The -ir class is the smallest of the three Spanish conjugations — about five per cent of all verbs — but it contains some of the most heavily used verbs in the language: vivir, escribir, abrir, recibir, subir, decidir, salir, venir. This page covers the six peninsular endings for regular -ir verbs and gives particular attention to the vosotros form -ís, which is one of the most distinctively Spanish sounds in everyday conversation.
The six -ir endings
To conjugate a regular -ir verb, drop -ir from the infinitive and add the appropriate ending: -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en.
| Subject | Ending | vivir (to live) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | vivo |
| tú | -es | vives |
| él / ella / usted | -e | vive |
| nosotros / nosotras | -imos | vivimos |
| vosotros / vosotras | -ís | vivís |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | -en | viven |
The -ís ending is the shortest of the three vosotros forms (compare -áis, -éis, -ís) and the only one with the stress on -í- alone, with no diphthong. The written accent is obligatory: vivís, not *vivis. Without the accent the word would be misspelled.
Vivo en Madrid desde hace seis años.
I've been living in Madrid for six years.
¿Tú escribes a mano o a ordenador?
Do you write by hand or on a computer?
Mis vecinos abren la tienda a las nueve.
My neighbours open the shop at nine.
How -ir differs from -er
For someone who has just learned the regular -er paradigm, the -ir paradigm is mostly already known. The two classes share endings in four of six persons — yo, tú, él, ellos. They diverge only in nosotros and vosotros.
| Subject | -er (comer) | -ir (vivir) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | como | vivo |
| tú | comes | vives |
| él / ella / usted | come | vive |
| nosotros | comemos | vivimos |
| vosotros | coméis | vivís |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | comen | viven |
This overlap has a consequence that matters every day in Spain: when you hear come or escribe in a conversation, you can't immediately tell from the verb alone whether it is an -er or -ir verb. You need to know the infinitive. The single safest diagnostic is the vosotros form, since coméis and vivís are unmistakable.
Six high-frequency model verbs
Each of these regular -ir verbs follows vivir exactly. Memorising the pattern once unlocks all of them.
| Infinitive | Meaning | yo | tú | él/ella | nosotros | vosotros | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vivir | to live | vivo | vives | vive | vivimos | vivís | viven |
| escribir | to write | escribo | escribes | escribe | escribimos | escribís | escriben |
| abrir | to open | abro | abres | abre | abrimos | abrís | abren |
| recibir | to receive | recibo | recibes | recibe | recibimos | recibís | reciben |
| subir | to go up / to upload | subo | subes | sube | subimos | subís | suben |
| decidir | to decide | decido | decides | decide | decidimos | decidís | deciden |
A note on subir: in everyday peninsular Spanish, subir covers both physical motion (subir al sexto piso) and the digital sense (subir una foto a Instagram). The old verb cargar is occasionally used in the digital sense (cargar un archivo) but subir is the more conversational choice.
A note on abrir: its past participle is irregular — abierto, not abrido. That irregularity won't matter in the simple present, but it will show up in the present perfect.
Recibimos vuestra carta la semana pasada.
We received your letter last week.
Subo las escaleras porque el ascensor está roto.
I'm taking the stairs because the lift is broken.
Decidís muy rápido — apenas habéis visto la carta.
You guys decide really fast — you've barely looked at the menu.
¿Vivís en Madrid? — the peninsular tell
A sentence like ¿Dónde vivís? is one of the clearest dialect markers in spoken Spanish. To a group of friends in Mexico City, Buenos Aires, or Bogotá, the equivalent question would be ¿Dónde viven? (using ustedes). In Spain, it is universally ¿Dónde vivís? with vosotros.
Likewise, ¿Vivís juntos? (Are you living together?) is the standard way to ask a couple about their living situation. Replacing it with ¿Viven juntos? in Spain immediately sounds either formal or non-native.
¿Vivís en Madrid o en las afueras?
Do you guys live in Madrid or in the outskirts?
Escribís muy bien para vuestra edad. ¿Quién os ha enseñado?
You write very well for your age. Who taught you?
What the simple present really means
A form like vivo covers more semantic territory than the English I live. In context it can mean I live, I am living, or I do live. Spanish does have a progressive (estoy viviendo), but it is reserved for genuinely temporary or in-progress situations and is far less common than its English counterpart.
—¿Dónde vives ahora? —Vivo con unos amigos en Lavapiés.
—Where are you living now? —I'm living with some friends in Lavapiés.
Los miércoles abrimos a las diez.
On Wednesdays we open at ten.
The simple present also covers near-future plans with a time expression: Mañana subo a Madrid ("Tomorrow I'm heading up to Madrid"). For the full inventory, see usos del presente de indicativo.
Subject pronouns are usually omitted
Because the endings unambiguously identify the subject in five of six persons (third singular and usted share -e), Spanish speakers drop pronouns by default. Add them only for contrast, emphasis, or genuine ambiguity.
Yo vivo en el centro, pero mis hermanos viven en la sierra.
I live downtown, but my brothers live up in the mountains.
Common mistakes
These are the errors English speakers reliably make with -ir verbs in Spain. Each has a fixable underlying confusion.
❌ Vosotros vivis en Sevilla.
Wrong: -ís requires the obligatory written accent.
✅ Vosotros vivís en Sevilla.
Correct: the í carries an accent because the stress falls on it.
❌ Nosotros vivemos en Granada.
Wrong: -emos is the -er nosotros ending; -ir verbs take -imos.
✅ Nosotros vivimos en Granada.
Correct: -ir nosotros is -imos.
❌ ¿Dónde viven, chicos?
Wrong in Spain: addressing friends as ustedes sounds formal or LatAm-trained.
✅ ¿Dónde vivís, chicos?
Correct: with friends, peninsular Spanish uses vosotros.
❌ Mi prima escribís novelas.
Wrong: -ís is the vosotros ending; third-person singular takes -e.
✅ Mi prima escribe novelas.
Correct: ella/usted takes -e.
❌ Subís el archivo, por favor.
Ambiguous as a command — in context it states a fact. For an imperative, use the imperative form.
✅ Subid el archivo, por favor.
Correct: the affirmative vosotros imperative ends in -d (subid, abrid, escribid).
With all three regular paradigms in place, you control the conjugation of around 80% of the verbs you will meet on any given day. The irregular verbs (ser, estar, ir, tener) and the stem-changers come next.
Now practice Spanish
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Spanish→Related Topics
- Presente de indicativo: verbos regulares en -erA1 — The six present-indicative endings for regular -er verbs in peninsular Spanish, with the vosotros form -éis front and centre.
- Presente de indicativo: verbos regulares en -arA1 — The six present-indicative endings for regular -ar verbs in peninsular Spanish, including the all-important vosotros form habláis.
- Usos del presente de indicativoA2 — The simple present is the workhorse of peninsular Spanish. It covers habits, ongoing actions, general truths, near-future plans, narration, and the running commentary of a football match — far more territory than its English counterpart.
- Vosotros vs ustedes: el sistema españolA1 — In peninsular Spanish, vosotros is the everyday informal plural "you" — alive and used constantly — while ustedes is reserved for genuine formality. Learn when each is required, what verb endings each takes, and why the Latin American merger does not apply in Spain.