Present Tense: Regular -ER & -IR Verbs

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You already know the -AR pattern. Now here is the good news: -ER and -IR verbs follow almost the same logic, with slightly different vowels. Better yet, -ER and -IR verbs share four out of five endings with each other. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to conjugate verbs from all three Spanish verb families -- which means you can handle the vast majority of regular verbs in the language.

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What You Will Learn

Language Objectives

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

Conjugate any regular -ER verb using the five present tense endings
Conjugate any regular -IR verb using the five present tense endings
Compare all three verb families (-AR, -ER, -IR) and spot the differences
Use 10+ -ER/-IR verbs in Colombian daily life sentences

Part 1: The -ER Verb Pattern

Take comer (to eat). Remove the -ER ending to get the stem: com-. Now add the -ER present tense endings:

Pronoun	Stem + Ending	Full Form	Meaning
yo	com + -o	como	I eat
tu	com + -es	comes	you eat
el / ella / usted	com + -e	come	he/she eats, you eat
nosotros	com + -emos	comemos	we eat
ellos / ellas / ustedes	com + -en	comen	they/you all eat

The Key Difference from -AR

Compare the endings side by side. The vowel shifts from A to E:

-AR: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -an
-ER: -o, -es, -e, -emos, -en

The yo form (-o) is identical. Everything else swaps A for E. That is the entire difference.

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Why do -ER verbs use 'e' where -AR verbs use 'a'?

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The vowel in the endings comes from the infinitive ending itself. -AR verbs keep the 'a' vowel throughout their conjugation. -ER verbs keep the 'e' vowel. This is not random -- it is the verb family's signature. Once you see the pattern, it is impossible to unsee.

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Are there fewer -ER verbs than -AR verbs?

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Yes. -AR verbs are by far the largest family in Spanish. -ER and -IR verbs are smaller but include many essential everyday words: comer (eat), beber (drink), leer (read), correr (run), aprender (learn), comprender (understand).

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Essential -ER Verbs for Colombian Daily Life:

Verb	Stem	Meaning	Example
comer	com-	to eat	Como almuerzo a las doce
beber	beb-	to drink	Bebo agua todo el dia
aprender	aprend-	to learn	Aprendo espanol
comprender	comprend-	to understand	Comprendo la leccion
leer	le-	to read	Leo el periodico
correr	corr-	to run	Corro en el parque
vender	vend-	to sell	Vendo frutas en la plaza

Knowledge Check

'Yo ___ espanol en Bogota.' (aprender)

Knowledge Check

'Usted ___ muy bien la leccion.' (comprender)

Knowledge Check

'Nosotros ___ el almuerzo a las doce.' (comer)

Quick Check-in

Part 2: The -IR Verb Pattern

Take vivir (to live). Remove the -IR ending to get the stem: viv-. Now add the -IR present tense endings:

Pronoun	Stem + Ending	Full Form	Meaning
yo	viv + -o	vivo	I live
tu	viv + -es	vives	you live
el / ella / usted	viv + -e	vive	he/she lives, you live
nosotros	viv + -imos	vivimos	we live
ellos / ellas / ustedes	viv + -en	viven	they/you all live

-ER and -IR Are Nearly Identical

Look at the endings:

-ER: -o, -es, -e, -emos, -en
-IR: -o, -es, -e, -imos, -en

Four out of five endings are exactly the same. The ONLY difference is the nosotros form: -emos vs. -imos. That is it. If you know -ER, you already know 80% of -IR.

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How are -ER and -IR different?

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Only ONE ending differs: the nosotros form. -ER verbs use -emos (comemos), -IR verbs use -imos (vivimos). Every other ending is identical: -o, -es, -e, -en. This makes -ER and -IR the easiest pair to learn together.

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Are most -IR verbs regular?

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Many common -IR verbs are actually irregular (like salir, decir, venir). But the regular -IR pattern still applies to important verbs like vivir, escribir, recibir, describir, and abrir. Learn the regular pattern first, then tackle irregulars in Lesson 4.

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Essential -IR Verbs for Colombian Daily Life:

Verb	Stem	Meaning	Example
vivir	viv-	to live	Vivo en Bogota
escribir	escrib-	to write	Escribo mensajes en WhatsApp
recibir	recib-	to receive	Recibo un paquete
abrir	abr-	to open	Abro la tienda a las ocho
compartir	compart-	to share	Compartimos el almuerzo
describir	describ-	to describe	Describo mi barrio

Knowledge Check

'Ella ___ en Medellin.' (vivir)

Knowledge Check

'Nosotros ___ mensajes todos los dias.' (escribir)

Knowledge Check

'Ustedes ___ la tienda a las ocho.' (abrir)

Part 3: The Complete Three-Family Comparison

Here is the master comparison. Study this table -- it is the single most useful grammar reference at A1.

