Two common groups of Spanish infinitives end in -er and -ir. Their regular present forms mostly share endings.
The idea
Remove the infinitive ending to get the stem. For comer, the forms shown are como, comes, come, comemos, coméis, comen; for vivir, they are vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, vivís, viven. The nosotros and vosotros endings differ between the groups.
Examples
- Como fruta por la mañana.I eat fruit in the morning.
- ¿Bebes agua durante el día?Do you drink water during the day?
- Mi hermana vive cerca.My sister lives nearby.
- Aprendemos palabras nuevas.We learn new words.
- ¿Vivís en esta ciudad?Do you live in this city?
- Ellas escriben cartas.They write letters.
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Watch out
Do not assume every -er or -ir verb follows this regular pattern: some change their stem or have other irregular forms.
Try it yourself
Yo ___ fruta. (como / comen)
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como
With yo, regular comer becomes como.
Nosotros ___ palabras. (aprendemos / aprenden)
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aprendemos
With nosotros, aprender takes -emos: aprendemos.
Ella ___ cerca. (vive / vivimos)
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vive
The singular subject ella takes vive.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Spanish sentences where available. We keep your score.
Yo ___ fruta. (como / comen)
Nosotros ___ palabras. (aprendemos / aprenden)
Ella ___ cerca. (vive / vivimos)
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Write one sentence about what you eat and another about where two people live. Match each verb to its subject.