Today, we are taking a massive leap forward into the heart of the language: Regular Verbs.
Once you learn the pattern for regular verbs, you unlock the ability to use hundreds of action words automatically. Let's break down how they work!
1. The Three Verb Families
In Spanish, every single verb belongs to one of three classifications (or families), depending on how its infinitive ends. An infinitive is the raw, unchanged form of the verb (like "to sing" or "to eat" in English).
The three families end in:
-ar (e.g., cantar – to sing)
-er (e.g., comer – to eat)
-ir (e.g., vivir – to live)
Every verb is made up of a stem and an ending:
$\text{cant} + \text{ar} = \text{cantar}$
$\text{com} + \text{er} = \text{comer}$
$\text{viv} + \text{ir} = \text{vivir}$
💡 What makes a verb "regular"? A verb is considered regular if its stem stays exactly the same throughout its entire conjugation. All you do is swap out the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, or -ir) for a new suffix depending on who is doing the action.
2. The Three Powers of the Spanish Present Tense
In English, we use different tenses for "I sing" (simple present) and "I am singing" (present progressive). In Spanish, the simple present tense covers both meanings!
A sentence like "Ella canta una canción triste" can mean:
She sings a sad song.
She is singing a sad song.
How to Ask Questions
To ask a question, you can simply invert the subject and the verb, which naturally pulls in the English helping verb "do". Alternatively, you can keep the exact same word order and just raise your voice intonation at the end:
¿Cantas tú los domingos? — Do you sing on Sundays?
¿Tú cantas los domingos? — You sing on Sundays?
Talking About the Future
You can even use the present tense to express a future event, as long as you include a future time word (like mañana):
Ella canta con Ud. mañana. — She'll sing with you tomorrow.
Making Sentences Negative
To say you don't do an action, simply place the word no directly before the verb:
Yo canto en el baño. — I sing in the bathroom.
No canto en el tren. — I don't sing in the train.
3. How to Conjugate Regular "-ar" Verbs
To conjugate a regular -ar verb in the present tense, drop the -ar ending and add these six core endings to the stem: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an.
Let's look at the verb cantar (Stem: cant-, Ending: -ar):
| Subject Pronoun | Ending | Conjugated Form | English Meaning |
| yo | -o | yo canto | I sing / am singing |
| tú | -as | tú cantas | you sing (familiar) |
| él / ella / Ud. | -a | él / ella / Ud. canta | he/she sings, you sing (formal) |
| nosotros | -amos | nosotros cantamos | we sing |
| vosotros | -áis | vosotros cantáis | you all sing (Spain) |
| ellos / ellas / Uds. | -an | ellos / ellas / Uds. cantan | they sing, you all sing |
⚠️ A Note on Pronunciation & Stress: Because these verbs end in a vowel, n, or s, their natural stress falls on the second-to-last syllable. Pronounce them like this: yo can-to, tú can-tas, él can-ta, nosotros can-ta-mos, ellos can-tan. The only exception is the vosotros form, which has a written accent mark telling you to stress that final syllable: vosotros can-táis.
4. Your Essential "-ar" Vocabulary List
Here are several frequently used regular -ar verbs to practice. Remember, you drop the -ar and attach the same endings we used for cantar:
💃 Bailar (to dance)
yo bailo / nosotros bailamos
tú bailas / vosotros bailáis
ella baila / ellas bailan
📉 Bajar (to go down, to descend)
yo bajo / nosotros bajamos
tú bajas / vosotros bajáis
ella baja / ellas bajan
🚶 Caminar (to walk)
yo camino / nosotros caminamos
tú caminas / vosotros camináis
ella camina / ellas caminan
🍳 Cocinar (to cook)
yo cocino / nosotros cocinamos
tú cocinas / vosotros cocináis
ella cocina / ellas cocinan
🛒 Comprar (to buy)
yo compro / nosotros compramos
tú compras / vosotros compráis
ella compra / ellas compran
💬 Contestar (to answer)
yo contesto / nosotros contestamos
tú contestas / vosotros contestáis
ella contesta / ellas contestan
🛋️ Descansar (to rest)
yo descanso / nosotros descansamos
tú descansas / vosotros descansáis
ella descansa / ellas descansan
🚪 Entrar (en) (to enter / go in)
yo entro / nosotros entramos
tú entras / vosotros entráis
Ud. entra / Uds. entran