2.8 Verbs in the Present Tense. Language Lesson. Understanding Infinitives. Language & Culture Lessons. to walk. to draw

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1 2.8 Verbs in the Present Tense Language & Culture Lessons After completing this lesson, you will know how to use verbs in Spanish and what it means to talk about the infinitive of a verb. You'll also learn the steps of verb conjugation! Language Lesson Understanding Infinitives The infinitive of a verb is, as the name suggests, timeless. It is the unconjugated form of the verb and therefore has no tense (such as past, present, or future). In Spanish, the infinitive of a verb is indicated by one of the following endings: AR, -ER, and -IR. Here are some common verbs. -AR verbs caminar...to walk dibujar...to draw preguntar...to ask estudiar...to study trabajar...to work caminar to walk dibujar to draw

2 preguntar to ask estudiar to study trabajar to work -IR verbs escribir...to write sentir...to feel decir...to say, tell compartir...to share describir...to describe escribir to write sentir to feel decir to say, tell compartir to share describir to describe

3 -ER verbs comer...to eat beber...to drink leer...to read entretener...to entertain tener...to have comer to eat beber to drink leer to read entretener to entertain tener to have Isolating Verb Endings Just as you saw with ser, every verb has a different conjugation according to the subject and tense of the sentence. Fortunately, the conjugations follow some very simple rules. All you have to do is change the ending of the verb according to the appropriate rule. Let s start with the present tense and see how the verb endings change with each subject pronoun. Each type of verb -AR, -ER, and -IR has a different set of endings. Study the verb endings in the table below. How is

4 each type of verb different? Can you detect any patterns? -AR verbs caminar (to walk) -ER verbs comer (to eat) -IR verbs escribir (to write) Yo camin-o com-o escrib-o Tú camin-as com-es escrib-es Ud., él, ella camin-a com-e escrib-e Nosotros camin-amos com-emos escrib-imos Vosotros camin-áis com-éis escrib-ís Uds., ellos, ellas camin-an com-en escrib-en How to Conjugate a Verb In order to conjugate a verb, you first need to identify the verb stem. The stem is the part of the verb that, in most cases, remains constant. Find the stem by taking the infinitive of the verb and removing the -ar, -er, or -ir ending. Verb dibujar preguntar leer compartir Stem dibuj- pregunt- le- compart- Now that you have the stem by itself, consult the table of verb endings and add the appropriate one, according to who is performing the action. (Yo) I draw. dibuj + o Dibujo. (Tú) You run. corr + es Corres. Dibujo I draw Corres You run

5 (Ud, él, ella) She asks. pregunt + a Pregunta. (Nosotros) We read. le + emos Leemos. Pregunta She asks Leemos We read (Uds, ellos, ellas) They share. compart + en Comparten. (Vosotros) You (plural) share. compart + ís Compartís. Comparten They share Compartís You (plural) share. [Spain] Using Two Verbs in a Row When two verbs are used consecutively without changing the subject, the second verb is usually written in the infinitive form. Tú necesitas estudiar para la prueba. Espero terminar pronto. Los niños necesitan descansar esta semana. You need to study for the exam. I hope to finish soon. The children need to rest this week. When Something Isn t Happening: Negative Sentences To convert a sentence into a negative form in Spanish, all you need to do is add the word no immediately before the conjugated verb.

6 No vamos a terminar pronto. Ella no necesita estudiar para la prueba. Yo no soy piloto de aviones. We are not going to finish soon. She does not need to study for the test. I am not an airplane pilot. Be careful that you add the no before the conjugated verb not the infinitive or subject. No ella necesita! Ella no necesita! (incorrecto) (correcto) In this section you ve begun to learn about verbs, their endings, and use in the present tense. You ll learn more about verbs in the next chapter. Culture Building Cities in the Americas Have you ever noticed that many Latin American cities look quite similar? Another plaza, more grid-like roads that's because the Spanish Crown used the same city plan in all territories of Latin America. This plan for the perfect city was very well thought out, and heavily influenced by the renaissance! Each city had a grid-like layout with straight angles, wide streets to help the circulation of troops and horses, and short buildings that ensured everyone received sun shine. The Zocalo - Main square of downtown Mexico City, Mexico By law, in 1573, each new Spanish city had to have a rectangular or square central plaza, where the Cathedral and

7 government buildings were to be built. Eight calle streets would emerge from the plaza s corners, also in straight lines and angles. The idea behind this design was that the city could keep expanding in an orderly manner, but the plaza would always remain at the core of it. The grid plan became very popular throughout the world, Australia and Canada also followed this design. National Congress - Brasilia, Brazil Even Brasilia, the newest city in Latin America (building started in 1956) has a grid design. But unlike other places worldwide, in which new suburbs reshape the city constantly, Brasilia was designed to be seen as an airplane or butterfly shape from the sky. It was built from scratch as a way to ease crowded Rio de Janeiro, and became Brazil s capital in Every brick, plumbing pipe and piece of concrete had to be gathered from all over Brazil, to create this city of modern urban architecture, where everything is neatly spaced and designed for maximum lifestyle benefit. It's no surprise that it was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in If you're a fan of arquitectura architecture or appreciate town-planning; then Brasilia is a must-see destination for you. Libros Media Ltd. - Copyright USA: Page Avenue, PO Box 1261, Fairfax, VA 22038, USA Phone: Asia/Pacific: Ferry Road, Woolston, Christchurch 8023, New Zealand Phone: