4 The present tense of regular verbs
Verbs have two parts: a stem and an ending. To find out what the stem of a verb is, drop the -ar, -er or -ir of the infinitive (trabaj-, com-, viv-). For regular verbs the stem does not change. To form the present tense, just add the present tense endings of the respective conjugation to the stem. The endings show the person and the number (for example, trabajo = first person singular).
| -ar | -er | -ir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| trabaj-ar | com-er | escrib-ir | |
| (yo) | trabaj-o | com-o | escrib-o |
| (tú) | trabaj-as | com-es | escrib-es |
| (él/ella, usted) | trabaj-a | com-e | escrib-e |
| (nosotros/-as) | trabaj-amos | com-emos | escrib-imos |
| (vosotros/-as) | trabaj-áis | com-éis | escrib-ís |
| (ellos/ellas, ustedes) | trabaj-an | com-en | escrib-en |
Verbs whose infinitives end in -ir have the same endings as -er verbs in the present tense, except for the nosotros and vosotros forms.