Verb Types
What is a verb? (English)
A verb expresses an action, occurrence, or state of being.
| Type | Examples | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Action | run, eat, write, call | She runs every morning. |
| Occurrence | happen, become, appear | It happened again. |
| State | be, seem, feel, have | He is tired. |
The infinitive (English)
The infinitive is the base, unconjugated form of a verb: to eat, to run, to be.
It’s the form you find in a dictionary. You conjugate it to match the subject.
| Infinitive | 1st person | 3rd person singular |
|---|---|---|
| to eat | I eat | she eats |
| to run | I run | he runs |
| to write | I write | it writes |
| to go | I go | he goes |
| to be | I am | she is |
English conjugation is minimal — only the 3rd person singular changes (+ the irregular be).
How Spanish handles verb types differently
Spanish infinitives always end in one of three endings
This is the key structural difference. Every Spanish verb belongs to one of three conjugation classes, determined by its infinitive ending:
| Class | Infinitive ending | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | -ar | hablar | to speak |
| Class 2 | -er | comer | to eat |
| Class 3 | -ir | vivir | to live |
Think of these like interface types. Every verb implements one interface, and the interface determines the conjugation pattern (the “implementation”).
The stem is everything before the ending:
- hablar → stem: habl-
- comer → stem: com-
- vivir → stem: viv-
Conjugation = stem + subject ending (where the ending depends on verb class + tense + subject).
Class 1: -ar verbs
The most common class. Regular -ar verbs follow a fully predictable pattern.
Common -ar verbs
| Infinitive | English |
|---|---|
| hablar | to speak |
| trabajar | to work |
| caminar | to walk |
| llamar | to call |
| escuchar | to listen |
| comprar | to buy |
| necesitar | to need |
| tomar | to take / to drink |
| usar | to use |
| esperar | to wait / to hope |
Class 2: -er verbs
Second most common. Similar endings to -ir in some tenses.
Common -er verbs
| Infinitive | English |
|---|---|
| comer | to eat |
| beber | to drink |
| leer | to read |
| correr | to run |
| vender | to sell |
| aprender | to learn |
| entender | to understand |
| ver | to see |
| saber | to know (facts) |
| poder | to be able to / can |
Class 3: -ir verbs
Smallest class. Shares some endings with -er verbs.
Common -ir verbs
| Infinitive | English |
|---|---|
| vivir | to live |
| escribir | to write |
| abrir | to open |
| subir | to go up / to upload |
| recibir | to receive |
| decidir | to decide |
| salir | to leave / to go out |
| venir | to come |
| ir | to go |
| decir | to say / to tell |
Regular vs irregular verbs
Within each class, some verbs follow the pattern perfectly (regular), others deviate (irregular).
| Category | What it means | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Regular | follows the class pattern exactly | hablar, comer, vivir |
| Stem-changing | vowel in stem changes for some subjects | poder (o→ue), querer (e→ie) |
| Irregular | doesn’t follow the pattern at all | ser, ir, tener, hacer |
Irregular verbs must be memorized individually. The good news: the most common verbs are irregular in most languages — you’ll use them enough to internalize them.
Most important irregular verbs
| Infinitive | English | Why important |
|---|---|---|
| ser | to be (permanent) | one of the two “to be” verbs |
| estar | to be (temporary) | the other “to be” verb |
| ir | to go | extremely common; also used for future tense |
| tener | to have | used in many idiomatic expressions |
| hacer | to do / to make | very high frequency |
| decir | to say / to tell | very high frequency |
| poder | can / to be able to | modal verb |
| querer | to want | modal verb |
| saber | to know (facts) | differs from conocer |
| venir | to come | high frequency |
Common mistakes
- ❌ Treating all verbs as if they conjugate the same way → ✅ identify the class first (-ar/-er/-ir), then apply the right endings
- ❌ Confusing the stem with the infinitive → ✅ remove the ending first: hablar → stem habl-, not hablar-
- ❌ Applying regular patterns to irregular verbs → ✅ the top ~20 irregular verbs must be memorized
Summary
- Every Spanish verb has an infinitive ending in -ar, -er, or -ir
- The ending determines the conjugation class (the pattern of endings for each subject)
- The stem = infinitive minus the ending; conjugation = stem + subject-specific ending
- Some verbs are irregular — their stems or endings deviate from the pattern
See also: Present Tense — apply the verb classes to conjugate in the present.
See also: Present Tense Conjugation Table — all three classes at a glance.