17 -ER and -IR ending verbs
Paul Eckhardt
Review
As mentioned previously, there are three types of verbs in Spanish: those ending in -ar, -er and -ir. The conjugation pattern for -er and -ir ending verbs is nearly the same, differing only in the nosotros and vosotros forms. The idea of “taking off the verb ending” and then adding other endings to give the verb a subject (yo, tú, ella, etc.) is the same as we did for -ar ending verbs. Let’s take a look at the regular -er ending of the verb comer (to eat):
Regular -er ending verbs:
| Subject pronouns | Comer: to eat (infinitive) |
Basic meaning | Other possible meanings: _-ing / questions |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | yo | como | I eat | I’m eating / do I eat |
| tú | comes | you eat | you’re eating / do you eat | |
| él | come | he eats | he’s eating / does he eat | |
| ella | come | she eats | she’s eating / does she eat | |
| Ud. | come | you eat | you’re eating / do you eat | |
| Plural | nosotros | comemos | we eat | we’re eating / do we eat |
| vosotros | coméis (Spain) | you eat | you’re eating / do you eat | |
| ellos | comen | they eat | they’re eating / do they eat | |
| ellas (f) | comen | they eat | they’re eating / do they eat | |
| Uds. | comen | you eat | you’re eating / do you eat |
Notice the possibilities of present tense conjugations in Spanish. For example, “tú comes” has three equivalents in English (the subject pronoun tú isn’t required):
| Tú comes con ella todos los días. | You eat with her every day. (to talk about habitual actions) |
| Tú comes al mediodía mañana. | You’re eating at noon tomorrow. (to refer to a future action) |
| ¿Tú comes antes de clase? | Do you eat before class? (to ask a question: Spanish doesn’t have an equivalent for the auxiliaries “do / does”) |
Regular -ir ending verbs
| Subject pronouns | Vivir: to live (infinitive) |
Basic meaning | Other possible meanings: _-ing / questions |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | yo | vivo | I live | I’m living / do I live |
| tú | vives | you live | you’re living / do you live | |
| él | vive | he lives | he’s living / does he live | |
| ella | vive | she lives | she’s living / does she live | |
| Ud. | vive | you live | you’re living / do you live | |
| Plural | nosotros | vivimos | we live | we’re living / do we live |
| vosotros | vivís (Spain) | you live | you’re living / do you live | |
| ellos | viven | they live | they’re living / do they live | |
| ellas (f) | viven | they live | they’re living / do they live | |
| Uds. | viven | you live | you’re living / do you live |
Notice only the “nosotros” and “vosotros” forms differ between -er and -ir verbs:
| -er | -ir | |
|---|---|---|
| nosotros | comemos | vivimos |
| vosotros | coméis | vivís |
Common -er ending verbs
| Infinitivo | Infinitive | Infinitivo | Infinitive |
|---|---|---|---|
| aprender (a + inf) | to learn | creer (en) | to think, to believe (in) |
| beber | to drink | deber (+ inf) | should, must |
| comer | to eat | leer | to read |
| comprender | to understand | prometer | to promise |
| correr | to run | vender | to sell |
Common -ir ending verbs
| Infinitivo | Infinitive | Infinitivo | Infinitive |
|---|---|---|---|
| abrir | to open | escribir | to write |
| asistir (a) | to attend | permitir | to permit, to allow |
| compartir | to share | recibir | to receive |
| decidir (+ inf) | to decide | subir | to go up, get on, get in |
| definir | to define | sufrir | to suffer |
| discutir | to argue | vivir | to live |
OJO (note): Remember, it is not necessary to use the subject pronouns (ella, Ud., etc.) if it is clear who we are speaking about from the context. They are included in the examples below for clarity.
| Ellas viven en otro estado. | They live in another state. |
| Ud. cree que es fácil. | You think it’s easy. |
| Nosotros abrimos a las siete. | We open at seven. |
| ¿Él comprende todo? | Does he understand everything? |
| Yo aprendo a bailar. | I’m learning to dance. |
| Vosotros debéis trabajar más. | You (pl. Spain) should work more. |
| ¿Vives cerca? | Do you live nearby? |
¿Cómo se dice…?:
Now you try out some sentences: use the verbs from the -er and -ir lists above to translate the sentences below.
Some vocabulary you might need: poemas=poems; universidad=college; más tarde=later
- They read lots of books.
- Julia writes poems.
- Do you attend college? (tú)
- We’re eating with them later.
- I must study more.
- You guys don’t run in the morning.
- What do they think?
Traducciones:
- Ellos leen muchos libros.
- Julia escribe poemas.
- ¿Tú asistes a la universidad?
- Comemos con ellos más tarde.
- Yo debo estudiar más.
- Uds. no corren por la mañana.
- ¿Qué creen ellos?
Grammar Details:
#3 from above: ¿Tú asistes a la universidad?
Did you put the “a” after the verb “asistes”? Certain verbs take a corresponding preposition after them, and sometimes they don’t translate to anything specific in English. It’s best to memorize these verbs and their corresponding prepositions; in this case “asistir a” = “to attend” (school, class).
#5 from above: Yo debo estudiar más.
Did you remember that when two verbs appear together and there is no change in subject the first verb is conjugated (debo) but not the second (estudiar)?
#7 from above: ¿Qué creen ellos?
When we form a question that elicits information, the position of the subject pronoun (ellos), if used, frequently follows the conjugated verb.
