Capítulo 2
  • Gramática: Verbos en -ar

    • Gramática: Verbos en -ar

    Students gathering on the steps of a building
    "BarCampBA 2012" by LABgcba is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

    Describing what you do: the present indicative of -ar verbs

    You have already learned the present indicative forms of the verbs ser and tener. Now you will learn the present indicative forms of -ar verbs. We use the present indicative to express the following:
    • To describe routine actions:
    		Estudias español en la universidad. / You study Spanish at the university.
    • To say what you are doing right now:
    		Ahora estudias matemáticas. / Now you’re studying math.
    • To ask questions about present events:
    		¿Estudias en la biblioteca después de clase? / Do you study in the library after class?
    • To describe plans for the immediate future:
    		Mañana estudias con tus compañeros de clase. / Tomorrow you’re going to study with your classmates.

    Conjugating -ar verbs in the present indicative

    An infinitive verb is a verb before it has been conjugated to reflect the subject of the verb. Estudiar (to study) is an infinitive. In Spanish, infinitives end in -ar, -er, or -ir. For now, you will learn to conjugate only -ar verbs.
    A verb stem is what is left after you remove the -ar, -er, or -ir ending from the infinitive. Estudi- is the stem of estudiar.
    A conjugated verb is a verb whose endings reflect person (I, you, he/she, we, you, they) and time (in this case, the present).
    To conjugate an -ar verb in the present indicative, simply remove the -ar from the verb and attach the following endings to the stem, depending on the subject.

    Estudiar – to study

    Yo estudio

    nosotros estudiamos

    tú estudias

    vosotros estudiáis

    él / ella / usted estudia

    ellos / ellas/ ustedes estudian

    Forming sentences

    To form a complete sentence using the present indicative of -ar verbs, remember to follow basic Spanish sentence structure:

    • Subject + verb + when / where / what / with whom, etc.
    • Yo + miro + televisión los fines de semana. / I + watch + tv on the weekends.
    • Remember that in Spanish, subject pronouns are only necessary to emphasize or clarify.
    • Yo miro televisión, pero mi amiga habla por teléfono. (emphasis)
      • Vs. Miro televisión.
    • Usted camina en el parque. (Clarifies that the subject is usted, not él or élla)
      • Vs. Camina en el parque. (There must be a previous context that provides the meaning of camina so that we do not need to write it.)
    To say what you do not do, place no before the conjugated verb. If the subject is used, put the “no” between the subject and the conjugated verb.
    • No trabajo los fines de semana. / I do not work on the weekends.
    • Luis no trabaja los fines de semana. / Louis does not work on the weekends.
    Certain present tense conjugations can be followed by infinitives. However, we cannot use two conjugated verbs together unless they are separated by a comma or y (and), pero (but), or o (or).
    • Necesitamos estudiar el vocabulario. / We need to study vocabulary.
    • Los viernes, trabajo, ceno con amigos y descanso. / On Fridays, I work, eat dinner with friends, and rest.

    To form a yes or no question, add question marks to a present tense sentence. If the subject is used, it usually follows the verb or is placed at the end of the sentence.

    (Note: Certain dialects of Spanish simply take the statement and use intonation to create the question rather than changing word order.)

    • ¿Trabajas los fines de semana? / Do you work on weekends?
    • ¿Trabaja Marta los fines de semana? / Does Martha work on the weekends? OR
    • ¿Trabaja los fines de semana Marta? / Does Martha work on the weekends?

    Vocabulario útil

    Here are some regular -ar verbs referring to pastimes and activities:

    alquilar (películas, coches) 

    to rent (movies, cars)

    mirar (televisión)

    to watch (television)

    bailar 

    to dance

    navegar por internet

    to surf the web

    caminar 

    to walk

    patinar

    to skate

    cantar

    to sing

    pintar

    to paint

    cocinar

    to cook

    practicar deportes

    to practice/play sports

    descansar

    to rest

    sacar/tomar fotos

    to take photos

    escuchar (música)

    to listen to (music)

    tocar un instrumento musical

    to play a musical instrument*

    esquiar**

    to ski

    tomar un refresco

    to drink a soft drink

    estudiar (en la biblioteca, en casa)

    to study (in the library, at home)

    tomar el sol

    to sunbathe

    hablar (por teléfono)

    to talk (on the phone)

    viajar

    to travel

    levantar pesas

    to lift weights

    visitar a amigos

    to visit friends

    *instrumentos musicales: la guitarra – the guitar, el piano – the piano, la trompeta – the trumpet, el violín – the violin

    **esquiar – the forms add an accent: esquío, esquías, esquía, esquiamos, esquiáis, esquían. We will talk about why the accent is added when we study diphthongs.

    Here are some additional regular -ar verbs not necessarily related to pastimes or activities, but commonly used:

    acabar (+infinitivo) 

    to have just (done something)

    		limpiar to clean 

    apagar 

    to turn off 

    		llamar to call 

    aparcar

    to park

    llegar 

    to arrive 

    ayudar 

    to help 

    necesitar (+infinitivo)

    to need (to do something)

    buscar 

    to look for 

    pasar 

    to pass 

    cenar 

    to eat dinner 

    preparar 

    to prepare 

    comprar 

    to buy 

    trabajar 

    to work 

    desear (+infinitivo) 

    to desire, to want (to)

    usar 

    to use 

    enseñar

    to show

     

    Ejemplos:

    • Acabo de llamar a mi mamá por teléfono.
    • Deseamos estudiar español.
    • Ramón necesita limpiar el escritorio.
    • Busca el libro, pero no lo puede encontrar. (cannot find it).

    Graffiti of Homer Simpson, with text "Nota mental: No aparcar!"
    "Vado simpático" by guerrera is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

    Actividades de conversación

    Actividad 1. ¿Qué hacen?

    Say what the following people do on the indicated days and times. Follow the model. Use different verbs for each sentence.
    • Modelo:
      • You see: tus amigos y tú: los viernes por la tarde
      • You say or write: Tus amigos y tú practican (o practicáis en España) deportes los viernes por la tarde.
    1. Yo: los domingos por la tarde
    1. Mi compañero(a) de cuarto: los viernes por la noche
    1. Mis padres: los sábados por la mañana
    1. Mis amigos y yo: los sábados por la noche
    		Vocabulario útil:
    • viernes – Friday
    • sábado – Saturday
    • domingo – Sunday
    • la mañana – morning
    • la tarde – afternoon
    • la noche – night

    Actividad 2. Habilidades. (Abilities)

    In groups, say what you do very well, and what you do not do well.

    Then, summarize your group’s abilities for the class using the third person.

    Actividad 3. Encuesta. (Survey)

    Ask your classmates if they do the following activities. Keep a count of how many classmates answer affirmatively and how many answer negatively. Then, write complete sentences saying what your classmates do.

    1. tocar un instrumento Sí: ______ No: ______
    1. estudiar en la biblioteca Sí: ______ No: ______
    1. escuchar música mientras (while) estudiar Sí: ______ No: ______
    1. bailar con amigos los fines de semana Sí: ______ No: ______
    1. viajar en el verano (summer) Sí: ______ No: ______
    1. caminar a las clases Sí: ______ No: ______
    1. cocinar con frecuencia Sí: ______ No: ______

    The information found on this page, when not created by us, is adapted from:

    This content is provided to you freely by EdTech Books.

    Access it online or download it at https://edtechbooks.org/ventanas/verbos_ar.