Complete Guide to Verbs in Spanish: Definition, Types and Examples

Are you just starting to learn Spanish, or are you looking to improve your Spanish skills? If you master the verbs, you will be able to give your Spanish sentences more action and make them more interesting. In this article, you will find a basic guide to verbs and many useful references to help you understand them better. Let's get started!

What is a verb?

A verb is a word we use to talk about actions, states or processes. It allows us to describe what a person, animal or thing (that is, a noun) is doing or feeling, either in the present, past or future. Examples of Spanish verbs:

• Correr: María corre en el parque. (Maria runs in the park.)
• Escribir: Pedro escribe una carta. (Pedro writes a letter.)
• Cocinar: Mi mamá cocina una pizza.  (My mom cooks a pizza.)
• Viajar: Nosotros viajaremos a Chile.  (We will travel to Chile.)
• Sentir: Me siento emocionado por el viaje.  (I feel excited about the trip.)

Learning to use Spanish verbs can be complex, but this article will be of great help to guide you and little by little you will get to know them better.

How are Spanish verbs used?

Spanish verbs are like the engines that make sentences move. Depending on how you use them, you can talk about what is happening now, what has already happened or what is going to happen.

Spanish verbs are words that indicate actions or states, and they change according to the tense (present, past, future), the person performing the action (yo, tú, él/ella) and the mood (indicative, subjunctive, conditional). Later on, we will learn how verbs change in each case. Examples of verb usage in Spanish:

• Yo como una manzana. I eat an apple (present action)
• Nosotros fuimos al cine ayer.  We went to the movies yesterday (past action).
• Mañana estudiaré para el examen. Tomorrow I will study for the exam. (future action)
• Nosotros vivimos en Madrid. We live in Madrid (present tense).
• Él parece cansado. He looks tired (state)

General classification of Spanish verbs

Spanish verbs can be grouped into several categories, depending on how they behave or what function they have within a sentence. Knowing these categories will help us better understand how to use verbs correctly.

Infinitive verbs

When we talk about verbs in their most basic form, we are referring to the infinitive mood, which we could say it’s the name the verb has when it’s not being conjugated.  You can recognize them easily because they end in -ar, -er or -ir. Examples of infinitive verbs:

• Correr es saludable. (Running is healthy.)
• Me gusta leer libros. (I like to read books.)
• Ellos quieren aprender español. (They want to learn Spanish.)
• Hay que partir el pastel en partes iguales. (You have to divide the cake equally.)
• Es necesario descansar después de trabajar. (It is necessary to rest after work.)

Regular verbs

These verbs are the easiest to remember, since they always follow the same rules when conjugated. The words keep their root and we only change their endings according to the conjugation. Examples of regular verbs:

• Cantar → yo canto, tú cantas, él canta (To sing: I sing, you sing, he sings)
• Comer → yo como, tú comes, él come (To eat: I eat, you eat, he eats)
• Vivir → yo vivo, tú vives, él vive (To live: I live, you live, he lives)
• Trabajar → yo trabajo, tú trabajas, él trabaja (To work: I work, you work, he works)
• Aprender → yo aprendo, tú aprendes, él aprende (To learn: I learn, you learn, he learns)

Irregular verbs

Irregular verbs, on the other hand, do not follow the common rules of conjugation. They change their stem or ending differently in certain verb tenses or persons. Examples of irregular verbs:

• Ser → yo soy, tú eres, él es (to be: I am, you are, he is)
• Ir → yo voy, tú vas, él va (to go: I go, you go, he/she goes).
• Tener → yo tengo, tú tienes, él tiene (to have: I have, you have, he has)
• Hacer → yo hago, tú haces, él hace (to do: I do, you do, he does)
• Querer → yo quiero, tú quieres, él quiere (to want: I want, you want, he wants)

Pronominal verbs

Pronominal verbs are those that are conjugated with a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, se, nos, os, se) and are used when the subject and object of the action are the same person. They are divided into:

• Reflexive verbs.

