A Comprehensive Guide to Spanish Verb Conjugation

In English, verbs tend to stay the same regardless of who the subject is. I saw, you saw, we saw… the need for conjugation is minimal. In Spanish, the opposite is true. Verb conjugations are different for every tense, voice, and subject, so you need to modify the verb in order for your sentence to actually make sense. Although this can be a little confusing at first, Spanish verb conjugation is the key to mastering the language. But how do you conjugate a verb in Spanish? Do Spanish verb conjugations all follow the same rules? To help you better understand when to change what, here’s a comprehensive guide to Spanish verb conjugation.

Determining the Subject for Spanish Verb Conjugation

The subject of the sentence (who is performing the action) will determine how a Spanish verb is conjugated. In Spanish around the world, there are eight different subjects that are used. These are as follows:

*Vosotros is only used throughout Spain. All other Spanish speaking countries use ustedes.

How to Conjugate Verbs in Spanish — Regular Verbs in Present Tense

Spanish verb conjugation follows rules based on the ending of the verb. The three primary endings are -ar, -er, and -ir. These will be the building blocks for learning how to conjugate verbs in Spanish. For practice with these Spanish verb conjugations, download Tandem and match with a native Spanish speaker today. In the meantime, we’ll look at regular Spanish verbs in their present tense and how they’re conjugated.

Conjugating -ar Spanish Verbs

Learning how to conjugate Spanish verbs that end in -ar is fairly simple, as regular verbs all follow the same rule. You'll drop the ending (-ar) and add the conjugated form based on the subject. We’ll use the word comprar (to buy) as an example in the Spanish verb conjugation chart below.

Conjugating -er Spanish Verbs

Conjugating Spanish verbs ending in -er is similar to -ar, but the rules are slightly different. You'll drop the ending (-er) and add the conjugated form based on the subject. We’ll use the word beber (to drink) as an example in the Spanish verb conjugation chart below.

Conjugating -ir Spanish Verbs

Finally, conjugating Spanish verbs that end in -ir follow their own set of rules. You'll drop the ending (-ir) and add the conjugated form based on the subject. We’ll use the verb vivir (to live) as an example in the Spanish verb conjugation chart below.

Conjugating Spanish Verbs in the Present Progressive Tense

Conjugating verbs in the present progressive tense is for when you want to talk about actions happening right now. They require the conjugation of the verb estar (to be) and an ending change to the action verb. First, let’s look at how to conjugate the Spanish verb estar in the chart below.

Then, you’ll look at the action verb. Some examples of popular action verbs used in the present progressive tense are hablar (to talk), comer (to eat), and escribir (to write). Verbs ending in -ar will drop the ending and add -ando. Verbs ending in -er/ir will drop the ending and add -iendo. You can see how they’re conjugated into the present progressive tense in the examples below.

• Estoy hablando (I am talking)
• Estás hablando (You are talking)

Conjugating Spanish Verbs in the Past Tense

When you want to conjugate Spanish verbs in the past tense, you’ll need to follow another set of rules. Here, you’ll break the regular verbs into two groups: Spanish verbs that end in -ar and Spanish verbs that end in -er/ir. We’ll use the same verbs as we did in regular tense for the Spanish verb conjugation charts below.

For Spanish verbs ending in -ar, past tense conjugation is as follows:

For Spanish verbs ending in -er, past tense conjugation is as follows:

For Spanish verbs ending in -ir, past tense conjugation is as follows:

Conjugating Spanish Verbs in the Future Tense

Luckily, if you need to conjugate Spanish verbs in the future tense, you only have to remember one ending change. These changes are the same regardless of if the verb ends in -ar, -er, or -ir. Here, instead of dropping the ending, you simply add to it. You can see the examples for each of our verbs in the Spanish verb conjugation chart below.

How to Conjugate Irregular Spanish Verbs

Once you master verb conjugation in Spanish for regular verbs, you’ll need to memorize a few rules for the irregular ones. There are three primary categories to learn regarding irregular Spanish verb conjugation, which include spelling changes, stem changes, and a few special Spanish verbs that don’t really follow a pattern.

