Spanish ER/IR Present Tense Spanish Verb Conjugation

As you become fluent in Spanish, it's important to learn the Present Tense endings for “er/ir” verbs. Learn the conjugation then review with our free Spanish flash cards and games.

Spanish mini-course

We'll start with the basics:

The ending for Yo is o …nosotros emos for (er verbs)
And for “ir” verbs it is imos
… tú is

remember, you use “tú” if you’re on a first-name basis with someone. And for the verb ending, you add the friendly “s” 		es …vosotros (used only in Spain)

Remember that “vosotros” is the plural form of “tú” 		éis
…Él, ella, & Ud. is e …ellos, ellas and Uds. is en
...Ella is e
......usted

Remember, if you use a title with someone like Doctor Mister, or Mrs. you would Usted instead of “tú” when talking to them

Let’s see how this works with “er” verbs. We’ll use the verb “comer” which means “to eat”

I eat would be – Yo como we eat would be - nosotros comemos
(Juana) you eat would be – tú comes Remember since you’re on a first-name basis with Juana, you add the friendly “s” you (plural) or ya’ll eat would be = vosotros coméis

(remember, this form is only used in Spain)
he eats would be – él come
ella come
Ud. come 		(when talking about group of males) the phrase “they eat” would be - ellos comen
ellas comen
Uds comen
she eats would be – (when talking about a group of females) they eat would be
Dr. Garcia, you eat would be – And, the phrase “you (plural) or all of you eat” would be

Now we’ll take a look at how this works for “ir” verbs using the verb “vivir”. Remember, the only difference between the conjugation of “er” and “ir” verbs is the “nosotros” form which is either “emos” for “er” verbs, or “imos” for “ir” verbs. Since many native speakers leave off the pronouns when they speak, we’ll do the same. Remember, pronouns are “Yo, tú, él, ella” and so forth.

I live would be –vivo we live would be - vivimos
(Juana) you live would be - vives Remember since you’re on a first-name basis with Juana, you add the friendly “s” you (plural) or all of you live would be = vivéis

(again, just a reminder that this is only used in Spain)
he lives would be – vive (when talking about a mixed group of males and females) they live - viven
she lives would be – (when talking about a group of females) they live –
Mrs. Vasquez, you live would be – Now, the last one, you (plural) or all of you live =

ER/IR Verb Spanish Practice

Now we’ll practice the “ER/IR” conjugations you’ve learned person by person. First we’ll practice the “I” or “yo” conjugation which ends in an “o”. Like the previous lesson, since native speakers often leave off the Pronoun (in other words the el, ella, Ud, and so forth), we’ll practice it that way. Remember, the pronouns are used if you need to clarify whom you are talking about or if you really want to emphasize the person – for example – you need to go.    Or I did it.

I read *(yo) leo
I sell vendo
I learn aprendo
I attend… asisto
I live vivo
I open abro

Now we’ll work on “tú” which is the “informal” way of saying “you”. Remember, the “tú” adds an “e” then the “friendly s”. 

Juan, you drink. Since there are two ways to say “to drink” we’ll use the on that starts with a ‘b’ bebes
María, you eat comes
Juan, you comprendes
María, you buy recibes
Juan, you dance subes
María, you listen escribes

Now let’s move to “he”. Remember that “he, she, and you formal” all end in an “e” for “er” and “ir” verbs.

he believes cree
he ought to debe
he sees ve
he decides decide
he attends asiste
he lives vive

Next we’ll practice with “she”. She is conjugated just like “he” with an “e” on the end.

She runs corre
She promises promete
She reads lee
She opens abre
She receives recibe
She goes up sube

Continuing, we’ll practice “You” formal which is “usted”. Remember you use “usted” if you would use a title when speaking with someone. For example, “Dr. Garcia” or “Mrs. Fernandez”. Let’s try a few.

 (Mrs. Garcia) You  sell vende
(Dr. Méndez) You learn aprende
(Mr. Vásquez) You  drink (starts with a ‘b’) bebe
(Dr. Rodríguez) You write escribe
(Mrs. Córdova) You  decide decide
(Mr. Hidalgo) You attend asiste

Now, we’ll move on to “we”. Remember, the “we” conjugation ends with “emos” for “er” verbs, and “imos” for “ir” verbs.

We eat comemos
We understand (starts with ‘c’) comprendemos
We believe creemos
We live vivimos
We open abrimos
We receive recibimos

Next, we’ll practice “they” if we’re talking about a group of males or mixed males and females. Remember, the “er” and “ir” verb ending for “ellos” is “en”.

They (males and females) ought to deben
They (males and females) see ven
They (males and females) run corren
They (males and females) go up suben
They (males and females) write escriben
They (males and females) decide deciden

Continuing, we’ll practice “they” if we’re talking about a group of females only. Remember, the “ar” verb ending for “ellas” is “en”.

They (females) promise (ellas) prometen
They (females) read (ellas) leen
They (females) sell …venden
They (females) attend .asisten
They (females) live viven
They (females) open abren

Finally, we’ll practice the conjugation for “All of You” or “ustedes”. Remember, that the “er” and “ir” verb ending is also “en”.

All of you learn (Uds.) aprenden
All of you drink (starts with ‘b’) beben
All of you eat comen
All of you receive reciben
All of you go up suben
All of you write escriben

ER IR Summary

Let’s go over the “er / ir” endings one last time to help you remember them.

Yo o nosotros emos
tú es vosotros (used only in Spain) éis áis
Él e ellos en
Ella ellas
usted ustedes (uds.)

Now repeat after me: o, es, e, emos, en   Let’s do it one more time, be sure to repeat aloud: o, es, e emos, en. Notice that we didn’t go over the “vosotros form” used in Spain. Remember, we wanted to show you how “vosotros” works for those of you who go to Spain, but we don’t actively practice it.

Now that you’ve learned the “Present Tense” conjugations for “er/ir” verbs, you can either review what we’ve gone over, or continue on to the next lesson.

Yo and Go Go Irregular Spanish Verb Conjugation
E to I and Others present tense Spanish Verb Conjugation