They indicate that the subject is the one who performs the action and also the one who receives it. Examples of reflexive verbs:

Lavarse: Me lavo las manos. (I wash my hands.)

Vestirse: Ella se viste rápido. (She dresses quickly.)

Despertarse: Ellos se despiertan a las 6. (They wake up at 6 o'clock.)

Sentarse: Te sientas en esa silla. (You sit in that chair.)

Relajarse: Nos relajamos en la playa. (We relax on the beach.)

• Reciprocal verbs

We use these verbs when two or more subjects perform an action on each other. Examples of reciprocal verbs:

Escribirse: Nos escribimos cartas. (We write letters to each other.)

Encontrarse: Se encuentran en el parque. (They meet in the park.)

Abrazarse: Nos abrazamos al vernos. (We hug each other when we see each other.)

Mirarse: Nos miramos con sorpresa. (We look at each other with surprise.)

Hablarse: Se hablan durante la reunión. (They talk to each other during the meeting.)

Transitive verbs

Transitive verbs are those that need a direct object to make complete sense. That is, they require that the action described in the sentence falls on something or someone. Examples of transitive verbs:

• Ella lee un libro. (She reads a book.)
• Escribo una carta. (I write a letter.)
• Abro la puerta. (I open the door.)
• Venden su coche. (They sell their car.)
• Traigo la comida. (I bring the food.)

Intransitive verbs

Intransitive verbs, on the other hand, do not need a direct object to make sense, since the action does not necessarily fall on something or someone specific. Examples of intransitive verbs:

• El perro corre. (The dog runs.)
• El bebé llora. (The baby cries.)
• Los pájaros vuelan. (The birds fly.)
• Ella sonríe. (She smiles.)
• Las flores crecen. (The flowers grow.)

Impersonal verbs

Impersonal verbs are those that have no explicit or definite subject. They are used in cases, either where the subject is not relevant or where it does not exist, and are always conjugated in the third person singular. 

• Meteorological verbs

These verbs describe phenomena of nature, such as weather, and do not have a specific subject. Examples of meteorological verbs

Llueve mucho en primavera. (It rains a lot in the spring.)

Nieva en las montañas durante el invierno. (It snows in the mountains during the winter.)

Anochece más temprano en invierno. (It gets dark earlier in the winter.)

Amanecerá despejado mañana. (It will be clear tomorrow.)

Llovizna suavemente desde la madrugada. (It has been drizzling lightly since early morning.)

• Verb “haber” (to have)

The verb “haber” is one of the most common verbs in impersonal use. It is used to indicate the existence of something or someone, and it is important to remember that it is always in the singular, regardless of whether that which exists is singular or plural. Examples of sentences with the verb “haber”.

Hubo una fiesta en la casa de al lado anoche. (There was a party next door last night.)

Habrá una conferencia importante mañana. (There will be an important conference tomorrow.)

No hubo clases debido a la lluvia. (There were no classes because of the rain.)

Había demasiada gente en la estación. (There were too many people at the station.)

No hay nada que hacer hoy. (There is nothing to do today.)

• Verbs “ser” or “estar” in impersonal constructions.

In this case, the verbs “ser” and “estar” are used in sentences where no specific subject is mentioned. They serve to describe situations or characteristics in an impersonal way. Examples of sentences with the verb “ser” or “estar” are as follows

Es necesario estudiar para aprobar el examen. (It is necessary to study to pass the exam.)

Está prohibido fumar en el restaurante. (It is forbidden to smoke in the restaurant.)

Es importante llegar temprano al trabajo. (It is important to get to work early.)

Está genial. (It's great.)

Es urgente resolver este problema. (It is urgent to solve this problem.)

• Verbs accompanied by impersonal constructions with “se”.

Impersonal constructions with “se” are very common in Spanish. Here, the pronoun “se” indicates that there is no definite subject performing the action. They are used to express general actions that do not refer to any particular person. Examples of sentences with “se” verbs

Se vive bien en esta ciudad. (You live well in this city.)

