Present tense of -er and -ir verbs (comer, vivir)
Como, comes, come… vivo, vives, vive: two groups that differ only in two forms.
Part of the free A1 Spanish course. Press the speaker next to an example to hear it.
Two more groups
You already know how -ar verbs work (Present tense of -ar verbs (hablar)): stem + ending. Verbs ending in -er and -ir work the same way, with endings that start with e instead of a. The two groups are identical except in the nosotros and vosotros forms.
| Person | comer (to eat) | vivir (to live) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | como | vivo |
| tú | comes | vives |
| él / ella / usted | come | vive |
| nosotros / nosotras | comemos | vivimos |
| vosotros / vosotras | coméis | vivís |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | comen | viven |
A quick check: the vowel of the infinitive comes back in nosotros and vosotros. Comer → comemos, coméis. Vivir → vivimos, vivís.
Useful verbs
- -er: comer (to eat), beber (to drink), leer (to read), aprender (to learn), comprender (to understand), correr (to run), vender (to sell), responder (to answer).
- -ir: vivir (to live), escribir (to write), abrir (to open), recibir (to receive, to get), compartir (to share), subir (to go up), decidir (to decide).
- Como en casa a mediodía.I eat at home at midday.
- ¿Bebes agua o zumo?Do you drink water or juice?
- Mi madre lee el periódico.My mother reads the newspaper.
- Aprendemos español en una academia.We're learning Spanish at a language school.
- ¿Dónde vivís?Where do you all live?
- Ellas escriben correos en inglés.They write emails in English.
- El supermercado abre a las nueve.The supermarket opens at nine.
- Vivimos en un piso pequeño.We live in a small flat.
- Recibo muchos mensajes.I get a lot of messages.
- No comprendo la pregunta.I don't understand the question.
All three groups side by side
| -ar (hablar) | -er (comer) | -ir (vivir) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | -o | -o |
| tú | -as | -es | -es |
| él / ella / usted | -a | -e | -e |
| nosotros | -amos | -emos | -imos |
| vosotros | -áis | -éis | -ís |
| ellos / ustedes | -an | -en | -en |
Two small details
- leer keeps both e's: lee, leemos, leéis, leen.
- ver (to see, to watch) is short and slightly irregular: veo, ves, ve, vemos, veis, ven. Veis has no accent because it is one syllable.
- Mis abuelos ven la tele por la tarde.My grandparents watch TV in the afternoon.
Latin America
Plural "you" is ustedes comen, ustedes viven throughout Latin America. Vocabulary differs too: Spain says zumo, Latin America jugo; Spain piso, much of Latin America departamento or apartamento.
Common mistakes
Vivemos en Londres→ Vivimos en Londres. -ir verbs keep the i in nosotros.Vosotros vivéis→ Vosotros vivís. -éis belongs to -er verbs only.Ella bebas→ Ella bebe. -er and -ir verbs use e-endings, not the a-endings of -ar verbs.Vosotros comeis→ Vosotros coméis. The vosotros forms coméis and vivís need their accents.
Practice
- Mis hijos _____ (comer) mucha fruta.
Show the answer
comen
- Nosotros _____ (vivir) en Sevilla desde enero.
Show the answer
vivimos — Spanish uses the present for an action that started in the past and is still going on.
- Nosotras _____ (beber) café con leche.
Show the answer
bebemos
- ¿Vosotros _____ en Madrid?Options: vivís · vivéis · vivimos · viven
Show the answer
vivís — -ir verbs take -ís for vosotros: vivís. -éis is the -er ending.