Kilo Lingo
Spanish grammar Part of Chapter 3

CEFR A1-A2

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Test yourself (28 questions)

Spanish -er Verbs: Present Tense Conjugation Chart and List

By Michael McGettrick and Sergio Linares-HernandesUpdated 12 October 2026

A regular -er verb drops the -er and adds an ending that says who is acting:

Quick check

Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.

Spot the mistake

0/3

Each sentence has one wrong verb form. Tap it.

  • . - I eat at home.
  • ¿ ? - Do you drink coffee?

The regular -er endings

The whole pattern on one screen. The highlighted ending is the part that changes.

the part that changesWhat do the colours mean?
PersonEndingcomer (to eat)
yo-o
-
, , -e
-emos
-éis
, -
Drop -er, add the ending: como, I eat

-er is -ar with an e

If you know -ar verbs, you know these. Yo is the same; everywhere else the a becomes e:

Personhablarcomer
yo

Every regular -er verb copies :

  • . - I must go back.
  • . - We think so.
  • . - My children drink a lot of water.

Stem-changing -er verbs

Some -er verbs keep the regular endings but change the stem vowel when it is stressed, exactly like . The coloured forms make the boot again:

o becomes ue: puedo, I can
SingularPlural
1st
2nd
3rd
  • ¿ ? - Can you come?
  • . - We can't go out.

Two patterns

Personentender (e > ie)volver (o > ue)
yo
, ,
,
  • . - I don't understand.
  • ¿ ? - When are you coming back?

The common ones, each learnt with its yo form:

VerbChangeyoEnglish
e > ieI understand
e > ieI want, I love
e > ieI lose
o > ueI can
o > ueI come back
o > ueit hurts
o > ueit rains

Stem-changing verbs has the full list across all three classes.

The yo-form irregulars

Several of the commonest -er verbs are regular everywhere except yo. Learn the yo form and the rest follows:

VerbyotúEnglish
I put
I suppose
I do, I make
I know (meet)
I seem
I know
I see
  • . - I lay the table.
  • . - I don't know.
  • . - I'm watching TV.

Two of the patterns spread. A verb built on or copies it ( gives ), and most verbs in a vowel plus -cer take -zco. is the big exception: .

Tener: two changes at once

takes the g in yo and the e to ie change in the other boot forms:

Persontener (to have)
yo
, ,
,
  • . - I' got two brothers.
  • ¿ ? - Have you got time?

Irregular verbs sorts these groups across all three classes.

Haber: he, has, ha, and hay

is the helper verb of the perfect tenses, not a verb for owning things (that is ). It is irregular all the way through:

PersonhaberExampleEnglish
yo .I have eaten.
¿ ?Have you eaten?
, , .He/she has come back.
.We' seen it all.
¿ ?Have you (all) eaten?
, .They' gone out.

The form you will meet first is , there is or there are. It never changes for the plural:

  • . - There's a dog in the house.
  • . - There are three dogs in the house.

The perfect tense has its own page: present perfect.

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
Yo tieno.. has a g in yo
Yo sabo..saber's yo is
Puedemos.. keeps the o
..-er verbs take -
Yo conoco a Ana. Ana.-cer verbs take -zco
Son . .there are =

What to do next

  1. Say the endings aloud: o, , e, emos, éis, .
  2. Learn , , and as words in their own right.
  3. Then -ir verbs: the same endings except in and .

The 10 verbs in this curriculum

Curriculum
10 words
# Freq Word
113haberto have (auxiliary); there is / there are
214tenerto have, to possess
320poderto be able to, can
436verto see, to watch, to look at
540saberto know (facts), to taste
650deberto have to, to owe, must
792volverto return, to come back, to go back
897parecerto seem, to appear
9137entenderto understand
10208suponerto suppose, to assume

Practise: test yourself

Build the word

0/6

Build the present-tense form from its pieces.

  1. yo + comer

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  2. tú + beber

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  3. vosotros + comer

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  4. ellos + poder

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  5. nosotros + poder

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  6. yo + tener

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

Sort into groups

0/8

How does the yo form end?

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Spot the mistake

0/4

Each sentence has one wrong verb form. Tap it.

Complete the story

0/5

Choose the right form for each gap.

A busy week

Yo mucho trabajo esta semana. No salir el viernes. Mi hermana a casa el sábado y nosotros juntos. Yo no qué vamos a comer.

Gap 1 of 5

Fill in the blank

0/5

Type the present-tense form of the verb in brackets.

  1. Nosotros poco. (beber) (nosotros: -emos)

  2. Ella no nada. (entender) (e becomes ie)

  3. Ellos a casa. (volver) (o becomes ue)

  4. Yo a mi padre todos los días. (ver) (ver keeps its e in the yo form)

  5. Tú razón. (tener) (e becomes ie)

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Frequently asked questions

What are the present-tense endings for Spanish -er verbs?
-o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en. Drop the -er and add the ending for the person: gives , , , , , . They are the -ar endings with e in place of a, except yo, which is -o in both.
How do you conjugate in the present tense?
, , , or , , , or . has no stem change and no odd yo form, so every regular -er verb (, , , ) copies it.
Why is it and not yo teno?
adds a g in the yo form only: . A group of common verbs do the same ( gives , gives , gives ). is also an e to ie stem-changer in , and : , , . and are regular: , .
How do you conjugate , and what does ?
As the helper verb of the perfect tenses, goes he, has, ha, , , : he , I have eaten. is a separate form meaning there is or there are, the same for one thing or many: (there is a dog), (there are three dogs).
Is irregular in the present tense?
Only in its stem. The endings are regular, but the o becomes ue whenever it is stressed: , , , , , . and keep the o because the stress falls on the ending. , and work the same way.