Present Simple Tense: El Presente Simple

Every weekend I cook pasta. – Cada fin de semana cocino pasta.

So let’s get started!

As we mentioned, to conjugate a verb you have to use its infinitive form.

From that form, you’ll extract the root of the verb and add a different
ending depending on the tense and pronoun.

Let’s see an example with the verb comer (to eat):

→ Infinitive form: Comer→ Root: Com

→ Present simple tense conjugation: Yo com(o) – I eat

Remember: The ending you need to add will change according to the
ending of the infinitive verb. So let’s see how to conjugate verbs in the
present simple tense for every ending.

2.1 Simple Present Tense Verbs Ending in –AR

Verb: Cocinar (To Cook)

Pronoun Simple Present Tense Conjugation
Yo (I) Cocin+o
Tú (You) Cocin+as
Usted (You) Cocin+a
Él (He) Cocin+a
Ella (She) Cocin+a
Nosotros (We) Cocin+amos
Ustedes (You) Cocin+an
Ellos (They) Cocin+an
Do you see a pattern here? Yes! The letter a from the -ar ending stays
most of the time; remembering that will make it easier for you to
remember the formulas for conjugating AR verbs in the present tense in
Spanish. Just practice and memorize these endings, and it will get much
easier to learn the rest of the tenses and forms.

2.2 Simple Present Tense Verbs Ending in -ER

Verb: Comer (To Eat)

Pronoun Simple Present Tense Conjugation
Yo (I) Com+o
Tú (You) Com+es
Usted (You) Com+e
Él (He) Com+e
Ella (She) Com+e
Nosotros (We) Com+emos
Ustedes (You) Com+en
Ellos (They) Com+en

We told you it would get easier and it did, right? The formulas here are
pretty much the same as those for AR verbs; you just have to switch the
letter a for e.

2.3 Simple Present Tense Verbs Ending in -IR

Verb: Vivir (To Live)

Pronoun Simple Present Tense Conjugation
Yo (I) Viv+o
Tú (You) Viv+es
Usted (You) Viv+e
Él (He) Viv+e
Ella (She) Viv+e
Nosotros (We) Viv+imos
Ustedes (You) Viv+en
Ellos (They) Viv+en
Okay, this one is a bit trickier. IR verbs have pretty much the same
conjugation as ER verbs, changing only for the pronoun we, where
the i stays.

We recommend that you start learning the simple present tense first;
once you’re completely confident with this tense, move on to the next
one. Mastering the simple present tense in Spanish will allow you to start
communicating more fluently, have conversations, and start identifying
patterns in conjugation that will be very useful when learning the other
tenses.

3. Past Simple Tense: El Pasado Simple

Yesterday, my friends and I ate salad. – Ayer, mis amigas y yo comimos

ensalada.

Once you’ve mastered the simple present tense, you can move on to the
simple past tense. And we have some good news for you! This one will be
easier. In the Spanish past tense, ER and IR verbs have the exact same
conjugation. There are also many patterns you’ll identify that will make
your learning go smoother.

So let’s see how to conjugate for the simple past tense in Spanish!

3.1 Simple Past Tense Verbs Ending in -AR

Verb: Cocinar (To Cook)

Pronoun Simple Past Tense Conjugation
Yo (I) Cocin+é
Tú (You) Cocin+aste
Usted (You) Cocin+ó
Él (He) Cocin+ó
Ella (She) Cocin+ó
Nosotros (We) Cocin+amos
Ustedes (You) Cocin+aron
Ellos (They) Cocin+aron

Keep an eye on the accents, because they’re very important. The tense
changes depending on whether the accent is absent or present. For
example: cocino means “I cook” but cocinó means “You/He/She cooked.”

3.2 Simple Past Tense Verbs Ending in -ER

Verb: Comer (To Eat)

Pronoun Simple Past Tense Conjugation
Yo (I) Com+í
Tú (You) Com+iste
Usted (You) Com+ió
Él (He) Com+ió
Ella (She) Com+ió
Nosotros (We) Com+imos
Ustedes (You) Com+ieron
Ellos (They) Com+ieron

3.3 Simple Past Tense Verbs Ending in -IR

Verb: Vivir (To Live)

Pronoun Simple Past Tense Conjugation
Yo (I) Viv+í
Tú (You) Viv+iste
Usted (You) Viv+ió
Él (He) Viv+ió
Ella (She) Viv+ió
Nosotros (We) Viv+imos
Ustedes (You) Viv+ieron
Ellos (They) Viv+ieron

As we mentioned, ER and IR verbs have the exact same conjugation in the

past tense. And we have even more good news: The simple future tense in
Spanish is the easiest of the three!
→ If you’re curious about irregular verb conjugation in the past tense,
check out this video:

4. Simple Future Tense: El Futuro Simple

When I retire, I will live on the beach. – Cuando me retire viviré en la playa.

As we promised, everything gets even easier at this point. The future

simple tense uses the same conjugation pattern for all three verb forms.
The only difference is that to conjugate for the future tense in Spanish,
you don’t extract the verb’s root form; rather, you keep the verb in its
infinitive form and then add the conjugation.

Let’s see how!

4.1 Simple Future Tense Verbs Ending in -AR

Verb: Cocinar (To Cook)

Pronoun Simple Future Tense Conjugation
Yo (I) Cocinar+é
Tú (You) Cocinar+ás
Usted (You) Cocinar+á
Él (He) Cocinar+á
Ella (She) Cocinar+á
Nosotros (We) Cocinar+emos
Ustedes (You) Cocinar+án
Ellos (They) Cocinar+án

4.2 Simple Future Tense Verbs Ending in -ER

 Verb: Comer (To Eat)
Pronoun Simple Future Tense Conjugation
Yo (I) Comer+é
Tú (You) Comer+ás
Usted (You) Comer+á
Él (He) Comer+á
Ella (She) Comer+á
Nosotros (We) Comer+emos
Ustedes (You) Comer+án
Ellos (They) Comer+án

4.3 Simple Future Tense Verbs Ending in -IR

Verb: Vivir (To Live)

Pronoun Simple Future Tense Conjugation
Yo (I) Vivir+é
Tú (You) Vivir+ás
Usted (You) Vivir+á
Él (He) Vivir+á
Ella (She) Vivir+á
Nosotros (We) Vivir+emos
Ustedes (You) Vivir+án
Ellos (They) Vivir+an

As you can see, this tense is the easiest of the three. You just have to learn
the different formulas and apply them to all verbs in their infinitive form.
There’s just one important thing to keep in mind:

Unlike English speakers, Spanish speakers often use the simple future
tense to talk about a distant future; there’s a different tense to talk about
the near future. But don’t worry about it yet! Just keep it in mind.