Se trabaja mucho en esta empresa. (A lot of work is done in this company.)

Se habla español en muchos países. (Spanish is spoken in many countries.)

Se escucha música desde la calle. (You can hear music from the street.)

Se recomienda llegar temprano al evento. (It is recommended to arrive early to the event.)

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Types of verbs according to their function

Verbs can fulfill different functions in a sentence. Depending on what we want to express, verbs can be classified into three main groups:

Action verbs

Action verbs are the most common verbs found in Spanish. They are used to describe what something or someone is doing. In other words, they tell us what is happening, both physical and mental actions. Examples of action verbs:

• Él corre rápido. (He runs fast.)
• El niño salta alto. (The boy jumps high.)
• Pedro pinta un cuadro. (Pedro paints a picture.)
• Escribes una carta. (You write a letter.)
• Ellos duermen temprano. (They sleep early.)

Copulative verbs (or linking verbs)

Copulative verbs (or linking verbs) do not describe an action, but serve to connect the subject to a characteristic or state. The most common are the verbs ser, estar and parecer. Examples of copulative verbs (or linking verbs):

• Soy feliz. (I am happy.)
• Tú estás cansado. (You are tired.)
• Ella parece triste. (She looks sad.)
• La casa es grande. (The house is big.)
• La comida está deliciosa. (The food is delicious.)

Auxiliary verbs

These verbs help other verbs form compound tenses or to express actions in different ways. They are usually used with main verbs to form verb tenses such as the present perfect or future. Examples of auxiliary verbs:

• La cena fue preparada por Ana. (Dinner was prepared by Ana.)
• Has llegado tarde. (You are late.)
• Estás hablando muy rápido. (You are talking too fast.)
• Habíamos terminado el proyecto. (We had finished the project.)
• Estoy viviendo en Madrid. (I am living in Madrid.)

Spanish verb tenses

Spanish verb tenses allow us to indicate when an action occurs. They can express whether something happens in the present, in the past or in the future.

In addition, verb tenses can also give more details about how the action happens, such as whether it is something habitual, if it is happening right now or if it has already finished. For example:

• Present: Yo corro. (“I run” - the action is happening now).
• Past: Yo corrí (“I ran” - the action has already happened).
• Future: Yo correré (“I will run” - the action will happen later).

These tenses can also have simple forms, which are made up of a single word, or compound forms, which use more than one word, such as “I have run” to indicate a past action with relevance to the present. We will now explore the rules for each verb tense.

Present tense verbs

The present tense is used to describe actions that are happening now, at this moment. We usually use this verb tense to talk about what we do on a daily basis or about general events.

• Present simple

The present simple is a verb tense that we use to talk about actions that are happening now or things that are always true. We also use it to describe habits or actions that happen frequently.

In the present simple, the verb changes according to the person doing the action. Examples of verbs in the present simple tense:

Ellos estudian matemáticas. (They study math.)

Nosotros vivimos aquí. (We live here.)

Ellas hacen su tarea. (They do their homework.)

Yo bebo café. (I drink coffee.)

Tú cocinas espagueti. (You cook spaghetti.)

• Present continuous

We use the present continuous to describe actions that are happening right now. To form this tense, we use the verb “estar” plus the gerund of the main verb (for which we use the ending -ando, -iendo). Examples of verbs in the present continuous:

Tú estás leyendo este artículo. (You are reading this article.)

Ellos están jugando en el parque. (They are playing in the park.)

Ella está cocinando la cena. (She is cooking dinner.)

Estoy aprendiendo italiano. (I am learning Italian.)

Nosotros estamos viajando por Europa. (We are traveling in Europe.)

• Present perfect

The present perfect indicates an action that began in the past, but still has relevance in the present. It is formed with the auxiliary verb “haber” and the participle of the main verb. It is usually accompanied by temporal markers such as hoy (today), esta semana (this week), este mes (this month), ya (already), todavía (yet), alguna vez (sometimes), etc. Examples of verbs in the present perfect tense:

He leído tres libros esta semana. (I have read three books this week.)  
Ellos han terminado de trabajar. (They have finished work.)

