Discussing daily activities

Present tense indicative of regular verbs

A. Uses of present tense1.Use the present tense to talk about activities,

present events, and present habitual actions. Los chicos juegan al tenis todas las tardes. The boys play tennis every afternoon. Yo soy vegetariana; no como carne. I am vegetarian; I don’t eat meant.2.Use it also to make a past event more vivid,

especially in narration. Einstein descubre la ley de relatividad. Einstein discovers the law of relativity.

A. Uses of present tenseWhen discussing actions in progress at the moment of speaking, the present or present progressive may be used.

Miro a Ester y me doy cuenta de que se parece a su tía.

I look at Esther and I realize that she looks like her aunt.

Ahora estoy escribiendo una novela. Now I am writing a novel.

Note: The present tense in Spanish has several

equivalents in English:

Yo canto. I sing.

Note: The present tense in Spanish has several

equivalents in English:

Yo canto. I do sing.

Note: The present tense in Spanish has several

equivalents in English:

Yo canto. I am singing.

B. Forms There are three major groups of verb

conjugation in the present: regular verbs, irregular verbs, and stem-changing verbs. Here are the forms for the regular verbs. Irregular verbs and stem-changing verbs are on pages 16-17.

Regular Verbs To conjugate a regular verb in the present tense

add these ending to the stem.

Subject pronoun

-ar -er -ir

caminar correr escribir

yo camino corro escribo

tú caminas corres escribes

él, ella,Ud. camina corre escribe

nosotros/as caminamos corremos escribimos

vosotros/as camináis corréis escribís

ellos/ellas/Uds. caminan corren escriben

Ejercicios página 430