Pronoun	-AR (hablar)	-ER (comer)	-IR (vivir)
yo	hablo	como	vivo
tu	hablas	comes	vives
el/usted	habla	come	vive
nosotros	hablamos	comemos	vivimos
ellos/ustedes	hablan	comen	viven

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What pattern do you see across all three families?

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The yo form always ends in -o regardless of verb family. The nosotros form always contains the family vowel (-amos, -emos, -imos). And -ER/-IR share everything except nosotros. The system is beautifully logical.

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A Day in the Life -- All Three Verb Families

Carolina: Yo vivo en Chapinero. Por la manana, tomo tinto y leo las noticias. Camino al trabajo. En la oficina, escribo correos y hablo con clientes. Al mediodia, nosotros comemos juntos en un restaurante. Por la noche, abro un libro y estudio un poco de ingles.

Count the verbs: vivir (-IR), tomar (-AR), leer (-ER), caminar (-AR), escribir (-IR), hablar (-AR), comer (-ER), abrir (-IR), estudiar (-AR). Nine verbs, three families, all following their patterns perfectly.

At a Bogota Cafe

Waiter: ¿Usted come aqui frecuentemente? You: Si, yo como aqui los martes. Mi amigo vende cafe en esta zona. Waiter: Nosotros vendemos el mejor tinto de Chapinero.

-ER verb 'comer' and 'vender' in action. Notice how the waiter uses usted -- classic Bogota service culture.

Now let's drill across all three families:

Knowledge Check

'Ellos ___ en la universidad.' (aprender, -ER)

Knowledge Check

'Yo ___ el almuerzo con mi familia.' (compartir, -IR)

Knowledge Check

'Tu ___ muy rapido.' (correr, -ER)

Reflection

Part 4: Common Mistakes to Avoid

Three Mistakes Every Beginner Makes

1. Mixing up -AR and -ER endings

Wrong: "El coma" (using -AR ending -a on an -ER verb). Right: "El come." Remember: the vowel in the ending matches the verb family. -AR = a vowel, -ER/-IR = e vowel.

2. Forgetting the nosotros -ER vs -IR difference

-ER: comemos, bebemos, aprendemos. -IR: vivimos, escribimos, recibimos. The nosotros form is the ONLY place where -ER and -IR differ.

3. Conjugating the infinitive instead of the stem

Wrong: "Yo comero" (adding -o to the full infinitive). Right: "Yo como" (adding -o to the stem com-). Always strip the -ar/-er/-ir first, THEN add the ending.

Key Takeaways

-ER endings: -o, -es, -e, -emos, -en (swap A for E compared to -AR)
-IR endings: -o, -es, -e, -imos, -en (identical to -ER except nosotros)
The yo form (-o) is the same across ALL three verb families
-ER and -IR share 4 out of 5 endings -- learn one, get the other nearly free
You can now conjugate regular verbs from all three Spanish verb families

Summary Checklist

Before moving on, make sure you can:

Conjugate comer and vivir for all five persons without looking
Identify whether a verb is -AR, -ER, or -IR from its infinitive
Explain the ONE difference between -ER and -IR endings
Build sentences mixing all three verb families

This Week's Practice

Daily Practice Tasks

Day 1-2: Write out the full conjugation tables for comer, vivir, and one -AR verb side by side. Circle the differences.
Day 3-4: Describe your typical day using at least 2 verbs from each family: "Tomo cafe (AR), como pan (ER), vivo cerca del trabajo (IR)."
Day 5-7: Pick 3 new verbs (one from each family) and conjugate them completely. Then write one sentence per conjugation.

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Spanish Assistant

Present Tense: Regular -ER & -IR Verbs

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Lesson discussion

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What You Will Learn

Part 1: The -ER Verb Pattern

Part 2: The -IR Verb Pattern

Part 3: The Complete Three-Family Comparison

Part 4: Common Mistakes to Avoid

Three Mistakes Every Beginner Makes

1. Mixing up -AR and -ER endings

2. Forgetting the nosotros -ER vs -IR difference

3. Conjugating the infinitive instead of the stem

Key Takeaways

Summary Checklist

This Week's Practice

•••Home

•••Your Learning Path

•••Your Support

•••Bogotá

•••Resources

Spanish Assistant

Present Tense: Regular -ER & -IR Verbs

Loading Quiz...

Lesson discussion

Leave a comment

What You Will Learn

Part 1: The -ER Verb Pattern

Part 2: The -IR Verb Pattern

Part 3: The Complete Three-Family Comparison

Part 4: Common Mistakes to Avoid

Three Mistakes Every Beginner Makes

1. Mixing up -AR and -ER endings

2. Forgetting the nosotros -ER vs -IR difference

3. Conjugating the infinitive instead of the stem

Key Takeaways

Summary Checklist

This Week's Practice

Home

Your Learning Path

Your Support

Bogotá

Resources