Spanish Conjugations Explained: Verb Charts, Tenses, and Rules for Beginners

Key takeaways

• Spanish verbs conjugate to agree with the subject, meaning the verb ending changes depending on who is performing the action. There are six subject positions: yo (I), tú (you), él/ella/usted (he/she/formal you), nosotros (we), vosotros (you all, used in Spain), and ellos/ellas/ustedes (they/you all).
• Spanish verbs come in three families based on their infinitive ending: -ar (hablar, to speak), -er (comer, to eat), and -ir (vivir, to live). Each family has its own set of regular endings across all tenses, and learning one complete verb from each family gives you the pattern for hundreds of others.
• Many of the most commonly used Spanish verbs are irregular, meaning they do not follow the standard patterns. The most important irregular verbs are ser (to be, permanent), estar (to be, temporary), ir (to go), tener (to have), hacer (to do/make), and poder (can/to be able). These appear in almost every Spanish conversation.
• Spanish has several tenses that do not map directly onto English tenses. The preterite and imperfect both translate as past tense in English but describe different kinds of past events. Understanding when to use each is one of the core challenges of Spanish grammar.

The conjugation system is the engine of Spanish. Unlike English, which largely keeps the verb unchanged (I walk, you walk, they walk), Spanish changes the verb ending every time the subject changes. Once you understand the logic of this system, conjugating verbs becomes a matter of applying patterns rather than memorizing each verb individually.

italki connects learners with Spanish tutors who can help you practice conjugations in real sentences until the patterns become automatic. This guide covers the three verb families, complete conjugation charts for the present, preterite, imperfect, and future tenses, the key irregular verbs, and practical tips for learning conjugations efficiently.

Work with a Spanish tutor to practice conjugating verbs in real conversation and build the automatic recall that makes Spanish feel natural.

How Spanish conjugation works

In English, the verb walk barely changes: I walk, you walk, he walks (only the third person adds -s). Spanish is different: the verb changes its ending for every subject pronoun.

English: I speak, you speak, he speaks, we speak, they speak (5 forms – 2 distinct endings)

Spanish: yo hablo, tú hablas, él habla, nosotros hablamos, vosotros habláis, ellos hablan (6 forms – 6 distinct endings)

Because each form is distinct, Spanish speakers can often omit the subject pronoun entirely and the meaning remains clear: Hablo español (I speak Spanish) without yo is perfectly natural. The verb ending carries the subject information.

Spanish subject pronouns

Learning these six subject pronouns is the first step in understanding conjugation.

Pronoun	English equivalent	Notes
yo	I	Always lowercase in Spanish (unlike English I)
tú	you (singular, informal)	Used with friends, family, children, peers
él / ella / usted	he / she / formal you	Usted (Ud.) is the formal singular you; conjugates like él/ella
nosotros / nosotras	we	Nosotras is used when all members of the group are female
vosotros / vosotras	you all (informal, Spain only)	Used in Spain; replaced by ustedes in Latin America
ellos / ellas / ustedes	they / you all	Ustedes (Uds.) is the plural you in all Spanish-speaking regions

A key simplification for learners outside Spain: Most Latin American Spanish does not use vosotros. You only need to learn five sets of conjugation endings instead of six.

The three verb families: -ar, -er, -ir

Every Spanish infinitive ends in -ar, -er, or -ir. To conjugate a verb, you remove this ending and add the appropriate endings for the tense and subject.

Verb family	Example verb	Meaning	Pattern verbs
-ar	hablar	to speak	trabajar, caminar, estudiar, escuchar, comprar
-er	comer	to eat	beber, vender, ver, correr, aprender
-ir	vivir	to live	escribir, abrir, subir, recibir, partir

-ar verbs are the largest group and the most common. When you encounter a new verb, the infinitive ending tells you which pattern to follow.

Present tense conjugation

The present tense (el presente) is used for current actions, habits, and general truths.

-ar verbs: hablar (to speak)

Subject	Ending	Conjugation
yo	-o	hablo
tú	-as	hablas
él/ella/usted	-a	habla
nosotros	-amos	hablamos
vosotros	-áis	habláis
ellos/ustedes	-an	hablan

-er verbs: comer (to eat)

Subject	Ending	Conjugation
yo	-o	como
tú	-es	comes
él/ella/usted	-e	come
nosotros	-emos	comemos
vosotros	-éis	coméis
ellos/ustedes	-en	comen

-ir verbs: vivir (to live)

Subject	Ending	Conjugation
yo	-o	vivo
tú	-es	vives
él/ella/usted	-e	vive
nosotros	-imos	vivimos
vosotros	-ís	vivís
ellos/ustedes	-en	viven

Pattern observation: The yo form always ends in -o for regular verbs. The tú form of -er and -ir verbs both end in -es. The nosotros form preserves the family vowel (a/e/i) followed by -mos. Spotting these shared features reduces the memorization load.

