Learn to Conjugate Spanish -ER Verbs in the Present Tense Easily

If you still struggle to conjugate verbs in Spanish, this lesson is going to be perfect for you.

Hello everyone, how are you? I hope you are doing very well. I am really happy to be here with you again.

Today we are continuing with a topic we started previously: conjugating verbs in the simple present tense.

We already covered verbs that end in -AR. Now it is time to focus on regular verbs that end in -ER.

And let me tell you something important.

In Spanish, it is absolutely essential to master the basics and truly internalize them. When you dominate these foundational patterns, speaking becomes much easier later on. You will also understand more complex sentence structures with less effort.

That is why this matters.

The Three Types of Spanish Verbs

In Spanish, verbs in their infinitive form fall into three categories:

• Verbs ending in -AR 
• Verbs ending in -ER 
• Verbs ending in -IR 

Today, we are focusing only on regular -ER verbs.

Important: Everything I am teaching you applies only to regular verbs. There are irregular verbs that do not follow these patterns. Those must be memorized separately.

But the good news is that many very common verbs are regular.

Common Regular -ER Verbs

Here are some you will use constantly:

• Comer – to eat 
• Beber – to drink 
• Aprender – to learn 
• Leer – to read 
• Correr – to run 
• Vender – to sell 

These verbs follow a fixed pattern, and once you understand it, you can conjugate hundreds of verbs the same way.

Step 1: Remove the -ER Ending

All of these verbs are in the infinitive form. That means they end in -ER.

To conjugate them:

1. Remove the -ER 
2. Keep the rest of the word 
3. That remaining part is called the stem 

Examples:

• Comer → remove -ER → com 
• Beber → remove -ER → beb 
• Aprender → remove -ER → aprend 

We do not change the stem.

The only thing that changes is the ending we add, depending on the pronoun.

Step 2: Add the Correct Endings

In Spanish, we conjugate according to the subject pronoun.

Here are the present tense endings for regular -ER verbs:

These are called endings, and this is the pattern you need to memorize.

Example: Conjugating “Comer”

First, find the stem:

Comer → com

Now add the endings:

• Yo como 
• Tú comes 
• Él come 
• Ella come 
• Usted come 
• Nosotros comemos 
• Nosotras comemos 
• Ellos comen 
• Ellas comen 
• Ustedes comen 

Let us simplify it.

• Stem: COM 
• Ending for yo: -O → como 
• Ending for ellos: -EN → comen 

Once you understand the pattern, it becomes very straightforward.

The key is repetition. You need enough practice so that you do not stop to think about the ending every single time.

When Do We Use the Present Tense?

Now that you know how to conjugate regular -ER verbs, let us talk about when to use this tense.

1. Habits and Routines

We use it for things we do regularly.

• Yo como todos los días a las dos. 
• Nosotros bebemos agua todos los días. 
• Ella lee antes de dormir. 

Common words you will often see:

• Siempre 
• Normalmente 
• Todos los días 
• A veces 

2. Actions Happening Right Now

You can also use it for actions happening at this moment.

• Yo como ahora. 
• Ellos aprenden español en clase. 
• Tú bebes café en este momento. 

3. General Truths and Facts

For statements that are generally true:

• Los bebés beben leche. 
• Las personas comen para vivir. 
• Los estudiantes aprenden en la escuela. 

4. Schedules, Fixed Plans, Likes, Preferences

This tense is also used for:

• El restaurante abre a las ocho. 
• La clase empieza a las nueve. 
• Yo como pizza. 
• Ella bebe té. 

These are simple, everyday situations where this conjugation naturally appears.

Another Full Example: “Correr”

Let us quickly look at one more verb.

Remove -ER:

Correr → corr

Now conjugate:

• Yo corro 
• Tú corres 
• Él, ella, usted corre 
• Nosotros, nosotras corremos 
• Ellos, ellas, ustedes corren 

Same pattern. Same endings.

Final Thoughts

So, was it very difficult?

Probably not once you see the structure clearly.

The most important thing is this:
You must truly master these endings if you want to keep progressing in Spanish.

When regular -ER conjugations become automatic, speaking becomes smoother, faster, and much more confident.

Focus on understanding the pattern. Practice consistently. Internalize the endings.

That is how you build a strong foundation in Spanish.

I will see you in the next lesson.

Chao.