Spanish Grammar Explained /
The conjugation of regular verbs (plural)
We have learned that, in Spanish, the distinction between the speaker (first person), the addressee (second person), and others (third person) matters for verb conjugation. So far we have covered the singular pronouns yo, tú, él/ella. Now we'll talk about the corresponding plural forms:
- we → nosotros
- you (plural) → ustedes
- they → ellos/ellas
Spanish pronouns
| | singular | plural |
| Speaker → "first person" | yo | nosotros |
| Addressee → "second person" | tú | ustedes |
| Others → "third person" | él/ella | ellos/ellas |
Why should I care?
Most verbs are conjugated regularly, which means that if you know the infinitive ending (such as -ar) you can predict how it will be conjugated, provided you know what I'm going to tell you. Isn't it great?
IS IT?
Now let's see the different endings for each pronoun. Also, do you remember there are three types of verbs in Spanish?
| HABLAR | COMER | VIVIR |
|---|---|---|
| hablamos we talk | comemos we eat | vivimos we live |
| hablan you talk | comen you eat | viven you live |
| hablan they talk | comen they eat | viven they live |
You might also remember this:
Keep the vowel (A, E) of the infinitive, except for IR-verbs, they're the same as ER-verbs in its singular forms!
It turns out, nosotros is not very mainstream and is the one and only rebel against the "ER-verbs fashion".
If you're the type of learner who prefers the "learning by doing" approach, don't worry, our flashcard exercises will take care of that! However, if you think grammar can help you memorize and apply rules, these explanations will come in handy.
"ESCANEAR"
New verbs can be easily created by adding the suffix -ear. This is how modern-technology-related words have been invented; for example: escanear (to scan) and tuitear (to tweet).