Verb Conjunctions in Spanish | Endings You’ll Stop Guessing

Spanish verbs change with person, number, and tense—learn the core endings first, then tackle a short list of common irregular patterns.

Spanish verb “conjunctions” usually means verb conjugations: the way a verb changes to match who does an action and when it happens. If you’ve ever thought “Why is it hablo but hablas?” you’re already asking the right question.

This article gives you a clean mental map, practical steps, and examples you can reuse right away. You won’t memorize 50 charts in one sitting. You’ll learn a small set of rules that covers most sentences you’ll say or read.

Verb Conjunctions In Spanish With Plain Patterns

Spanish conjugation runs on two ideas: the verb’s ending group and the person (who). Most verbs fall into three groups based on the infinitive ending:

• -ar verbs: hablar (to speak), trabajar (to work)
• -er verbs: comer (to eat), aprender (to learn)
• -ir verbs: vivir (to live), escribir (to write)

Then you match the subject. The six “slots” you’ll use nonstop:

• yo (I)
• tú (you, informal)
• él/ella/usted (he/she/you formal)
• nosotros/nosotras (we)
• vosotros/vosotras (you all, Spain)
• ellos/ellas/ustedes (they/you all formal)

The trick is to stop thinking “a new word each time.” Think “same stem + predictable ending.” Spanish keeps those endings steady across huge sets of verbs.

Start With The Present Tense You Use Every Day

The present tense is your home base: habits, facts, and what’s happening right now. Take the infinitive, drop -ar / -er / -ir, then add endings.

Present Endings For Regular Verbs

Here are the standard endings. Read them out loud once. Your mouth will remember the rhythm faster than your eyes do.

• -ar: o, as, a, amos, áis, an
• -er: o, es, e, emos, éis, en
• -ir: o, es, e, imos, ís, en

Now plug in a verb:

• hablar → hablo, hablas, habla, hablamos, habláis, hablan
• comer → como, comes, come, comemos, coméis, comen
• vivir → vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, vivís, viven

If you want a sanity check on a form, the Instituto Cervantes conjugator listing points to a conjugation tool tied to academic resources, handy when you’re unsure about a less common verb.

Past Actions: Two Core Past Tenses And When To Pick Each

Spanish splits “the past” into two big buckets. If you mix them up early, don’t sweat it—native speakers still understand you. With time, your ear will start choosing the right one on its own.

Pretérito Indefinido For Completed Actions

Use this for actions that feel finished: a single event, a sequence, a clear endpoint. Common in stories and “what happened” talk.

Regular endings:

• -ar: é, aste, ó, amos, asteis, aron
• -er/-ir: í, iste, ió, imos, isteis, ieron

Examples:

• Ayer hablé con Marta. (Yesterday I spoke with Marta.)
• Comimos tarde. (We ate late.)
• Vivieron allí dos años. (They lived there two years.)

Pretérito Imperfecto For Background And Ongoing Past

Use this for repeated actions, descriptions, and “what things were like.” It sets the scene.

Regular endings:

• -ar: aba, abas, aba, ábamos, abais, aban
• -er/-ir: ía, ías, ía, íamos, íais, ían

Examples:

• Cuando era niño, hablaba mucho. (When I was a kid, I talked a lot.)
• Comíamos en casa los domingos. (We used to eat at home on Sundays.)
• Vivía cerca del trabajo. (I lived near work.)

If you want a concise, official overview of how Spanish organizes verb forms by tense and mood, the RAE’s page on conjugación verbal lays out the structure used in standard grammar references.

Table: A Practical Map Of Tenses And Moods

Instead of drowning in charts, use this as a working map. Start with the first few rows, then add more as your reading and speaking grow.

Form	What It’s For	Mini Example
Present (Indicative)	Habits, facts, “right now”	Yo hablo español.
Pretérito Indefinido	Completed past actions	Ayer comí pasta.
Pretérito Imperfecto	Background, repeated past, descriptions	Antes vivía aquí.
Present Perfect	Past linked to the present (often “today/this week”)	He estudiado mucho.
Conditional	Polite requests, “would,” hypothetical results	Me gustaría ir.
Subjunctive (Present)	Wishes, doubt, requests after trigger phrases	Quiero que vengas.
Imperative	Commands and direct requests	Habla más despacio.
Progressive (Periphrasis)	Action in progress (estar + gerundio)	Estoy trabajando.
Perfect Forms (haber + participle)	“Have done” patterns across tenses	Habíamos salido.

For definitions and naming used in academic grammar, the RAE explains what “tiempos verbales” are and how they relate to time, mood, and aspect on its page Los tiempos verbales.

Subjunctive Without Tears: A Simple Way To Think About It

The subjunctive scares people because English doesn’t mark it the same way. Here’s a cleaner way to frame it: the subjunctive often shows up when a sentence stops reporting facts and starts reacting to them.

