LESSON NOTES

Verb Conjugation #5
The Habitual Present

CONTENTS

Vocabulary
Sample sentences
Grammar
Cultural insight

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VOCABULARY

Spanish English Class Gender

necesitar to need verb

abrir to open verb

correr to run verb

igual just the same, equal, likewise adjective, masculine noun, adverb

hábito habit noun masculine

habitual habitual, usual adjective

discontínuo, -a discontinuous adjective

confuso, -a confusing adjective

SAMPLE SENTENCES

¿Necesitáis algo más? Un nuevo restaurante abrió ayer.

"Do you all need anything else?" "A new restaurant opened yesterday."

¡Abre los ojos! No me gusta correr.

"Open your eyes!" "I don't like to run."

Me da igual. Tienes el mal hábito de dejar tu chaqueta en el

pasillo.
"It's just the same to me."
"You have the bad habit of leaving your jacket in
the hallway."

Tengo el hábito de levantarme temprano y El presente es habitual cuando expresa un acto

acostarme tarde. que sucede usualmente.

"I have the habit of waking up early and going to "The present is habitual when it expresses an act
bed late." that usually happens."

Esos actos parecen discontínuos.
"Those acts seem discontinuous."
La película estuvó confusa. No entendí muy bien
el tema.
"The movie was confusing; I didn't understand
the plot very well."

GRAMMAR
As we have seen for regular verbs of the Present Tense in the Indicative Mood, the ending is moved
from the infinitive form (the form that you'll find in the dictionary), and then the personal endings are
added. Remember that regular verbs of the first, second and third conjugations all follow these basic
patterns.

Let's see how "necesitar", "correr" and "abrir" look in this tense and mood:

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First Conjugation: necesitar (to need)

Singular Plural

yo necesito nosotros necesitamos

(I need) (we need)

tú necesitas vosotros necesitáis

(you need) (you all need)

él necesita ellos necesitan

(he needs) (they need)

ella necesita ellas necesitan

(she needs) (they need)

usted necesita ustedes necesitan

(you need) (you all need)

Second Conjugation: correr (to run)

Singular Plural

yo corro nosotros corremos

(I run) (we run)

tú corres vosotros corréis

(you run) (you all run)

él corre ellos corren

(he runs) (they run)

ella corre ellas corren

(she runs) (they run)

usted corre ustedes corren

(you run) (you all run)

Third Conjugation: abrir (to open)

Singular Plural

yo abro nosotros abrimos

(I open) (we open)

tú abres vosotros abrís

(you open) (you all open)

él abre ellos abren

(he opens) (they open)

ella abre ellas abren

(she opens) (they open)

usted abre ustedes abren

(you open) (you all open)

CULTURAL INSIGHT

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If we use the Present Tense of the Indicative Mood to refer to discontinuous acts that are not carried
out in the present moment, but that have been carried out before and will be carried out afterwards, we
can say that the present is "habitual". For example, if I say "me levanto a la seis" (I get up at six), this
doesn't mean that "I'm getting up right now", but that on a regular basis, I get up at six; or rather, it's
my habit to get up at this time. This tense is used all the time in both Spanish and English. Another
example is "trabajo lejos de acá" (I work far from here). This is not to say that "I'm working" at this
moment, but that my employment began before I said that "I work" and that it will continue after I have
said this too; and despite the fact that these actions appear discontinuous, their unity comes from the
fact that they express a habitual present.

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