O present tense is a verb tense used to talk about an action that occurs at the time of speech.
Thus, it allows us to situate the present tense indicating a habitual action, a truth or characteristics of the subject.
It can also be used to talk about actions that will take place in the near future. In addition to it, there is also the present of the subjunctive.
Examples:
Me I am very happy with it.
They learn every day in class.
We we share the food.
Conjugation
To the regular verbs, which have a fixed conjugation, the present tense has the following endings:
| 1st conjugation (-ar) | 2nd conjugation (-er) | 3rd conjugation (-ir) |
|---|---|---|
| (I) radical + -o | (I) radical + -o | (I) radical + -o |
| (You) radical + -as | (You) radical + -es | (You) radical + -es |
| (He) radical + -a | (He) radical + -e | (He) radical + -e |
| (We) radical + -amos | (We) radical + -emos | (We) radical + -imos |
| (You) radical + -ais | (You) radical + -behold | (you) radical + -is |
| (They) radical + -am | (They) radical + -em | (They) radical + -em |
Examples
Below are three regular verbs conjugated in the present tense:
| 1st conjugation (-ar) – verb speak | 2nd conjugation (-er) – verb to drink | 3rd conjugation (-ir) – verb divide |
|---|---|---|
| I speak | I drink | I share |
| you speak | you drink | you divide |
| He speaks | He drinks | he divides |
| We talked | We drank | We split |
| you speak | you drink | you divide |
| They say | They drink | they share |
Irregular verbs
Unlike regulars, the irregular verbs have different endings. To better understand, let's look at the conjugation of the verb to be in the present tense:
| Verb Ser in the Present Indicative |
|---|
| I'm |
| You are |
| He is |
| We are |
| You are |
| They are |
With this example we can see the difference in the fixed endings of regular verbs.
Indicative Present and Subjunctive Present
The present is a tense that is also conjugated in the subjunctive mode.
However, in the indicative mode it is used to indicate a habitual action that occurs at the moment of speaking:
Example: Me open the window.
already in the subjunctive present, in addition to being used to indicate a present action, can also indicate a future action.
It is often used to express wishes and hypotheses, being accompanied by the term "that":
Example: Hopefully whathe open the window.
read more:
- Verb tenses
- Verbal Modes
- Classification of Verbs