Spanish Verbs

Definition: A verb expresses an action, event or state. Spanish verbs are used to make a complete sentence, and it must be accompanied by a noun or pronoun that is acting, existing or in a mode of being. (In Spanish, it is common for the noun to be implied without being explicitly stated.)

Verbs in Spanish

Verb to BE (SER and ESTAR)

The verb to be is used for all kind of sentences. In Spanish language this verb has two translations and they are "ser" and "estar" that have the same use of verb to be; but it is necessary, learning the different uses that have each one of them.

The verb "SER"

This verb is most used for describing something or someone but only for the uses that are below. This verb can be used when you are describing one but you aren't talking about one condition.

Conjugation of this verb

English	Spanish	English	Spanish
I am	Yo soy	We are	Nosotros somos
You are	Tú eres	You are	Ustedes son
He/She is	Él/Ella es	They are	Ellos/Ellas son

Basic uses for this verb

To define or identify something or someone.
SER + IDENTIFICACION (identification)

He is a doctor.
Él es un doctor.

This building is a hospital.
Este edificio es un hospital.

To give attributes to a noun.
SER + ADJETIVO CALIFICATIVO (adjective)

I am tall.
Yo soy alto.

Julia is beautiful.
Julia es bonita.

To say time expressions
SER + ADVERBIO DE TIEMPO (time adverb)

It is late.
Es tarde.

It is night.
Es de noche.

NOTE:

To ask and say the time.

What time is it?
¿Qué hora es?

It is one o'clock.
Es la una en punto.

To place a process in the time or space

Baptism is tomorrow.
El bautismo es mañana.

Meeting is in my house.
La reunión es en mi casa.

To valuate a process
SER + ADJETIVO CALIFICATIVO (adjective)

Rest on weekend is good.
Descansar el fin de semana es bueno.

Cleaning your room is healthy.
Limpiar tu cuarto es saludable.

The verb "ESTAR"

This verb is used when you want to talk about one condition. The basic uses for this verb are in the list below.

Conjugation of this verb

English	Spanish	English	Spanish
I am	Yo estoy	We are	Nosotros estamos
You are	Tú estás	You are	Ustedes están
He/She is	El/Ella está	They are	Ellos/Ellas están

Basic uses for this verb

To express a temporal situation in a specific condition
ESTAN + PREPOSICION (preposition) + SUSTANTIVO (substantive)

Spanish language is in fashion.
El español está de moda.

Charles is a waiter.
Carlos está de camarero.

To indicate situations or moods
ESTAR + ADJECTIVO CALIFICATIVO (adjective)

Karen is sad.
Karen esta triste.

This house is pretty.
Esta casa es bonita.

To ask and say the date (This form of express dates don't exist in English language)

What day is today? (this sentence can be translated in two different ways)
¿En qué día estamos hoy?

Today is November 15.
Hoy estamos a 15 de Noviembre.

For placing people, animals or things in a location.

Edgar is in the hospital.
Edgar está en el hospital.

Meat is in the kitchen.
La carne está en la cocina.

To valuate a process
ESTAR + ADVERBIO DE MODO (manner adverb)

It is good to rest on vacation.
Está bien descansar en las vacaciones.

It is bad to smoke every day.
Está mal fumar todos los días.

To express action continuity (present perfect in English)
ESTAR + GERUNDIO(gerund)

I am traveling in Miami.
Yo estoy viajando por Miami.

We are cooking for the party.
Nosotros estamos cocinando para la fiesta.

To express an action result
ESTAR + PARTICIPIO (main verb in past participle)

The food is already prepared.
La comida está preparada.

They are tired.
Ellos están cansados.

Action Verbs

These verbs are used to express the action of the subject in the sentence. There are two kinds of verbs

Regular Verbs
Irregular Verbs

First you have to remember that in Spanish language all of verbs in their infinitive form end with -ar, -er or -ir.

Using Action Verbs to Enhance Your Resume & Cover Letter

Verbs are words that help to describe an action, such as ran, threw, jumped, just to name a few. Go ahead, take out your resume and cover letter and take a good look at it. Learn how to write resume verbs in order to make a striking first impression, use action verbs as the first word of each bullet point to emphasize job descriptions in your resume.

Regular Verbs

The characteristic of these kind of verbs is that they have root (raíz o lexema); and this root doesn't change when we conjugate these verbs in different times.
We can learn this in the table below:

Hablar (to speak)
Let see this verb has the root "habl" and the termination "ar"

Aprender (to learn)
Let see this verb has the root "aprend" and the termination "er"

Escribir (to write)
Let see this verb has the root "escrib" and the termination "ir"

Now we see the conjugation of these verbs:

English	Spanish	English	Spanish
I speak	Yo hablo	We speak	Nosotros hablamos
You speak	Tú hablas	You speak	Ustedes hablan
He/She speaks	Él/Ella habla	They speak	Ellos/Ellas hablan
He is speaking	Él está hablando	They are speaking	Ellos están hablando

I learn	Yo aprendo	We learn	Nosotros aprendemos
You learn	Tú aprendes	You learn	Ustedes aprenden
He/She learns	Él/Ella aprende	They learn	Ellos/Ellas aprenden
I learned	Yo aprendó	We learned	Nosotros aprendimos

I write	Yo escribo	We write	Nosotros escribimos
You write	Tu escribes	You write	Ustedes escriben
He/She writes	Él/Ella escribe	They write	Ellos/Ellas escriben
You will write	Tu escribirás	You will write	Ustedes escribirán

Irregular Verbs

These verbs don't have a root; so These verbs are written different for each conjugation. You can see the table below to understand this better.

Here we conjugate the verbs pensar (to think) and ir (to go)

English	Spanish	English	Spanish
I think	Yo pienso	We think	Nosotros pensamos
You think	Tú piensas	You think	Ustedes piensan
He/She thinks	Él/Ella piensa	They think	Ellos/Ellas piensan
He is thinking	Él está pensando	You thought	Tú pensaste

I go	Yo voy	We go	Nosotros vamos
You go	Tú vas	You go	Ustedes van
He/She go	Él/Ella va	They go	Ellos/Ellas van
I went	Yo fui	We went	Nosotros fuimos

Spanish Verbs Videos