanation
Question word + verb
¿Verdad?
Example
Hablas español, ¿verdad?
Translation
You speak Spanish, right?
Explanation
Tag question
Negations with NO
Place NO before the verb:
Positive
Hablo español
Negative
No hablo español
Positive
Es fácil
Negative
No es fácil
Positive
Me gusta
Negative
No me gusta
Positive
Entiendo
Negative
No entiendo
Positive
Tengo hambre
Negative
No tengo hambre
Positive
Quiero ir
Negative
No quiero ir
Other negative words
These words can be used WITH or WITHOUT no:
nada
→
nothing
No veo nada
-
I see nothing
nadie
→
nobody
No hay nadie
-
There is nobody
nunca/jamás
→
never
No como nunca carne
-
I never eat meat
tampoco
→
neither/either (not)
Yo tampoco
-
Me neither
ni...ni
→
neither...nor
Ni tú ni yo
-
Neither you nor I
ningún/ninguno
→
no/none
No tengo ningún problema
-
I have no problem
ya no
→
no longer
Ya no trabajo
-
I no longer work
todavía no
→
not yet
Todavía no está listo
-
It is not ready yet
Common answers to questions
¡Claro!
→
Of course!
(Affirmative)
Por supuesto
→
Of course
(Formal affirmative)
Desde luego
→
Certainly
(Agreement)
Vale
→
Okay
(Agreement (Spain))
De acuerdo
→
Agreed
(Agreeing)
No importa
→
It does not matter
(Unimportant)
No sé
→
I do not know
(Unknown)
Depende
→
It depends
(Uncertain)
Quizás
→
Maybe
(Possibility)
Probablemente
→
Probably
(Likelihood)
Lamentablemente
→
Unfortunately
(Regret)
Afortunadamente
→
Fortunately
(Relief)
Words that structure dialogue
Entonces
→
So/Then
(Consequence)
Pues
→
Well
(Starting an answer)
Bueno
→
Well/Okay
(Starting/accepting)
Pero
→
But
(Contrast)
Sin embargo
→
However
(Formal contrast)
Además
→
Besides/Moreover
(Addition)
Por cierto
→
By the way
(Changing topic)
A propósito
→
By the way
(Related topic)
Oye/Oiga
→
Hey/Listen
(Getting attention)
Mira/Mire
→
Look
(Pointing out)
Fíjate
→
Just imagine
(Emphasis)
