New concept
One pattern, hundreds of verbs
Ser, estar and tener are irregular — each form had to be learned on its own. The good news: most Spanish verbs end in -ar, and nearly all of them follow one regular pattern.
The recipe: take the infinitive (hablar), drop the -ar to get the stem (habl-), then add the ending for the person — -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an.
| Pronoun | Hablar (to speak) | Andar (to walk) | Comprar (to buy) | Estudiar (to study) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablo | ando | compro | estudio |
| tú | hablas | andas | compras | estudias |
| él / ella / usted | habla | anda | compra | estudia |
| nosotros / nosotras | hablamos | andamos | compramos | estudiamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | habláis | andáis | compráis | estudiáis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablan | andan | compran | estudian |
The vosotros ending -áis always carries an accent. You'll also hear caminar for “to walk”, and pasear for a relaxed stroll.