¡Hola!

Today we are going to continue learning how to describe things that we usually do (in the Present Tense) using regular Spanish verbs.

We will see the different verb endings that we use for a group of people, to say that “we” (nosotros) do something, to say that “all of you” (vosotros) do something or to say that “they” (ellos) do something.

-AR endings:

-amos: nosotros hablamos (we speak) / trabajamos (we work) / escuchamos (we listen) / compramos (we buy)
-áis: vosotros habláis (you speak) / trabajáis (you work) / escucháis (you listen) / compráis (you buy) Group
-an: ustedes hablan (you speak) / trabajan (you work) / escuchan (you listen) / compran (you buy) Group/Formal
-an: ellos hablan (they speak) / trabajan (they work) / escuchan (they listen) / compran (they buy)

-ER endings:

-emos: nosotros comemos (we eat) / bebemos (we drink) / leemos (we read) / comprendemos (we understand)
-éis: vosotros coméis (you eat) / bebéis (you drink) / leéis (you read) / comprendéis (you understand) Group
-en: ustedes comen (you eat) / beben (you drink) / leen (you read) / comprenden (you understand) Group/Formal
-en: ellos comen (they eat) / beben (they drink) / leen (they read) / comprenden (they understand)

-IR endings:

-imos: nosotros vivimos (we live) / escribimos (we write)
-ís: vosotros vivís (you live) / escribís (you write) Group
-en: ustedes viven (you live) / escriben (you write) Group/Formal
-en: ellos viven (they live) / escriben (they write)

As we discussed in our previous lesson, if you want, you can say “nosotros hablamos” instead of “hablamos”, or “vosotros habláis” instead of “habláis”, etc… but it is not necessary. Use whichever option you prefer.

To make negative sentences you put “no” before the verb. For example: “no hablamos”: we don´t speak, “no comemos”: we don´t eat, etc.

To make questions you simply have to change the intonation of your voice. For example: “¿Beben café?”: do you drink coffee? (asking two or more people formally), “¿Hablan español?”: do you speak Spanish? (asking two or more people formally). Without the change of intonation we could, for example, say: “Hablan español” which means “they speak Spanish” as an affirmative statement.

Let´s see some more examples with all these endings:

Mis amigos viven en Argentina: My friends live in Argentina
No bebemos café: We don´t drink coffee
¿Dónde trabajais?: Where do you work? (informal/group)
¿Dónde trabajan (ustedes)? Where do you work? (formal/ group)
Compramos fruta: We buy fruit
¿Coméis carne?: Do you eat meat? (informal/group)
¿Comen (ustedes) carne?: Do you eat meat? (formal/group)
No vivimos en España: We don´t live in Spain

This is all for today. I recommend that you try to memorize all of the information from today’s class and practice it alongside what you learned from the previous class.

It is a good idea to make up your own practice sentences and refer less and less to the lesson notes as you write them. By repeating things over and over you will start to remember more clearly and come to a truer understanding that will serve you well in real conversation. Try also constructing questions and answers with different endings. For example: “¿Viven en España? No, vivimos en América”: Do you live in Spain? No, we live in America. After a while you will get quicker at this and the endings will come to you head automatically.

Have a very nice week and see you next time!

¡Hasta pronto!