An infinitive verb in Spanish is the most basic level of the verb. These verbs always end in either -ar, -er, or -ir.
In English, the infinitive of a verb is thought of as "to + ___." The verb vivir means "to live," caminar "to walk," and beber "to drink." These are infinitive verbs. The infinitive of a verb does not indicate the tense or who is performing the action. A conjugated verb, however, does indicate the tense as well as the person completing the action of the sentence.
Regular verbs in Spanish follow the same conjugation patterns as other -er, -ir, or -ar verbs. (Remember that conjugation means defining the verb + verb ending for all possible subjects.) Here is a basic conjugation chart in English. When you conjugate Spanish verbs, follow the pattern in this example:
She Eats, He Eats
You All Eat
The Spanish present tense can be used to mean three things. Use the following examples to memorize the ways in which the present tense is used in the Spanish language:
I am eating.
I do eat.
Regular verbs follow the conjugation charts presented below. Using the stem of the verb, add the correct ending according to the speaker in which you are referring.
AR ER IR
o amos o emos o imos
as asteis es esteis is isteis
e an e en i in
Verbs that are not regular are otherwise called irregular. For all irregular verbs, you will need to memorize their forms and conjugation charts in order to use and recognize these verbs. Irregular verbs are quite common, so be sure to practice these in addition to regular verbs. Here are some of the most common irregular verbs in the Spanish language: