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Lesson 11 - Ropa (Clothes)
Navigation: Home Course Lesson 11 → Present tense -ar verbs
Pages in this lesson: Clothes - -ar verbs - Dialogue - Reading - Quiz
This page: Learn how to conjugate -ar verbs in present tense. Learn common regular -ar verbs.

dance

Present tense -ar verbs

Grammar Lesson

Verb Forms

The verb hablar (to speak) has been conjugated in the table below as an example of a regular present tense -ar verb. The -ar at the end of the infinitive form of the verb is dropped and the ending (in red letters in the table) is added.

The verb hablar (to speak)
Subject pronouns Form of hablar English translation
yo hablo I speak
hablas you speak
usted, él, ella habla you speak/he speaks/she speaks
nosotros, nosotras hablamos we speak
vosotros, vosotras habláis you speak (used in Spain only)
ustedes, ellos, ellas hablan you speak/they speak

Note: Remember that the subject pronoun doesn't necessarily have to be used in a sentence if it is clear who the subject is based on the context or verb form. For example, with the verb hablo, it is obvious that the subject is yo so the subject is generally not used. The subject may still be used, however, for emphasis.


Common regular -ar verbs

Here are some other common regular -ar verbs. Click on the verbs in the table below to hear the pronunciation and repeat.

Common regular -ar verbs
Verb Translation
► ayudar to help
► bailar to dance
► caminar to walk
► cantar to sing
► comprar to buy
► cortar to cut
► dibujar to draw
► enseñar to teach
► escuchar to listen
► estudiar to study
► hablar to speak
► limpiar to clean
► llevar to take, to wear
► mirar to look at, to watch
► nadar to swim
► practicar to practice
► trabajar to work
► usar to use, to wear
► viajar to travel
► visitar to visit

 


Practice

Section 1
Select the correct translation.

1.   to listen      

2.   to use, to wear      

3.   to take, to wear      

4.   to look at, to watch      

5.   to speak      

6.   to study      

7.   to work      

8.   to buy      

9.   to practice      

10.   to teach      

11.   to swim      

12.   to help      

13.   to walk      

14.   to travel      

15.   to visit      

16.   to draw      

17.   to dance      

18.   to clean      

19.   to sing      

20.   to cut      

 


Practice

Section 2
Select the correct form of the verb for the subject.

1. Yo      

2. Ella      

3. Nosotros      

4. Tú      

5. Él      

6. Usted      

7. Ellos      

8. Ustedes      

9. Vosotros      

 


Practice

Section 3
Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb for the subject.

1. Él (comprar)      

2. Tú (trabajar)      

3. Yo (ayudar)      

4. Pedro (caminar)      

5. Susana y yo (nadar)      

6. Los estudiantes (viajar)      

7. Ustedes (visitar)      

8. Rosa (limpiar)      

9. Ellas (cortar)      

10. Los profesores (dibujar)      

 


Practice

Section 4
Use the words below to write a present tense sentence. Put the verb in the correct tense. Don't forget to use correct capitalization, accents and punctuation, or the computer will mark it as incorrect.

  • Example:
  • Marco/trabajar/en el banco → Marco trabaja en el banco.

1. Jorge/hablar/inglés        

2. Carlos y yo/caminar/en el parque        
(en el parque
= in the park)

3. los estudiantes/ayudar/al maestro        

4. los niños/nadar/en el lago        
(en el lago
= in the lake)

5. el coro/cantar/una canción        
(el coro
= the choir, una canción = a song)

6. el profesor/enseñar/en la universidad        
(en la universidad
= in the university)

 


Negative

To make a verb negative in Spanish, you just add the word "no" before the verb.

  • Examples:
  • No hablo francés.
  • Ella no escucha la música.
  • Los niños no cantan en el coro.

 


Practice

Section 5
Change the sentence to negative. Don't forget to use correct capitalization, accents and punctuation, or the computer will mark it as incorrect.

  • Example:
  • La maestra trabaja en la escuela. → La maestra no trabaja en la escuela.

1. Jorge habla inglés.        

2. Caminamos en el parque.        

3. Los niños nadan en el lago.        

4. Estudio español.        

5. Marta trabaja en el banco.        

 


Yes/No Questions

To form yes/no questions in Spanish, you just change the word order by putting the verb first. If there is no subject (the verb is already first), all you need is to put question marks. In Spanish an upside-down question mark (¿) is used at the beginning of the question as well as a regular question mark (?) at the end. In some sentences the subject can go right after the verb or at the end of the sentence. If a verb has an object or adverb, however, the subject usually goes after the object or adverb. You will notice in the examples below that there is no translation for the auxiliary verbs do and does. They do not exist in Spanish.

  • Examples:
  • ¿Hablas inglés? = Do you speak English?
  • ¿Trabaja ella en la escuela? = Does she work in the school?

Often Spanish-speakers don't even change the word order for a question. They use the normal sentence word order and just add question marks (to written text) and question intonation (to spoken questions).

  • Examples:
  • ¿María habla español?
  • ¿Los niños nadan en el lago?

 


Questions with Question Words

To make questions with question words, the question word comes first, then the verb and then the subject (unless the question word is taking the place of the subject).

  • Examples:
  • ¿Dónde trabaja María? = Where does Maria work?
  • ¿Cuántos usa Juan? = How many does Juan use?

 


Practice

Section 6
Write the question in Spanish. If you need to review the question words, you can study them in Lesson 4 - Question Words. Don't forget to use correct capitalization, accents and punctuation, or the computer will mark it as incorrect.

  • Example:
  • How many does Susana use? → ¿Cuántos usa Susana?

1. What does Martina study?        

2. Where does Hugo work?        

3. Why does Omar practice?        

4. When do Ana and Sara walk?        

5. Who teaches the class?        
    Note: In this question, the question word (who) is taking the place of the subject.

 

Find the Mistake

Find the mistake in the sentence and re-write it correctly in the space. Don't forget to use correct capitalization, accents and punctuation, or the computer will mark it as incorrect.

  • Example:
  • Ella son inteligente. → Ella es inteligente.

1. Ellos no escucha la música.        

2. Trabajamo en la escuela.        

3. Ella canto una canción.        

4. Valentina y yo limpiar la casa.        

5. ¿Dónde trabaja Marta y Rosa?        

 


More Practice

Write a sentence with each of the verbs from the table of -ar verbs on a piece of paper. For more practice, try writing some negative sentences and/or questions with the verbs.

 

Writing

Write five sentences in the present tense with verbs that you learned on this page.

  • Examples:
  • Estudio español en la universidad.
  • El profesor no habla inglés.

If you want to type a special character (like an accented letter) in the comments section, you could do one of the following . . .

  • Select and copy the character that you need → á é í ó ú ü ñ ¿ ¡ Á É Í Ó Ú Ü Ñ « »
  • Use special codes on your computer if you have numeric keypad (instructions HERE).
  • Type your sentences into the text box below and use the special character buttons provided. Then select and copy your text and paste it into the comments section.


  Don't forget to paste your text into the comments section below!

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Dialogue

 

Lesson 11 - Ropa (Clothes)
Clothes - -ar verbs - Dialogue - Reading - Quiz

 

 

 

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