Pronouns & Verb Conjugation
Pronouns & Verb Conjugation: Spanish vocabulary and examples with English explanations. Open the interactive lesson for pronunciation and practice.
01 · Pronouns & conjugation
Querer means to want. Usted (formal you) and ustedes (plural you) use third-person singular and plural conjugations respectively.
| Español | English |
|---|---|
| Quiero | Yo · I want |
| Quieres | Tú · You want |
| Quiere | Él / Ella / Usted · He / She / You (formal) wants / want |
| Queremos | Nosotros / Nosotras · We want |
| Queréis | Vosotros / Vosotras · You (plural, informal) want |
| Quieren | Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes · They / You (plural) want |
02 · Remember the sequence
Quiero → Quieres → Quiere → Queremos → Queréis → Quieren. In the present tense, querer has an e → ie stem change, except with nosotros and vosotros: queremos and queréis.
| Español | English |
|---|
03 · Change the subject, talk about weekend plans
Pattern: subject + conjugated querer + salir de noche. Change the subject and querer; salir stays in the infinitive. Spanish subject pronouns can be omitted when the subject is clear.
| Español | English |
|---|---|
| Yo quiero salir de noche. | I want to go out at night. |
| Tú quieres salir de noche. | You want to go out at night. |
| Él / Ella / Usted quiere salir de noche. | He / She wants to go out at night. / You (formal) want to go out at night. |
| Nosotros / Nosotras queremos salir de noche. | We want to go out at night. |
| Vosotros / Vosotras queréis salir de noche. | You (plural, informal) want to go out at night. Common in Spain. |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes quieren salir de noche. | They / You (plural) want to go out at night. Ustedes is the usual plural you in Latin America and generally formal in Spain. |
04 · Regular conjugation: stem + personal ending
View the textbook images on pages 33 and 34. Regular present-tense verbs have three groups: -ar, -er and -ir. Remove the infinitive ending, then add the personal ending. The order below is yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros/as, vosotros/as, ellos/ellas/ustedes.
| Español | English |
|---|
05 · hablar: speak
-ar endings: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an. Example: hablar → habl- + o = hablo.
| Español | English |
|---|---|
| hablo | I · speak |
| hablas | You (informal singular) · speak |
| habla | He / she / you (formal singular) · speak |
| hablamos | We · speak |
| habláis | You (informal plural, Spain) · speak |
| hablan | They / you (plural) · speak |
06 · comprender: understand
-er endings: -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en.
| Español | English |
|---|---|
| comprendo | I · understand |
| comprendes | You (informal singular) · understand |
| comprende | He / she / you (formal singular) · understand |
| comprendemos | We · understand |
| comprendéis | You (informal plural, Spain) · understand |
| comprenden | They / you (plural) · understand |
07 · vivir: live
-ir endings: -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en. The nosotros/as and vosotros/as forms differ from -er verbs.
| Español | English |
|---|---|
| vivo | I · live |
| vives | You (informal singular) · live |
| vive | He / she / you (formal singular) · live |
| vivimos | We · live |
| vivís | You (informal plural, Spain) · live |
| viven | They / you (plural) · live |
08 · Practise three more verbs
Textbook page 33 practice: estudiar (study), aprender (learn), escribir (write). Each row gives the same person for all three verbs. Note the accents in estudiáis, aprendéis and escribís.
| Español | English |
|---|---|
| Estudio. Aprendo. Escribo. | I · study / learn / write |
| Estudias. Aprendes. Escribes. | You (informal singular) · study / learn / write |
| Estudia. Aprende. Escribe. | He / she / you (formal singular) · study / learn / write |
| Estudiamos. Aprendemos. Escribimos. | We · study / learn / write |
| Estudiáis. Aprendéis. Escribís. | You (informal plural, Spain) · study / learn / write |
| Estudian. Aprenden. Escriben. | They / you (plural) · study / learn / write |
09 · Hacer: how you practise Spanish
Page 33 also uses hacer (do/make). Its present-tense yo form is irregular: hago. The others are haces, hace, hacemos, hacéis, hacen. The following practice sentences follow the textbook themes.
| Español | English |
|---|---|
| Hago ejercicios de gramática. | I do grammar exercises. |
| ¿Haces ejercicios en casa? | Do you do exercises at home? |
| Mi compañero hace ejercicios todos los días. | My classmate does exercises every day. |
| Hacemos ejercicios en clase. | We do exercises in class. |
| ¿Hacéis ejercicios de español? | Do you do Spanish exercises? |
| Mis compañeros hacen ejercicios de gramática. | My classmates do grammar exercises. |
| Leo blogs en español. | I read blogs in Spanish. |
| Escucho música en español. | I listen to music in Spanish. |
10 · From yourself to your partner
First describe yourself using yo, then report a partner’s answer with él / ella. A name + y yo takes nosotros/as; two names take ellos/ellas. Subject pronouns can be omitted when clear. Put no before the conjugated verb to make a negative sentence.
| Español | English |
|---|---|
| Hablo inglés y estudio español. | I speak English and study Spanish. |
| Mi compañera habla inglés y estudia español. | My classmate speaks English and studies Spanish. |
| Ana y yo vivimos en Madrid. | Ana and I live in Madrid. |
| Ana y Luis viven en Madrid. | Ana and Luis live in Madrid. |
| No comprendo todo. | I do not understand everything. |
| ¿Hablas español? | Do you speak Spanish? |