Key irregular verbs in the present tense

These six verbs are essential for everyday Spanish and all have irregular present tense forms.

ser (to be, permanent characteristics): soy / eres / es / somos / sois / son

estar (to be, temporary states and location): estoy / estás / está / estamos / estáis / están

ir (to go): voy / vas / va / vamos / vais / van

tener (to have): tengo / tienes / tiene / tenemos / tenéis / tienen

hacer (to do / to make): hago / haces / hace / hacemos / hacéis / hacen

poder (can / to be able): puedo / puedes / puede / podemos / podéis / pueden

Note that tener and hacer have an irregular yo form (tengo, hago) but follow a predictable pattern in the other forms. This yo irregularity is common: yo form irregular, other forms regular or predictably irregular.

For stem-changing verbs (querer – quiero, poder – puedo, pedir – pido), the guide to stem-changing verbs in Spanish covers all three change patterns (e – ie, o – ue, e – i) with complete conjugation tables.

Preterite tense (completed past)

The preterite (el pretérito indefinido) describes completed, specific past actions at a definite point in time.

-ar verbs: hablar (to speak)

Subject	Conjugation
yo	hablé
tú	hablaste
él/ella/usted	habló
nosotros	hablamos
vosotros	hablasteis
ellos/ustedes	hablaron

-er and -ir verbs: comer / vivir

Subject	comer	vivir
yo	comí	viví
tú	comiste	viviste
él/ella/usted	comió	vivió
nosotros	comimos	vivimos
vosotros	comisteis	vivisteis
ellos/ustedes	comieron	vivieron

Key irregular preterites:

Verb	yo	tú	él	nosotros	ellos
ser / ir	fui	fuiste	fue	fuimos	fueron
tener	tuve	tuviste	tuvo	tuvimos	tuvieron
hacer	hice	hiciste	hizo	hicimos	hicieron
estar	estuve	estuviste	estuvo	estuvimos	estuvieron

Note that ser and ir share the same preterite forms (fui, fuiste, fue…). Context makes the meaning clear.

Use the preterite for:

• A specific event: Ayer comí pizza. (Yesterday I ate pizza.)
• A sequence of events: Llegué, vi a María, y salí. (I arrived, saw María, and left.)
• A completed action: Estudié durante tres horas. (I studied for three hours.)

Imperfect tense (background past)

The imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) describes ongoing, habitual, or background states in the past.

-ar verbs: hablar

Subject	Conjugation
yo	hablaba
tú	hablabas
él/ella/usted	hablaba
nosotros	hablábamos
vosotros	hablabais
ellos/ustedes	hablaban

-er and -ir verbs: comer / vivir

Subject	comer	vivir
yo	comía	vivía
tú	comías	vivías
él/ella/usted	comía	vivía
nosotros	comíamos	vivíamos
vosotros	comíais	vivíais
ellos/ustedes	comían	vivían

There are only three irregular verbs in the imperfect: ser, ir, and ver.

ser: era / eras / era / éramos / erais / eran ir: iba / ibas / iba / íbamos / ibais / iban ver: veía / veías / veía / veíamos / veíais / veían

Use the imperfect for:

• Habits in the past: De niño, jugaba al fútbol cada día. (As a child, I used to play soccer every day.)
• Background settings: Hacía sol. Ella llevaba un vestido rojo. (The sun was shining. She was wearing a red dress.)
• Ongoing past actions: Dormía cuando llegó. (I was sleeping when he arrived.)

Preterite vs imperfect (the central distinction): Use preterite for specific completed events; use imperfect for background, description, and habits. The classic combined sentence: Dormía (imperfect, ongoing) cuando sonó el teléfono (preterite, specific event). (I was sleeping when the phone rang.)

Future tense

The simple future (el futuro simple) is formed by adding endings to the entire infinitive, making it particularly easy to learn.

Future endings (same for all verb families):

Subject	Ending	Example: hablar
yo	-é	hablaré
tú	-ás	hablarás
él/ella/usted	-á	hablará
nosotros	-emos	hablaremos
vosotros	-éis	hablaréis
ellos/ustedes	-án	hablarán

The same endings apply to -er and -ir verbs: comeré, viviré, beberé.

