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SPANISH STUDY GUIDE

Regular -er and -ir Verbs

El presente · comer, escribir y más

You already know how to conjugate -ar verbs. Good news: -er and -ir verbs follow the exact same idea, just with different endings. And -er and -ir are almost identical to each other. Learn one, and the other comes free.

Quick -ar refresher -er verbs -ir verbs Side by side Verb vocab Study materials

Quick -ar refresher

You know this already. Drop the -ar, add these endings. This is the pattern -er and -ir are built on.

SINGULAR · trabajar (to work)
yotrabajoI work
trabajasyou work
Ud./él/ellatrabajayou/he/she works
PLURAL · trabajar (to work)
nosotros/astrabajamoswe work
vosotros/astrabajáisyou all work (Spain)
Uds./ellos/ellastrabajanyou all / they work
The pattern: drop the -ar ending, add the ending that matches the subject. -er and -ir work the exact same way, just with different vowels.

-er verbs: comer

Drop the -er, then add endings that start with -e instead of -a. The yo form ends in -o, same as -ar.

SINGULAR · comer (to eat)
yocomoI eat
comesyou eat
Ud./él/ellacomeyou/he/she eats
PLURAL · comer (to eat)
nosotros/ascomemoswe eat
vosotros/ascoméisyou all eat (Spain)
Uds./ellos/ellascomenyou all / they eat
The -er endings: -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en. Notice they look just like the -ar endings but with e instead of a, except in yo and nosotros.
-ER IN ACTION
Lucía y Marcos corren en el parque.
Lucía and Marcos run in the park.
-ER IN ACTION
¿Bebes leche todos los días?
Do you drink milk every day?
-ER IN ACTION
Yo creo que debes comer menos.
I think you should eat less.
-ER IN ACTION
Nosotros leemos mucho para los exámenes.
We read a lot for exams.

-ir verbs: escribir

Drop the -ir, then add endings. These are nearly identical to -er, with two exceptions: nosotros and vosotros.

SINGULAR · escribir (to write)
yoescriboI write
escribesyou write
Ud./él/ellaescribeyou/he/she writes
PLURAL · escribir (to write)
nosotros/asescribimoswe write
vosotros/asescribísyou all write (Spain)
Uds./ellos/ellasescribenyou all / they write
-ir and -er are identical except for nosotros (-imos vs. -emos) and vosotros (-ís vs. -éis). Everything else is exactly the same.
-IR IN ACTION
Rosa vive en la residencia estudiantil.
Rosa lives in the dorm.
-IR IN ACTION
¿Compartes tu cuarto con alguien?
Do you share your room with someone?
-IR IN ACTION
Ellos abren la puerta y deciden entrar.
They open the door and decide to come in.
-IR IN ACTION
Yo recibo muchos mensajes de texto.
I receive a lot of text messages.
SIDE BY SIDE

All three verb types together

Here's where the patterns line up. The shaded cells are where -er and -ir differ from each other.

-AR (trabajar) vs. -ER (comer) vs. -IR (escribir)
-AR
-ER
-IR
yo
trabajo
como
escribo
trabajas
comes
escribes
Ud./él/ella
trabaja
come
escribe
nosotros
trabajamos
comemos
escribimos
vosotros
trabajáis
coméis
escribís
Uds./ellos
trabajan
comen
escriben
The highlighted rows (nosotros and vosotros) are the only place -er and -ir split. Every other form is identical between the two. Focus your memorization there.

Common -er and -ir verbs

These are the verbs you'll see most often. Learn them alongside their endings and they'll stick faster.

COMMON -ER VERBS
aprenderto learn
beberto drink
comerto eat
comprenderto understand
correrto run
creer (en)to believe (in)
deber (+ inf.)should / ought to
leerto read
COMMON -IR VERBS
abrirto open
asistir (a)to attend
compartirto share
decidirto decide
describirto describe
escribirto write
recibirto receive
vivirto live
PRACTICE ZONE

Study materials

Tap any card to check your answer.

1 · Conjugate the verb

Look at the subject and verb, say the correct form out loud, then tap to check.

2 · -er or -ir?

Identify whether the verb is -er or -ir. Tap to check.

3 · Fill in the correct form

Conjugate the verb in parentheses, then check your answers.

4 · Translate into Spanish

Say the full sentence in Spanish, then tap to check.

5 · Tips that make it click