Infinitives in Spanish

Quick Answer

The infinitive (el infinitivo) is the most basic form of a Spanish verb. Verbs in the infinitive form are not conjugated and do not indicate anything about who is performing an action or at what point in time the action is taking place.

• In English, infinitive verbs are preceded by the word to, as in to speak, to read, or to write.
• In Spanish, infinitives are only one word and end in either -ar, -er, or -ir, as in hablar, leer, and escribir.

Verb Stems

Many verb tenses use a form of the infinitive as the stem to which verb conjugation endings are attached. In general, for regular verbs, you simply need to remove the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, or -ir) to find the stem, and then you can the add specific endings needed to give tense/subject information.

-ar Verbs

Verbs that end in-ar are more common than -er and -ir verbs. There are also fewer irregular -ar verbs than -er or -ir verbs. Here are some examples of common -ar infinitives and their stems.

Infinitive	Definition	Stem
buscar	to look for	busc-
cantar	to sing	cant-
comprar	to buy	compr-
escuchar	to listen to	escuch-
extrañar	to miss/to yearn for	extrañ-
hablar	to speak	habl-
llamar	to call	llam-
llenar	to fill	llen-
llevar	to carry	llev-
mirar	to watch	mir-
visitar	to visit	visit-

-er Verbs

Verbs that end in -er are the second-largest group of infinitives in Spanish. Here are some examples of common -er infinitives and their stems.

Infinitive	Definition	Stem
beber	to drink	beb-
comer	to eat	com-
comprender	to understand	comprend-
correr	to run	corr-
creer	to believe	cre-
deber	to owe	deb-
leer	to read	le-
meter	to put into	met-
romper	to break	romp-
vender	to sell	vend-

-ir Verbs

Verbs that end in -ir are the smallest group of Spanish infinitives. Here are some examples of common -ir infinitives and their stems.

Infinitive	Definition	Stem
abrir	to open	abr-
asistir	to attend	asist-
cubrir	to cover	cubr-
escribir	to write	escrib-
incluir	to include	inclu-
pedir	to order	ped-
permitir	to allow	permit-
recibir	to receive	recib-
servir	to serve	serv-
vivir	to live	viv-

Want to learn more about Spanish infinitives? Check out our articles on infinitives used as nouns and infinitive commands.