Regular -ar Verbs | Spanish (Latin America) Grammar

The largest group of Spanish verbs ends in -ar. Once you learn the five endings below, you can conjugate thousands of regular verbs with complete confidence.

How it works

To conjugate a regular -ar verb in the present indicative, drop the -ar ending from the infinitive and add the ending that matches the subject.

The endings are: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -an.

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In Latin America, ustedes is used for all plural "you" — formal and informal. The vosotros form (used in Spain) is not part of everyday speech in the Americas, though you may still see it in books or song lyrics.

Hablar — to speak

Let's take hablar as our model verb. Drop -ar to get the stem habl-, then add the endings.

Subject	Conjugation
yo	hablo
tú	hablas
él / ella / usted	habla
nosotros / nosotras	hablamos
ellos / ellas / ustedes	hablan

Yo hablo español todos los días.

I speak Spanish every day.

¿Tú hablas inglés?

Do you speak English?

Ella habla muy rápido.

She speaks very fast.

Common regular -ar verbs

These verbs all follow exactly the same pattern as hablar. Learn the model and you get them all for free.

Infinitive	Meaning
trabajar	to work
estudiar	to study
cantar	to sing
bailar	to dance
comprar	to buy
caminar	to walk
escuchar	to listen
mirar	to watch, to look at

Mis hermanos trabajan en una oficina.

My siblings work in an office.

Nosotros estudiamos matemáticas los lunes.

We study math on Mondays.

Using the present tense

The Spanish present tense covers more ground than its English counterpart. A single form like hablo can mean "I speak," "I am speaking," or "I do speak," depending on context.

Ahora mismo compro el pan.

Right now I am buying the bread.

Ustedes cantan muy bien.

You all sing very well.

For more detail on when to use this tense, see the uses of the present tense.

Subject pronouns are optional

Because each ending clearly identifies the subject, Spanish speakers often drop pronouns like yo or nosotros entirely. You only include them for emphasis or to prevent confusion.

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Trabajo en un banco and Yo trabajo en un banco both mean "I work in a bank." The version without yo is more natural in everyday conversation.

Common mistakes

❌ Yo hablo español. Yo estoy hablando español.

Wrong: overusing the progressive when the simple present is more natural.

✅ Yo hablo español.

Correct: the simple present covers habitual actions and general truths.

❌ Ella trabajan en una oficina.

Wrong: the verb ending does not match the singular subject.

✅ Ella trabaja en una oficina.

Correct: third person singular takes -a.

❌ Nosotros hablemos español.

Wrong: -emos is the -er verb ending, not the -ar ending.

✅ Nosotros hablamos español.

Correct: -ar verbs use -amos for nosotros.

❌ Yo caminas al trabajo.

Wrong: the -as ending is for tú, not yo.

✅ Yo camino al trabajo.

Correct: yo always takes -o.

Once the regular -ar pattern is solid, move on to the regular -er verbs — the endings are almost identical.