Present tense conjugation of regular -er verbs: comer, beber, leer
Can conjugate regular -er verbs in the present tense and distinguish -er from -ar endings
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.
| Persona | Terminación | comer | beber | leer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | como | bebo | leo |
| tú | -es | comes | bebes | lees |
| él/ella/usted | -e | come | bebe | lee |
| nosotros/as | -emos | comemos | bebemos | leemos |
| vosotros/as | -éis | coméis | bebéis | leéis |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | -en | comen | beben | leen |
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).
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
Practice Exercises¿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