You are here: OxNotes Home › GCSE Spanish › Spanish Tenses

Present Tense

Here are the rules of the present tense using the regular verbs "Trabajar" (English: to work), "Bebir" (English: to drink) and "Comer" (English: To eat) and also the irregular verbs "Jugar" (English: to play), "Venir" (English: to come) and "Mover" (English: to move).
The bold letters show the generic endings of the verbs, whereas the bold letters in purple show the exceptions.

"Trabajar" is a regular, "-AR" verb. Most "-AR" verbs follow the same pattern as Trabajar when conjugating in the present tense.

I work - (yo) trabajo
You work - (tú) trabajas
He/She/It works - (él/ellos/ud.) trabaja
We work - (nosotros) trabajamos
You (plural) work - (vosotros) trabajáis
They work - (ellos/ellas/uds.) trabajan

Some verbs do not always have the same stem though, such as "Jugar" (English: to play). Verbs like these are irregular.

I play - (yo) juego
You play - (tú) juegas
He/She/It plays - (él/ellos/ud.) juega
We play - (nosotros) jugamos
You (plural) play - (vosotros) jugáis
They play - (ellos/ellas/uds.) juegan

"Bebir" is a regular, "-IR" verb. Most "-IR" verbs follow the same pattern as Bebir when conjugating in the present tense.

I drink - (yo) bebo
You drink - (tú) bebes
He/She/It drinks - (él/ellos/ud.) bebe
We drink - (nosotros) bebemos
You (plural) drink - (vosotros) bebéis
They drink - (ellos/ellas/uds.) beben

Some verbs do not always have the same stem though, such as "Venir" (English: to come). Verbs like these are irregular.

I come - (yo) vengo
You come - (tú) vienes
He/She/It comes - (él/ellos/ud.) viene
We come - (nosotros) venimos
You (plural) come - (vosotros) venís
They come - (ellos/ellas/uds.) vienen

"Comer" is a regular, "-ER" verb. Most "-ER" verbs follow the same pattern as Comer when conjugating in the present tense.

I eat - (yo) como
You eat - (tú) comes
He/She/It eats - (él/ellos/ud.) come
We eat - (nosotros) comemos
You (plural) eat - (vosotros) coméis
They eat - (ellos/ellas/uds.) comen

Some verbs do not always have the same stem though, such as "Mover" (English: to move). Verbs like these are irregular.

I move - (yo) muevo
You move - (tú) mueves
He/She/It move - (él/ellos/ud.) mueve
We move - (nosotros) movemos
You (plural) move - (vosotros) movéis
They move - (ellos/ellas/uds.) mueven