A common pattern is two parts:

• Part 1: a trigger idea (want, doubt, request, emotion)
• Part 2: que + a verb that shifts into subjunctive

Examples you’ll hear a lot:

• Quiero que hables.
• Dudo que sea cierto.
• Me alegra que estés aquí.

To form the present subjunctive for regular verbs, you can use a quick build:

1. Start with the yo form of the present tense.
2. Drop the -o.
3. Swap the theme vowel: -ar takes e endings; -er/-ir take a endings.

So hablo → hable, hables, hable, hablemos, habléis, hablen. And como → coma, comas, coma, comamos, comáis, coman.

Accent Marks In Verb Forms: A Fast, Reliable Check

Accent marks can change meaning and also show up just to keep pronunciation steady. Verb forms often take a written accent when the stress would land in a different spot than Spanish spelling rules allow.

Two places learners trip:

• Nosotros forms with stress: hablábamos, comíamos
• Commands with attached pronouns: dímelo, explícamelo

If you want the official rule set for written accents, the RAE’s chapter on reglas de acentuación gráfica is the reference point used in standard Spanish orthography.

Table: Irregular Patterns You’ll See Constantly

Spanish has irregular verbs, no way around it. The good news: many “irregulars” repeat the same pattern across lots of verbs. Learn the pattern, not a one-off form.

Pattern	What Changes	Common Verbs
Stem change (e→ie)	Vowel shifts in stressed forms	pensar, querer, cerrar
Stem change (o→ue)	Vowel shifts in stressed forms	poder, dormir, volver
Stem change (e→i)	Vowel shifts in stressed forms	pedir, servir, repetir
Yo-go verbs	yo form ends in -go	tener, venir, poner, salir
First person irregular	Only one form breaks the pattern	hacer → hago, conocer → conozco
Pretérito “strong” stems	New past stem + special endings	tener → tuve, estar → estuve, decir → dije
Irregular participles	Past participle changes form	hacer → hecho, ver → visto, escribir → escrito
Ser / Ir overlap	Same forms in pretérito	fui, fuiste, fue…

How To Learn Conjugations Without Getting Stuck

If you try to brute-force every tense for every verb, you’ll burn out. A cleaner plan is to build layers. Each layer gives you more reach in real sentences.

Layer 1: Get Three Verbs So Familiar They Feel Automatic

Pick one regular verb from each group and drill the present tense until you can say it without pausing: hablar, comer, vivir. You’re not “studying three verbs.” You’re wiring three ending sets into your brain.

Layer 2: Add Two Past Tenses For Real Conversations

Learn pretérito indefinido and imperfecto for those same three verbs. Then reuse the endings across new verbs. You’ll get fast progress because Spanish rewards pattern reuse.

Layer 3: Learn High-Frequency Irregulars As Chunks

Start with verbs you can’t dodge: ser, estar, tener, ir, hacer, poder, decir. Learn them in short phrases you’d actually say:

• tengo tiempo
• estoy listo
• puedo ir
• dije que sí

Layer 4: Use A Model Chart When A Verb Feels Weird

When a verb looks odd, don’t guess and hope. Check a model. The RAE’s Modelos de conjugación verbal page collects model charts for regular and irregular patterns, which helps you place a verb into the right “family.”

Common Mistakes That Make Spanish Conjugation Feel Harder Than It Is

Most frustration comes from a few predictable slip-ups. Fix these and the whole system feels calmer.

Mixing Up Ser And Estar

Both mean “to be,” yet they don’t behave the same in real sentences. Don’t chase perfect rules on day one. Start with core uses you’ll repeat:

• ser for identity and description: Soy Mo.Es tarde.
• estar for state and location: Estoy cansado.Está aquí.

Forgetting That Stress Drives Many “Irregular” Changes

Stem-changing verbs shift in stressed forms. That’s why pensar becomes pienso but stays pensamos. If you hear the stress, you can often predict the change.

Trying To Use Vosotros Forms When You Don’t Need Them

If you’re not using Spanish from Spain, you can park vosotros for later. You’ll still understand it when you read it, and you’ll save study time for the forms you speak.

A Short Practice Routine That Builds Real Speed

You don’t need marathon sessions. You need steady reps that hit the same patterns until they stick.

1. Two minutes: conjugate one regular verb in the present aloud, no notes.
2. Three minutes: write five past-tense sentences: two completed actions, three background descriptions.
3. Three minutes: pick one irregular pattern (like e→ie) and write six present-tense forms for one verb.
4. Two minutes: read your sentences out loud and listen for clunky spots.

Do that most days for two weeks and you’ll notice the shift: you’ll stop translating word-by-word and start reaching for endings automatically.

Where Grammar Terms Fit In And When To Ignore Them

Grammar labels can help you organize what you see: indicative, subjunctive, imperative; simple vs. compound forms. They’re useful as file folders for your brain. Still, you don’t have to master the label to use the form. If a term slows you down, skip it and stick to usage: “I need a form for completed past,” “I need a polite request,” “I need a wish after que.”

Once your usage gets steady, the labels will start making sense with less effort.