5 AR ending verbs part 2
-AR ending verbs: a pattern
The conjugation pattern that we saw for the verb “tomar = to take” can be applied to all regular -ar ending verbs. The idea of “taking off the verb ending” and then adding other endings to give the verb a subject (yo, tú, ella, etc.) is fundamental to Spanish. The column in the table below “regular -ar verb endings” is what you need to make sentences with -ar ending verbs:
Regular -ar ending verbs
| Subject pronouns | Regular -ar verb endings | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | yo | -o | I ___ | |
| tú | -as | you ___ | familiar | |
| él | -a | he ___s | ||
| ella | -a | she ___s | ||
| Ud. | -a | you ___ | formal | |
| Plural | nosotros | -amos | we ___ | |
| vosotros | -áis | you ___ | fam. (Spain) | |
| ellos | -an | they ___ | masculine | |
| ellas | -an | they ___ | feminine | |
| Uds. | -an | you ___ |
As we saw before, taking off the -ar ending of tomar and adding the “yo” form ending -o, gives us “I take”: tomo. We can do the same for all regular –ar ending verbs and we’ll have “I ___”:
-Ar verbs: yo form examples
| Infinitive | Infinitive | yo form: o | Possible translations to English |
|---|---|---|---|
| tomar | to take | tomo | I take, I’m taking, do I take |
| hablar | to speak | hablo | I speak, I’m speaking, do I speak |
| trabajar | to work | trabajo | I work, I’m working, do I work |
Taking off the -ar and adding -as gives us the tú form, or “you” (familiar):
-Ar verbs: tú form examples
| Infinitive | Infinitive | tú form: -as | Possible translations to English |
|---|---|---|---|
| tomar | to take | tomas | you take, you’re taking, do you take |
| hablar | to speak | hablas | you speak, you’re speaking, do you speak |
| trabajar | to work | trabajas | you work, you’re working, do you work |
The idea is the same for all subjects: take off the -ar and add the appropriate ending that matches the subject:
| Ella habla español muy bien. | She speaks Spanish very well. |
| Uds. trabajan mañana. | You guys are working tomorrow. |
| Nosotros hablamos inglés. | We speak English. |
| ¿Él toma clases los sábados? | Does he take classes on Saturdays? |
| Ellos no hablan de ella. | They don’t talk about her. |
| Vosotras trabajáis mucho. | You (pl./f. Spain) work a lot. |
| ¿Toma Ud. un taxi? | Are you (formal) taking a taxi? |
Note (ojo): in the examples above, I put the subject pronouns (ella, Uds., etc.) in italics as a reminder that it is not necessary to use them if it is clear who we are speaking about from the context. When the context is clear you can omit the subject pronouns and the meaning doesn’t change:
| Habla español muy bien. | She speaks Spanish very well. |
Context: you asked me about María’s Spanish and the above was my answer.
| Trabajan mañana. | You guys are working tomorrow. |
Context: someone in your group asked me when you all are working and the above was my response.
Common -ar ending verbs
| Infinitivo | Infinitive | Infinitivo | Infinitive |
|---|---|---|---|
| aceptar | to accept | invitar | to invite |
| amar | to love | lavar | to wash |
| ayudar | to help | limpiar | to clean |
| bailar | to dance | llamar | to call |
| buscar | to look for | llegar | to arrive |
| cambiar | to change | llorar | to cry |
| caminar | to walk | matar | to kill |
| cantar | to sing | mirar | to look at, to watch |
| cenar | to have dinner | necesitar | to need |
| comprar | to buy | olvidar | to forget |
| cocinar | to cook | pagar | to pay |
| desayunar | to have breakfast | pasar tiempo | to spend time |
| desear | to desire | pintar | to paint |
| dibujar | to draw | practicar | to practice |
| enseñar | to teach | preguntar | to ask |
| entrar | to enter | preparar | to prepare |
| entregar | to turn in | regresar | to return |
| enviar | to send, to mail | saludar | to greet, say hello to |
| escuchar | to listen (to) | terminar | to finish |
| esperar | to wait, to hope for | tocar | to touch, to play (instr.) |
| estudiar | to study | tomar | to take, to drink |
| explicar | to explain | trabajar | to work |
| fumar | to smoke | tratar de | to try |
| ganar | to win, to earn | usar | to use |
| gritar | to shout | viajar | to travel |
| hablar | to speak | visitar | to visit |
¿Cómo se dice…?:
Let’s try out some sentences: use the verbs from the list above to translate the sentences below. Some vocabulary you might need:
mucho=much, a lot; más=more; nunca=never; mañana=tomorrow; hoy=today
- I don’t travel to Mexico much.
- They’re finishing tomorrow.
- You need to work more (tú).
- Do you guys return today? (Uds.)
- We don’t cook.
- She never cries.
- Does he teach Spanish?
Traducciones:
- Yo no viajo a México mucho.
- Ellos terminan mañana.
- Tú necesitas trabajar más.
- ¿Regresan Uds. hoy?
- Nosotros no cocinamos.
- Ella nunca llora.
- ¿Enseña él español?
Grammar Details:
#3 from above: Tú necesitas trabajar más.
This sentence has two verbs: “necesitar” and “trabajar”. When two verbs appear together without a change in subject, only the first verb is conjugated, and the second is left in the infinitive. So “necesitas” is conjugated in the tú form with the corresponding -as as ending, but “trabajar” doesn’t change—it stays in the infinitive.
In each of the sentences below the first verb (v1) is conjugated while the second verb (v2) appears in the infinitive:
| Marta desea (v1) enseñar (v2) inglés. | Marta desires to teach English. |
| Necesitamos (v1) comprar (v2) leche. | We need to buy milk. |
| Ellos tratan de (v1) cantar (v2) bien. | They try to sing well. |
| Yo necesito (v1) entregar (v2) la tarea. | I need to hand in the homework. |
The same structure—the second verb staying in the infinitive—also happens in English as shown in the examples above (desires to teach / need to buy).