23 -ER and -IR ending verbs
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. 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?