Present tense of -ar verbs (hablar)

Verbs and infinitives

A verb is an action or state word: speak, work, buy, be. In a dictionary, Spanish verbs appear in the infinitive, the basic "to …" form: hablar = to speak. Every Spanish infinitive ends in -ar, -er or -ir. The -ar group is by far the biggest, and almost all of its verbs are regular: learn one table and you can use hundreds of verbs.

To conjugate a verb means to change its ending to show who is doing the action. In English we only add -s (I speak, she speaks); Spanish has a different ending for every person.

Stem + ending

Remove -ar from the infinitive and you have the stem: hablar → habl-. Then add the ending for the person:

Usted takes the same form as él and ella, and ustedes the same form as ellos (see Tú or usted; vosotros or ustedes).

• Hablo inglés y un poco de español.I speak English and a little Spanish.
• ¿Trabajas en una oficina?Do you work in an office?
• Mi hermana estudia música.My sister studies music.
• Usted habla muy bien.You speak very well.
• Los domingos cocinamos en casa.On Sundays we cook at home.
• ¿Escucháis la radio por la mañana?Do you all listen to the radio in the morning?
• Ellos compran pan todos los días.They buy bread every day.
• Mis padres viajan mucho.My parents travel a lot.

Useful -ar verbs

trabajar (to work), estudiar (to study), escuchar (to listen to), mirar (to look at, to watch), cantar (to sing), bailar (to dance), cocinar (to cook), tomar (to take; to have a drink), llegar (to arrive), comprar (to buy), necesitar (to need), buscar (to look for), viajar (to travel), llamar (to call), descansar (to rest).

Escuchar, mirar and buscar already contain the English "to", "at" and "for": Busco las llaves = I'm looking for the keys. No extra word.

One Spanish present, three English ones

Trabajo can mean I work, I'm working or I do work. Spanish has no "do" helper: you make a question with the same verb and question marks, and a negative with no before the verb (No before the verb).

• No trabajo los sábados.I don't work on Saturdays.
• ¿Qué estudias?What are you studying?

The pronoun is usually left out

The ending already says who it is, so yo, tú, nosotros… are normally dropped (Subject pronouns: yo, tú, él, ella…). Use them for contrast or to make él / ella / usted clear.

• Yo trabajo y tú descansas.I work and you rest.

Stress and the written accent

In hablo, hablas, habla, hablan the stress falls on HA-. In hablamos it falls on -bla-, and habláis has a written accent on the á. The accent matters: hablo = I speak, but habló = he or she spoke (a past tense you'll meet in Preterite of regular verbs).

Latin America

The vosotros form (habláis) is used only in Spain, and not everywhere there: the Canary Islands and parts of western Andalusia use ustedes too. In Latin America ustedes hablan is the plural "you" for friends and strangers alike.

Common mistakes

• Yo hablar español → Yo hablo español. The infinitive is the dictionary form; in a sentence the verb takes an ending.
• Estoy trabajo en Madrid → Trabajo en Madrid. "I am working" for a habit or general fact is just the simple present.
• Tú habla → Tú hablas. Tú always ends in -s; habla is for él, ella or usted.
• Vosotros hablais → Vosotros habláis. The vosotros ending needs its accent.
• Busco para mi móvil → Busco mi móvil. Buscar already means "to look for".