Infinitive Verbs

Question

•amar (to love) -> amo, amas, ama, amamos, amáis, aman •comer (to eat) -> como, comes, come, comemos, coméis, comen •abrir (to open) -> abro, abres, abre, abrimos, abrís, abren

So with -er and -ir you simply use an -e like comes, rather than the -ir having an -i in it (abres instead of abris) I noticed, when it's 1st and 2nd person plural on the -er and -ir, you have two different spellings though. -er having -éis and -emos while -ir has imos and ís.

Why is this, and how do you know when you have to spell something like this?

Like if I didn't know if bebes would be -ir or -er, how would I know?

Also, I hope my question was clear, if not just tell me. >_

Answer 1

To a certain extent, there is a pattern - at least until the pattern is broken by an irregular verb or simply a verb with conjugation out of the ordinary. Any publication of verb conjugation is a good tool until you have the verbs memorized. "How do I memorize so many verbs?", you ask. The same way do with English verbs.

Si no te pongas a practicar con la pláctica, el idioma será la tormenta de tu vida. Pero con el uso del idioma, todo te vendrá facilmente.

Answer 2

There is no such things as "infinitive verbs", but "verbs in infinitive". English has the same thing: "to be" is the infinitive", and "am", "are", and "is" are conjugated forms.

Verbs in -ar, -er and -ir have different endings, and memorising them is a waste of time. Learn a few verbs fully conjugated and practice with similar verbs. Learning why is just for experts, because it is of no practical use.

-AR -o -as -a -amos -áis -an

-ER -o -es -e -emos -éis -en

-IR -o -es -e -imos -ís -en

Like if I didn't know if bebes would be -ir or -er, how would I know?

You wouldn't; you need to learn it beforehand. But the same can be said to several million things in English, and yet, people can talk no problem, so stop making things harder than they are.

Telling people not to memorize verb conjugations is going to break a lot of Spanish teachers' hearts. I do think knowing the regular endings saves time and reduces the amount of stuff you have to memorize. I only have to remember the infinitive. - KevinB, Oct 2, 2010

You will not find a single native speaker who can tell you the endings of a conjugation, but all of them can conjugate. What you need to practice is how to conjugate verbs, not to memorize the endings. - lazarus1907, Oct 2, 2010

Answer 3

It's just a matter of memorizing the endings. Regular -ar verbs have one set, -er another set, and -ir a 3rd set. It's just coincidence that -er and -ir share some endings.

I would say this is one of those questions that doesn't have a "Why?" answer. Someone may come along and explain the Latin roots, but that just pushes the question back farther in time.

Going back to Latin is what I was trying to avoid, unless the person who asks is an expert in ancient languages and linguistic changes. - lazarus1907, Oct 2, 2010

I agree. Going back to Latin can be fun if you're interested in that sort of thing. It doesn't help much when you're trying to learn to speak a language, though. - KevinB, Oct 2, 2010

Answer 4

I'm not making things harder than they are, I was just wondering if there was an easier way to know when you have to spell something the way it is. Kind of like how in english, you have the "-i before -e except after -c" thing they say in school.

English spelling rules are not rules at all (like the one you mentioned), for there are more exceptions than rules. In Spanish spelling rules actually make sense are they are a lot more regular: each letter represents a sound. But this does not explain why one sound should be used and not another. You just need to accept that as it is.

Kevin and do not seem to agree on the method, but I have seen many people who learnt how to conjugate regular verbs in less than a day, and none of them could tell you what the endings are... unless they try to deduce them from the conjugations themselves. Focus on the sound of the verbs, read them aloud, try to imitate them, and stop thinking about why... if you really want to learn effectively. Children are not gifted at learning languages: they just listen to languages for countless hours, they try to imitate, and they don't waste their time over-analysing grammar, which is why they learn. Ask yourself how come you speak English without being aware all the tens of thousands of rules that govern your language.

However you do it, you have to accomplish what Lazarus says. If you have to think about the endings and translate in your head you will never be able to hold a conversation. I memorized the endings as a shortcut, but I don't think about them any more. - KevinB, Oct 2, 2010

Answer 5

I'm not making things harder than they are, I was just wondering if there was an easier way to know when you have to spell something the way it is. Kind of like how in english, you have the "-i before -e except after -c" thing they say in school.

And I guess it's not so much of a "why" but a "how to know when you need to do this" question.

There's nothing for it but to learn the endings. There really are only a handful. After studying for 38 years I still occasionally go through the mantra of conjugating a verb I've just learned in all it's tenses. - KevinB, Oct 2, 2010

Answer 6

It is a matter of learning the conjugations. Slow and boring it may be, but once the patterns are etched in your brain, you will start getting a feel of the regular verbs. The first person plural will give you the clue which class of verb the verb belongs to. Personally, I learn the forms by writing them out, saying aloud to myself and repeat and repeat and repeat. This allows your brain time to form patterns and slowly you will recall them automatically.

Once you master the pattern, and only if you want to, you can then look up verbs in Latin and find out why there are three classes of verbs in Spanish and how they evolved over the years. It will makes sense then and it's quite interesting. You never know, it might make life easier if you decide to learn Italian.