ER & IR Verbs

ER and IR verb conjugations in the present tense are almost identical. Below, comer (to eat), a common -er verb, and vivir (to live), a common -ir verb are divided by their stems (com-, viv-) and their conjugation endings, which change with the subject. All regular -er and -ir verbs are conjugated in this way, by adding the ending on to the stem.

 

comer

vivir

Singular

yo

com + o

viv + o

tú

com + es

viv + es

é / ella / usted

com + e

viv + e

EXAMPLES:

Yo como la cena.
Ella vive en chile.

Plural

nosotros / nosotras

com + emos

viv + imos

vosotros / vosotras

com + éis

viv + ìs

ellos / ellas / ustedes

com + en

viv + en

EXAMPLES:

Nosotros comemos a las cinco.
Ellos viven en España.

Atention:
Like all -er and -ir verbs, vivir and comer conjugations differ from each other in the nosotros and vosotros forms.

  • nosotros comemos
  • nosotros vivimos

  • vosotros coméis
  • vosotros vivís
    • Attention:
    The Spanish present tense is equivalent to three English forms.
  • Yo como el almuerzo.
       I eat lunch.
       I am eating lunch.
       I do eat lunch.
    • Attention:
    The verb endings indicate who is doing the action, so often the subject pronouns are omitted. However, they can be used at any time, especially for emphasis or clarification.
  • Como a las dos.
        I eat at two.
  • ¿Come ella también?
        Is she also eating?