Ella ha escrito una carta a su novio. (She has written a letter to her boyfriend.)

Él todavía no ha aprendido a nadar. (He hasn't learned to swim yet.)

Yo he estudiado mucho para el examen. (I have studied hard for the exam.)

Verbs in the past tense

The past tense is used to talk about actions that happened before the present or that have already ended. There are several tenses to refer to the past, depending on the situation.

• Past simple

The past simple is used to describe an action that occurred at a specific time, but has already ended. Examples of past perfect verbs:

Ayer comí pizza. (I ate pizza yesterday.)  
Ellos viajaron a Francia el año pasado. (They traveled to France last year.)  
Él trabajó en una tienda hace años. (He worked in a store years ago.)  
Nosotros jugamos al fútbol el sábado pasado. (We played soccer last Saturday.)  
Tú cocinaste una cena deliciosa anoche. (You cooked a delicious dinner last night.)

• Past continuous

We use the past continuous to describe an action that was happening in the past over a period of time. It is formed with the verb “estar” in the past tense plus the gerund of the main verb. Examples of verbs in the past continuous:

Yo estaba estudiando cuando me llamaste. (I was studying when you called me.)

Él estaba jugando fútbol en el parque. (He was playing soccer in the park.)

Nosotros estábamos viendo una película anoche. (We were watching a movie last night.)

Tú estabas corriendo cuando empezó a llover. (You were running when it started to rain.)

Ellas estaban leyendo en la biblioteca todo el día. (They were reading in the library all day.)

• Past perfect

The past perfect describes an action that happened before another action in the past. It is formed with the verb “haber” in the past tense plus the past participle of the main verb. Examples of past perfect verbs:

Yo había estudiado antes de la clase. (I had studied before the class.)

Ellos habían terminado el proyecto cuando llegó el jefe. (They had finished the project when the boss arrived.)

Nosotros habíamos viajado a París antes del verano. (We had traveled to Paris before the summer.)

Él había aprendido español antes de viajar a España. (He had learned Spanish before traveling to Spain.)

Ella había visto la película antes de leer el libro. (She had seen the movie before reading the book.)

Future tense verbs

The future describes actions that will or could happen in the future.

• Future simple

The future simple describes plans, goals, assumptions or actions that will occur in the future. It is formed by adding the appropriate endings to the infinitive verb. Examples of verbs in the simple future:

Mañana comeré pizza. (I will eat pizza tomorrow.)

Ellos viajarán a Japón el próximo mes. (They will travel to Japan next month.)

Nosotros iremos al cine esta noche. (We will go to the movies tonight.)

Ellos estudiarán para el examen mañana. (They will study for the exam tomorrow.)

Tú cocinarás la cena mañana. (You will cook dinner tomorrow.)

• Future continuous

The future continuous describes an action that will be happening at a specific time in the future. It is formed with the verb “estar” in the future tense plus the gerund of the main verb. Examples of verbs in the future continuous:

Mañana a esta hora estaré estudiando para el examen. (This time tomorrow I will be studying for the exam.)

Ellos estarán lavando platos en la tarde. (They will be washing dishes in the afternoon.)

Nosotros estaremos trabajando en el proyecto mañana. (We will be working on the project tomorrow.)

Yo estaré comiendo sano para el próximo año. (I will be eating healthy for next year.)

Ellas estarán jugando al fútbol el próximo sábado. (They will be playing soccer next Saturday.)

• Future perfect

The future perfect describes an action that will be completed before a certain time also in the future. It is formed with the verb “haber” in the future tense plus the past participle of the main verb. Examples of verbs in the future perfect:

Para mañana, habré terminado de pintar. (By tomorrow, I will have finished painting.)

Ellos habrán viajado a Europa antes de fin de año. (They will have traveled to Europe before the end of the year.)

