Learn to Conjugate Verbs
Verbs are words that express action, existence, condition or state of the subject.
They are formed by the root or lexeme which is the part that does not change and the morpheme ending or termination that indicates the person, number, time and manner of conjugation of the verb.
Escribimos. It belongs to the verb escrib-ir whose root is escrib and the termination ir, so in escrib-imos the ending imos indicates the first person of the plural "nosotros - we" of the present indicative.
To Conjugate a verb you have to list the different forms that denote its different persons, number, times and modes.
The Person refers to who performs the action of the verb.
The Person are three: 1st who speaks, 2nd who listens, 3rd none of the above.
To determine the person, are used personal pronouns.
| Yo | Tú | Él (Ella) | Nosotros (as) | Vosotros (as) | Ellos (as) |
|---|
El Tiempo. Time refers to when the action is executed.
| Tiempos | |
|---|---|
| Presente | The action is executed in the current moment. |
| Pretérito | The action was executed in the past. If the action is finished, it is called Perfecto and if it does not indicate that it is finished, it is called Imperfecto. |
| Futuro | The action will be executed in the future . |
| Condicional | Express the action of the verb as possible. |
El Modo. Mode describes the relationship of the verb to the reality it refers to.
| Modos | |
|---|---|
| Indicativo | When talking about real events or what are considered certain. |
| Subjuntivo | It is used to talk about something virtual that refers to possible, probable or desired actions. |
| Imperativo | It is used to give orders, requests or wishes. |
Non-personal forms of verbs.
| Formas no personales | |
|---|---|
| Infinitivo | Usual way of mentioning a verb. Ends in AR, ER, IR. |
| Participio | It is used to form the compound times. It can work as an adjective. Ends in ADO, IDO. |
| Gerundio | Form of the verb that indicates an action but without specifying the time, the mode, the number or the person. It ends in ANDO, IENDO. |
Regular Verbs are those that in all their times and persons retain the root (radical letters) and take the endings (terminations) of the normal conjugations to what they belong. In Spanish there are three conjugations.
| Verbos Regulares | |
|---|---|
| 1ª Conjugación | All verbs ending in AR. |
| 2ª Conjugación | All verbs ending in ER. |
| 3ª Conjugación | All verbs ending in IR. |
Irregular verbs are those that when conjugate vary the root or endings of the regular conjugation to which they belong, or both at the same time.
Verbs can be conjugated in Active Voice or Passive Voice.
They are in Active Voice when the subject executs the action of the verb.
They are in Passive Voice when the subject receives the action of the verb.
The passive voice in Spanish is used very little, active constructions are preferred. For this reason we will not see it in these pages.
To learn to conjugate a verb, it is very important to know perfectly the following:
| El Participio |
|---|
| Verbs ending in AR, root + ado; (de jugar ⇒ jug-ado) |
| Verbs ending in ER, root + ido; (de comer ⇒ com-ido) |
| Verbs ending in IR, root + ido; (de vivir ⇒ viv-ido) |
| El Gerundio |
| Verbs ending in AR, root + ando; (de jugar ⇒ jug-ando) |
| Verbs ending in ER, root + iendo; (de comer ⇒ com-iendo) |
| Verbs ending in IR, root + iendo; (de vivir ⇒ viv-iendo) |
| La 1ª persona de los tiempos simples |
| Knowing the 1st person of the simple times is very easy to recite all the others. |
| La correspondencia |
| The correspondence or the formation of compound tenses. |