Present Tense: Regular -AR Verbs

💡

Spanish Assistant

Ready to help

I'm your lesson assistant. Ask me to explain any concept, drill you on the grammar, or give you extra practice for what you're studying right now.

Here is a secret that grammar textbooks rarely tell you: Spanish has thousands of -AR verbs, and they ALL follow the same pattern. Learn the pattern once with hablar (to speak), and you can conjugate cantar (to sing), cocinar (to cook), bailar (to dance), trabajar (to work), and hundreds more without looking anything up. Your brain is a pattern-recognition machine. This lesson lets it do what it does best.

Self-Rating

What You Will Learn

Language Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

Conjugate any regular -AR verb in the present tense for all five person groups
Apply the stem + ending formula to at least 10 common -AR verbs
Build complete sentences using -AR verbs in Colombian daily life contexts
Recognize the pattern so you can conjugate new -AR verbs you have never seen before

Part 1: The Stem + Ending Formula

Every regular -AR verb follows the same two-step process:

Remove the -AR ending to get the stem
Add the person ending that matches the subject

That is it. Two steps. Let's see it with hablar (to speak):

Stem: habl- (remove -ar from hablar)

Pronoun	Stem + Ending	Full Form	Meaning
yo	habl + -o	hablo	I speak
tu	habl + -as	hablas	you speak
el / ella / usted	habl + -a	habla	he/she speaks, you speak
nosotros	habl + -amos	hablamos	we speak
ellos / ellas / ustedes	habl + -an	hablan	they/you all speak

The Five Endings to Memorize

-o, -as, -a, -amos, -an -- These five endings work for EVERY regular -AR verb. Memorize them once and you unlock hundreds of verbs. Say them out loud right now: o, as, a, amos, an.

🔧

What is a verb stem?

Tap to reveal

The stem is what remains after you remove the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, or -ir). For hablar, the stem is habl-. For trabajar, it is trabaj-. For estudiar, it is estudi-. The stem carries the meaning; the ending carries the grammar.

Tap to flip back

💡

Why does the yo form end in -o instead of -ao?

Tap to reveal

The -o ending for yo is unique among the -AR endings. While all other endings contain the 'a' vowel from -AR (-as, -a, -amos, -an), the yo form simply uses -o. This makes it instantly recognizable -- when you hear a verb ending in -o, you know it is first person singular.

Tap to flip back

✅

How do I know if a verb is regular?

Tap to reveal

If a verb follows the standard stem + ending pattern with no changes to the stem, it is regular. Most -AR verbs are regular. You will learn the common irregular verbs in Lesson 4. For now, trust the pattern -- it works for the vast majority of verbs you will encounter.

Tap to flip back

Quick Check-in

Part 2: Your -AR Verb Arsenal (10 Essential Verbs)

Here are the 10 -AR verbs you will use most in Colombian daily life. Every single one follows the exact same pattern as hablar.

Verb	Stem	Meaning	Colombian Context
hablar	habl-	to speak	Hablo espanol
trabajar	trabaj-	to work	Trabajo en una oficina
estudiar	estudi-	to study	Estudio en la universidad
cocinar	cocin-	to cook	Cocino arepas los domingos
caminar	camin-	to walk	Camino por el parque
comprar	compr-	to buy	Compro cafe colombiano
llamar	llam-	to call	Llamo a mi mama
escuchar	escuch-	to listen	Escucho vallenato
tomar	tom-	to take/drink	Tomo tinto en la manana
bailar	bail-	to dance	Bailo salsa los viernes

☕

What does 'tomar' mean in Colombia?

Tap to reveal

In Colombia, 'tomar' usually means 'to drink' rather than 'to take.' 'Tomo tinto' = I drink coffee (tinto = black coffee in Colombia, NOT wine). 'Tomar' can also mean 'to take' in other contexts, but the drinking meaning is overwhelmingly more common in daily conversation.

Tap to flip back

🇨🇴

What does 'tinto' mean in Colombia vs. Spain?

Tap to reveal

In Spain, 'tinto' refers to red wine (vino tinto). In Colombia, 'tinto' means a small cup of black coffee -- the cheapest and most ubiquitous drink in the country. Ordering 'un tinto' in Bogota gets you coffee, not wine. This is one of the most famous Colombian vocabulary differences.

Tap to flip back

Now let's conjugate a second verb completely to confirm the pattern. Estudiar (to study):

Stem: estudi- (remove -ar)

Pronoun	Form	Example Sentence
yo	estudio	Estudio espanol todos los dias
tu	estudias	¿Tu estudias en la universidad?
usted	estudia	Usted estudia mucho
nosotros	estudiamos	Estudiamos juntos en la biblioteca
ellos	estudian	Ellos estudian ingles

Same endings. Same pattern. Same result.

Part 3: Conjugation Drills

Time to drill. Choose the correct conjugated form for each sentence.

