Spanish –ar verbs

1. Spanish –ar verbs

2. Verbs in General English and Spanish both conjugate verbs. They can be organized as first, 2nd, and 3rd person. If you need to, you may review the pronoun presentation on the main page. In English, we do not change the verb much according to the subject. In Spanish, the verb endingwill often tell you who or what the subject is. Observe.

3. -ar verb endings Singular Plural o amos 1rst person as aís 2nd person 3rd person a an

4. How they change This is a rule you can use for any regular –ar verbs. To conjugate a regular –ar verb, drop the –ar and add the appropriate ending. The best way to see this is to demonstrate. We will be looking at the verb “hablar” (to talk) first, then “cantar” (to sing).

5. hablar (to sing) Plural Singular nosotros hablamos nosotras hablamos yo hablo 1rst person (vosotros) hablaís (vosotras) hablaís tú hablas 2nd person él habla ella habla Ud. habla ellos hablan ellas hablan Uds. hablan 3rd person

6. What it means: When you say either “Yo hablo” or “Hablo”, you are saying “I speak”. You will note that hablo is only associated with the subject pronoun “yo”. Similarly, when you say “Tú hablas” or “Hablas” you are saying “You speak”. Notice that it is important to include the subject pronoun when you use 3rd person because the subject has different possibilities. “Habla” can mean “He speaks”, “She speaks”, or “You speak”.

7. Cantar (to sing) Plural Singular nosotros* cantamos nosotras** cantamos 1rst person Yo canto vosotros* cantaís vosotras** cantaís 2nd person tú cantas él canta ella canta Ud. canta ellos* cantan ellas** cantan Uds. cantan 3rd person *mixed group or all guys **all girls

8. Now it is time to learn. • This is meant to be a review. If you have not studied it already, you may have difficulty. • If you want to learn Spanish, you will need to learn the –ar verb endings. • You can often tell what the subject is by the verb. Therefore in Spanish, it is not always necessary to include the subject. • Memorize these verb endings.