Conjugation of Regular "-ar" Verbs in the
Simple Present Indicative
The concept of verb conjugation seems to be confusing for English speakers. In this lesson you will learn about what is an infinitive, what conjugation means, and how to conjugate regular -ar verbs.
An infinitive is a verb in its non-conjugated form. For example, to buy = comprar. This verb in its infinitive form in both languages because it is unchanged. In other words, it would be incorrect to say She to buy clothes every weekend (Ella comprar ropa cada fin de semana), right? To make this sentence grammatically correct you would have to say She buys clothes every weekend (Ella compra ropa cada semana). Voilà! You just conjugated the verb to buy!
In Spanish there are only three infinitive endings: -ar (comprar = to buy), -er (comer = to eat), -ir (vivir = to live). They will generally have to be conjugated when using them in a sentence. If you do not conjugate a verb correctly, your Spanish will look and sound awkward!
To conjugate a regular -ar verb in the simple present tense, drop the ending (-ar) and add the appropriate endings.
Conjugation of Regular "-ar" Verbs
Él, Ella, Usted compra
Ustedes, Ellos, Ellas compran
You (inf., sing.) buy
He, she, You (for., sing.) buys/buy
You-all (Spain) buy
You (all), They (m.), They (f.) buy
So, why is this so confusing then? Notice how in English we only have to forms: buy and buys, while in Spanish we have six forms! Don't worry, this is a pattern, so once you get familiar with them you will be able to conjugate thousands of regular -ar Spanish verbs!
A conjugated verb ending tells us who does the action. For example if I say compramos, it means we buy. It is not necessary to include the personal pronoun nosotros (we) since we know the ending amos belongs to nosotros (we). That's why in Spanish personal pronouns can be generally omitted, and verb conjugation is a big deal!
First, do the activity on the right-hand side. Then, listen to this audio clip to check your answers. Finally, play it again and repeat after me to practice your pronunciation.