Knowledge Check

'Yo ___ arepas los domingos.' (cocinar)

Knowledge Check

'Ella ___ por el parque Simon Bolivar.' (caminar)

Knowledge Check

'Nosotros ___ salsa todos los viernes.' (bailar)

Knowledge Check

'Ustedes ___ mucho cafe.' (tomar)

Knowledge Check

'Tu ___ a tu mama todos los dias.' (llamar)

Knowledge Check

'El ___ en un banco en el centro.' (trabajar)

Quick Check-in

Part 4: Building Complete Colombian Sentences

Now let's combine subjects, conjugated verbs, and Colombian context. Notice how these sound natural and useful from day one.

Morning Routine in Chapinero, Bogota

Marco: Yo tomo tinto a las seis de la manana. Despues, camino al trabajo. Mi esposa trabaja en una universidad. Nosotros hablamos por telefono al mediodia.

Four -AR verbs, four correct conjugations, one realistic morning. This is what grammar in action looks like.

Weekend Plans in Medellin

Valentina: Los sabados, yo cocino bandeja paisa para la familia. Mi hermano escucha reggaeton mientras yo cocino. Por la noche, nosotros bailamos salsa en Parque Lleras. ¿Usted baila salsa?

Notice how she uses usted to address you -- classic Colombian. And every verb follows the same stem + ending pattern.

Shopping in a Colombian Market

Vendedor: ¿Usted compra frutas hoy? You: Si, yo compro mangos y guanabana. Vendedor: Los turistas siempre compran mucha fruta aqui.

Three forms of comprar in one conversation: compra (usted), compro (yo), compran (ellos/tourists). Same stem, different endings.

How to Conjugate Any New -AR Verb You Encounter

1. Confirm it ends in -AR

If the infinitive ends in -ar, you can use this pattern. Examples: cantar, bailar, viajar, necesitar, descansar.

2. Remove -AR to find the stem

cantar → cant-, viajar → viaj-, necesitar → necesit-, descansar → descans-

3. Add the ending for your subject

-o (yo), -as (tu), -a (el/ella/usted), -amos (nosotros), -an (ellos/ustedes)

4. Place the verb in your sentence

Knowledge Check

Conjugate 'cantar' for ellos: 'Ellos ___ vallenato.'

Knowledge Check

Conjugate 'necesitar' for yo: 'Yo ___ un taxi.'

Knowledge Check

Conjugate 'descansar' for usted: '¿Usted ___ los domingos?'

Reflection

Key Takeaways

All regular -AR verbs follow ONE pattern: remove -ar, add the person ending
The five endings: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -an
You now have 10 high-frequency -AR verbs for Colombian daily life
The stem carries meaning; the ending carries grammar (who is doing the action)
In Colombian Spanish, tomar usually means "to drink" and tinto means "black coffee"
The present tense covers about 70% of daily conversation

Summary Checklist

Before moving on, make sure you can:

Recite the five -AR endings from memory without looking
Conjugate hablar, trabajar, and estudiar for all five persons
Build at least three complete sentences about your daily life using -AR verbs
Extract the stem from any new -AR verb and conjugate it

This Week's Practice

Daily Practice Tasks

Day 1: Write out the full conjugation table for hablar, cocinar, and bailar from memory. Check against this lesson.
Day 2-3: Describe your morning routine using only -AR verbs: "Tomo cafe. Camino al trabajo. Hablo con mis colegas."
Day 4-5: Pick 3 new -AR verbs from a dictionary (e.g., viajar, lavar, cenar). Conjugate them for all persons without help.
Day 6-7: Write a short paragraph (5-6 sentences) about what you and your family do on weekends, using at least 5 different -AR verbs.

Home

Your Learning Path

Your Support

Bogotá

Resources

Spanish Assistant

Present Tense: Regular -AR Verbs

Loading Quiz...

Lesson discussion

Leave a comment

What You Will Learn

Part 1: The Stem + Ending Formula

Part 2: Your -AR Verb Arsenal (10 Essential Verbs)

Part 3: Conjugation Drills

Part 4: Building Complete Colombian Sentences

How to Conjugate Any New -AR Verb You Encounter

1. Confirm it ends in -AR

2. Remove -AR to find the stem

3. Add the ending for your subject

4. Place the verb in your sentence

Key Takeaways

Summary Checklist

This Week's Practice

•••Home

•••Your Learning Path

•••Your Support

•••Bogotá

•••Resources

Spanish Assistant

Present Tense: Regular -AR Verbs

Loading Quiz...

Lesson discussion

Leave a comment

What You Will Learn

Part 1: The Stem + Ending Formula

Part 2: Your -AR Verb Arsenal (10 Essential Verbs)

Part 3: Conjugation Drills

Part 4: Building Complete Colombian Sentences

How to Conjugate Any New -AR Verb You Encounter

1. Confirm it ends in -AR

2. Remove -AR to find the stem

3. Add the ending for your subject

4. Place the verb in your sentence

Key Takeaways

Summary Checklist

This Week's Practice

Home

Your Learning Path

Your Support

Bogotá

Resources