Irregular future stems (some verbs change their stem):

Verb	Future stem	yo form
tener	tendr-	tendré
poder	podr-	podré
hacer	har-	haré
decir	dir-	diré
ir	ir-	iré
venir	vendr-	vendré
salir	saldr-	saldré

Alternative for near future: In everyday speech, Spaniards and Latin Americans often use ir + a + infinitive for near future actions: voy a comer (I’m going to eat), van a llegar tarde (they’re going to arrive late). This is simpler and very common.

Overview of Spanish tenses

Tense	Spanish name	Main use
Present	Presente	Current actions, habits, general truths
Preterite	Pretérito indefinido	Specific completed past actions
Imperfect	Pretérito imperfecto	Background, habits, ongoing past states
Future	Futuro simple	Future actions and events
Conditional	Condicional	Hypothetical situations (would)
Present subjunctive	Subjuntivo presente	Wishes, doubts, commands, emotions
Present perfect	Pretérito perfecto	Recent past, actions connected to present
Pluperfect	Pretérito pluscuamperfecto	Past before another past (had done)

Beginners should focus on present, preterite, and imperfect. These three tenses cover the vast majority of everyday Spanish communication.

Tips for learning conjugations

Learn one verb per family completely before moving to the next. Once you know hablar (all present tense forms), you know the pattern for trabajar, caminar, escuchar, and hundreds more.

Learn irregular verbs by frequency, not by category. Ser, estar, ir, tener, hacer, and poder appear in almost every conversation. Mastering these six irregular verbs has a higher return than learning twenty rare regular ones.

Practice conjugations in full sentences. Hablo in isolation is just a form. Hablo español pero no hablo chino (I speak Spanish but I don’t speak Chinese) is a sentence you can use in real life. The conjugation is remembered through the sentence.

Use ir + a + infinitive to communicate in future early. Before learning the future tense, you can express future plans with voy a + infinitive: voy a estudiar (I’m going to study), van a llegar (they’re going to arrive). This gets you using future meaning quickly.

For a focused guide to the 80 most essential Spanish verbs organized by category, the guide to essential Spanish verbs covers the complete present tense conjugations for the 10 core verbs and usage examples for all categories. For beginners starting from scratch, the guide to Spanish verbs for beginners covers the fundamentals step by step.

Practice Spanish conjugations with a tutor

Conjugation charts are useful references, but real fluency requires the ability to produce the correct form instantly under conversation speed. A tutor can give you practice that targets exactly the verb forms you confuse, correct errors as they happen, and help you build the automatic recall that makes Spanish feel natural rather than calculated.

italki’s 30,000+ expert tutors include native Spanish speakers from across the Spanish-speaking world who specialize in grammar instruction and conversational fluency. Trusted by over 10 million learners worldwide, the platform lets you find a tutor who designs lessons around your current level and specific conjugation gaps. Book a trial lesson and start conjugating Spanish verbs accurately in real conversation.

FAQ

How does Spanish conjugation work?

Spanish verbs change their endings to agree with the subject pronoun (who is doing the action). There are six subject positions (yo, tú, él/ella, nosotros, vosotros, ellos) and each verb tense has a different set of endings for each position. Verbs are grouped into three families based on their infinitive ending: -ar, -er, and -ir, each with its own pattern of endings.

What are the three Spanish verb families?

The three families are -ar (hablar, to speak), -er (comer, to eat), and -ir (vivir, to live). Each family has consistent endings across tenses. Learning the complete conjugation of one verb from each family gives you the pattern for all regular verbs in that group.

What is the difference between preterite and imperfect in Spanish?

Both describe the past, but they describe different aspects. The preterite (pretérito indefinido) is used for specific completed events at a definite point in time: Comí pizza ayer (I ate pizza yesterday). The imperfect is used for background descriptions, ongoing states, and past habits: Cuando era niño, vivía en Madrid (When I was a child, I lived in Madrid).

Do I need to learn vosotros conjugations?

If you are learning Spanish for use in Latin America, vosotros is rarely used, and ustedes is used for all plural you situations. If you are learning for Spain or interacting with Spanish speakers from Spain, vosotros is common and worth learning. Most learners can start without it and add it later.

How do I conjugate Spanish verbs in the future tense?

The simple future is formed by adding the future endings (-é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án) directly to the full infinitive: hablaré, comerás, vivirá. Some common verbs have irregular stems in the future: tener – tendré, hacer – haré, poder – podré. Alternatively, the phrase ir + a + infinitive (voy a hablar) works for near future in everyday speech.