VerbosA1

Verbos regulares -er

Present tense conjugation of regular -er verbs: comer, beber, leer

Learning Goal

Can conjugate regular -er verbs in the present tense and distinguish -er from -ar endings

Exam Skills:Expresión escritaExpresión oral

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

¿Qué comes normalmente?

What do you normally eat?

Leo un libro todas las noches.

I read a book every night.

Los niños beben leche en el desayuno.

The children drink milk at breakfast.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

Los verbos terminados en -er son el segundo grupo de verbos regulares.

PersonaTerminacióncomerbeberleer
yo-ocomobeboleo
-escomesbebeslees
él/ella/usted-ecomebebelee
nosotros/as-emoscomemosbebemosleemos
vosotros/as-éiscoméisbebéisleéis
ellos/ellas/ustedes-encomenbebenleen

Diferencia con -ar: La vocal temática cambia de a a e: -as → -es, -a → -e, -amos → -emos, -áis → -éis, -an → -en. Solo yo (-o) es igual.

Verbos -er frecuentes: comer (to eat), beber (to drink), leer (to read), comprender (to understand), correr (to run), creer (to believe), aprender (to learn), vender (to sell).

Mixing -ar and -er endings: *comes is correct but learners might say *comas (mixing with -ar subjunctive). The yo form (-o) is the same for all three groups. 🇬🇧 English speakers: Same challenge as -ar verbs — remembering all 6 forms. May mix up -ar/-er endings.

¿Qué comes normalmente?

What do you normally eat?

comer → tú comes: stem com- + -es. Note: -er verbs use -es for tú (not -as like -ar verbs).

Leo un libro todas las noches.

I read a book every night.

leer → yo leo: stem le- + -o. The stem is just 'le-' because the infinitive is le-er.

Los niños beben leche en el desayuno.

The children drink milk at breakfast.

beber → ellos beben: stem beb- + -en. The ellos/ustedes form always ends in -en for -er verbs.

Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

A1 Course
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