In Spanish, verbs belong to three main groups based on how they end in their dictionary form (the infinitive): -ar, -er, and -ir. To talk about everyday actions in the present, you drop that ending and add a new one that matches the person doing the action.
Let's look at regular -ar verbs like trabajar (to work) and estudiar (to study).
Conjugating -ar verbs
Here are the present tense endings for regular -ar verbs:
| Pronoun | Ending | Example: Trabajar (to work) |
|---|
| yo | -o | trabajo |
| tú | -as | trabajas |
| él / ella / usted | -a | trabaja |
| nosotros / nosotras | -amos | trabajamos |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | -an | trabajan |
For yo (I), the ending is -o. For tú (you, informal), the ending is -as.
For él (he), ella (she), and usted (you, formal), use the -a ending:
If you are talking about multiple people—ellos, ellas (they), or ustedes (you all)—simply use the -an ending:
We
When referring to "we" (nosotros or nosotras), the ending is always -amos. Notice that when you say "someone and I" (like Mi abuelo y yo), it counts as "we":