Nosotros habremos completado el proyecto antes del plazo. (We will have completed the project before the deadline.)

Yo habré aprendido español antes de viajar a México. (I will have learned Spanish before I travel to Mexico.)

Ellas habrán jugado su último partido antes del verano. (They will have played their last game before the summer.)

Verb Modes

In Spanish, the verbal modes are different ways of using verbs to express different intentions, such as facts, desires, orders or possible situations. There are 3 main modes, let's explore them together now.

Indicative mode

The indicative mood is the most common of all, as it is the one we use to talk about concrete things that we know are real or certain. For example, we use the indicative when we talk about something that happens, something that happened, or something that will happen. Examples of verbs in the indicative mood (real or certain facts):

• Tengo 5 dedos en mi mano. (I have 5 fingers on my hand.)
• Ella trabajará en una oficina grande. (She will work in a big office.)
• Ayer fuimos al parque a pasear. (Yesterday we went to the park for a walk.)
• Él comió pizza anoche. (He ate pizza last night.)
• La torre Eiffel está en París. (The Eiffel Tower is in Paris.)

Subjunctive mood

The subjunctive is used when we want to express something that is not certain, or when we talk about desires, emotions or suppositions, things that could happen, but that we are not sure will happen. Examples of verbs in the subjunctive mood (desires, doubts or possibilities):

• Me gustaría que él supiera lo que siento. (I wish he knew how I feel.)
• Ojalá llueva mañana para refrescar el ambiente. (I wish it would rain tomorrow to freshen up the atmosphere.)
• Es posible que el tren se retrase hoy. (It is possible that the train will be delayed today.)
• Espero que tengas un buen día. (I hope you have a good day.)
• Dudo que ellas vayan al evento mañana. (I doubt that they will go to the event tomorrow.)

Imperative mode

This is the mode we use to tell someone what to do. In other words, we use it to give orders. But note: this mode is not only used by people in positions of authority, it is also used to give directions or to ask someone to do something. Examples of verbs in the imperative mood (orders or instructions):

• Escribe tu nombre en el formulario. (Write your name on the form.) 
• Ensambla la pieza A con la pieza B. (Assemble piece A with piece B.) 
• Cierra la puerta al salir, por favor.  (Close the door on your way out, please.) 
• Mezcla los huevos con la harina. (Mix the eggs with the flour.) 
• Sigan las instrucciones del profesor. (Follow the teacher's instructions.) 

How to conjugate Spanish verbs

To conjugate Spanish verbs, we need to modify the form of each verb to agree with the subject, tense, mood, and aspect.

To conjugate a verb, we follow these steps:

1. Identify the infinitive: The first step in conjugating a verb is to identify what its infinitive is (The original verb with -ar, -er or -ir ending). Let's take the verb hablar as an example.
2. Verb root: Once we know what its infinitive mood is, we can identify what its root is, that is, what is left when we remove the -ar, -er or -ir ending. For example, the root of the verb hablar is habl-.
3. Add the ending according to the tense and mood: Now, to that verb stem we will add one of different endings depending on the tense (present, past, future), mood (indicative, subjunctive, imperative) and grammatical person (I, you, he/she, he/she, we, etc.) required for our sentence to make sense according to what we want to communicate. For example: Yo hablaré [con mi amigo mañana]  (I will talk [with my friend tomorrow]).

Summary

Verbs are an essential part of Spanish because they help us talk about what we do, how we feel, or what is going on around us. Also, verbs change depending on when the action happens: it can be something that is happening now (present), something that has already happened (past) or something that will happen later (future). 

There are also different types of verbs, such as those that indicate actions (like correr or comer), those that connect ideas (like ser or estar), and those that accompany other verbs (like haber).

Thanks to verbs and their conjugations, we can speak clearly and easily about our experiences and thoughts in any conversation. Don't forget to keep learning more about verbs and learn how to conjugate them properly with the daily lessons in the Promova app.