6.04 La Vía Los Verbos ER e IR

LOS VERBOS ER e* IR

photo, a student, una alumna
La alumna estudia. Hay examen de español.

In this section we will be learning more about Spanish verbs. We have already learned about those verbs in Spanish that end with ar. Our concentration here will be on the er and ir verbs.

The verbs we will deal with in this section will also be in the present tense, meaning that we can't use them to say what happened yesterday, or what is going to take place. We can only use them to say what is happening now. These er and ir verbs are also regular verbs, meaning that every verb that we will deal with here will follow a certain pattern and not divert from it.

Before learning about the er and ir verbs, let's review the ar verb. Remember that the verb in the ar, er and ir form is called the infinitive form. To conjugate an ar verb, we must first drop the ar from the end and then add the new endings (ones in bold) Look at the following table:

*e is used in place of y when the word following it has the Spanish vowel sound of an i.

HABLAR- TO SPEAK
yo hablo	nosotros, nosotras hablamos
tú hablas	vosotros, vosotras habláis
él, ella, usted habla	ellos, ellas, ustedes hablan

Look at the following two verbs. Comer is an er verb, and vivir is an ir verb.

COMER - TO EAT
yo como	nosotros, nosotras comemos
tú comes	vosotros, vosotras coméis
él, ella, usted come	ellos, ellas, ustedes comen

VIVIR - TO LIVE
yo vivo	nosotros vivimos
tú vives	vosotros, vosotras vivís
él, ella, usted vive	ellos, ellas, ustedes viven

Notice how the endings of the er and ir verbs also have a pattern. This pattern can be used for any regular er or ir verb. What else do you notice about the above endings? Do you see any similarities? Yes, you are right! The er and ir verbs have exactly the same endings, except for in the nosotros and vosotros forms. This should make it easier for you to remember. Now let's look at some other regular er and ir verbs and their meanings. Make sure you also listen to them and repeat them.

er verbs

ir verbs

aprender — to learn

abrir — to open

beber — to drink

asistir — to attend

comprender — to understand

escribir — to write

correr — to run

recibir — to receive

leer — to read

vender — to sell

Now let's practice together!

What form of comer would we use when talking about Susita?

You can't see Susita's name on the chart, but what pronoun there would take the place of Susita?

Sí, ella. So we could say Susita come or ella come.

And what about Paco?

Paco come or él come is the correct answer!

What about Susita and Paco?

That's it! Paco y Susita comen or ellos comen.

If you are talking about yourself and someone else you would say Pablo y yo.

Then you would use the nosotros form because nosotros is another word for "we."

Pablo y yo comemos or nosotros comemos.

What form of comer would we use when talking about Susita?

You can't see Susita's name on the chart, but what pronoun there would take the place of Susita?

Sí, ella. So we could say Susita come or ella come.

And what about Paco?

Paco come or él come is the correct answer!

What about Susita and Paco?

That's it! Paco y Susita comen or ellos comen.

If you are talking about yourself and someone else you would say Pablo y yo.

Then you would use the nosotros form because nosotros is another word for "we."

Pablo y yo comemos or nosotros comemos.

What form of vivir would we use when talking about Susita?

You can't see Susita's name on the chart, but what pronoun there would take the place of Susita?

Sí, ella. So we could say Susita vive or ella vive .

And what about Paco?

Paco vive or él vive is the correct answer!

What about Susita and Paco?

That's it! Paco y Susita viven or ellos viven.

If you are talking about yourself and someone else you would say Pablo y yo.

Then you would use the nosotros form because nosotros is another word for "we."

Pablo y yo vivimos or nosotros vivimos.