Spelling Changes

Some Spanish verbs undergo a complete change of spelling when they’re conjugated in certain tenses. This is common for verbs ending in -uir, -cer, and -cir.

When conjugating Spanish verbs that end in -uir, the i will change to a y in all forms except from nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/vosotras. For example, when conjugating incluir (to include) it becomes yo incluyo, tú incluyes, Usted incluye, and so on and so forth.

When conjugating Spanish verbs that end in -cer or -cir, the change depends on what comes before the ending. When there’s a consonant before the -cer or -cir, the c will change to a z, and the rest of the verb is conjugated normally. However, this only occurs in first person (yo). For example, vencer (to defeat) conjugates to yo venzo. If there is a vowel before the -cer or -cir, the c will remain, but you’ll add an extra z before it. For example, producir (to produce) becomes yo produzco. Remember, these are only on the first-person conjugation. All of the rest undergo normal Spanish verb conjugation.

A few more examples of verbs that have an spelling change when conjugated in first-person (yo) form include the following:

• Conocer (to know) — yo conozco
• Hacer (to do, make) — yo hago
• Traer (to bring) — yo traigo
• Salir (to leave) — yo salgo
• Saber (to know) — yo sé

This isn't the entire list of irregular Spanish verbs that require a spelling change. Unfortunately, there's no way to remember these irregular verbs aside from practice and memorization, so try to use them often to help them stick.

Stem Changes

Stem changes are one of the most common types of irregular Spanish verb conjugations. The stem is the part of the word that’s left after dropping the -ar, -er, or -ir endings and there are four primary changes that can occur: e to ie, o to ue, e to i, and u to ue. These stem changes apply to all forms of conjugation except nosotros/nosotras and vosotros/vosotras.

For example:

• Querer (to want) conjugates to tú quieres.
• Poder (to be able to) conjugates to ella puede.
• Decir (to say) conjugates to ellos dicen.
• Jugar (to play) conjugates to yo juego.

Special Spanish Verbs

Finally, there are a few irregular verbs that don't really seem to follow any rules. The two most common include ser (to be) and ir (to go).

Ser is conjugated as yo soy, tú eres, usted/él/ella es, nosotros/as somos, vosotros/as sois, and ustedes/ellos/ellas son.

Ir is conjugated as yo voy, tú vas, usted/él/ella va, nosotros/as vamos, vosotros/as vais, and ustedes/ellos/ellas van.

How to Conjugate Reflexive Verbs in Spanish

Reflexive verbs are verbs that describe an action that the subject performs on itself. For example, if you are doing something yourself (i.e., bathing yourself), you’ll want to use the reflexive form of the conjugated Spanish verb in addition to the subject and pronoun. This can sound a bit tricky, but once you break it down, it becomes easier. The first step is understanding the Spanish reflexive pronouns associated with each subject, which are as follows.

When conjugating reflexive verbs in Spanish, the primary thing to remember is the subject and the reflexive pronoun. The verb will be conjugated based on the regular present rules we reviewed at the beginning of the article.

Then, you’ll want to learn where to place the pronouns. In most cases, the reflexive Spanish pronoun will be put before the Spanish conjugated verb. You can see this reflected in a few examples below.

• Se cepilló el pelo antes de irse a la cama. (She brushed her hair before going to bed).
• Se hizo daño jugando al fútbol. (He hurt himself while playing football)
• Ayer nos divertimos en la playa. (Yesterday we had fun at the beach).

Practice Spanish Verb Conjugation Like a Pro

Learning how to conjugate Spanish verbs can seem like a never-ending struggle, but it’s important to keep practicing. Try to listen to music in Spanish, watch your favorite movies in Spanish, and find a native Spanish speaker to communicate with.

To help connect you with a native Spanish speaker who will help you work towards mastering verb conjugations in Spanish, download Tandem today. Tandem is a unique language learning experience that approaches working towards fluency in an interactive way. To help you practice conjugating Spanish verbs, all you need to do is fill out your profile and match with a native Spanish speaker. Our community is filled with millions of like-minded individuals worldwide who share a passion for language. At Tandem, we aim to help our users foster a deeper understanding of language while improving fluency and building long-lasting friendships. Sign up for Tandem today to join our community and work on your Spanish fluency.