The Present Tense

Formation

There are 3 sets of conjugations for regular verbs in the present tense.

This tense is formed by adding the endings to the stem of the verb.

Here are the endings for regular verbs that end in -ar.

	singular	plural
first person	o	amos
second person	as	áis
third person	a	an

yo hablo
tú hablas
él/ella/usted habla
nosotros hablamos
vosotros habláis
ellos/ellas/ustedes hablan

Here are the endings for regular verbs that end in -er.

	singular	plural
first person	o	emos
second person	es	éis
third person	e	en

yo bebo
tú bebes
él/ella/usted bebe
nosotros bebemos
vosotros bebéis
ellos/ellas/ustedes beben

Here are the endings for regular verbs that end in -ir.

	singular	plural
first person	o	imos
second person	es	ís
third person	e	en

yo escribo
tú escribesél/ella/usted escribenosotros escribimos
vosotros escribís
ellos/ellas/ustedes escriben

Usage

In general, the present tense in Spanish will correspond with these English equivalents:
yo hablo = I speak, I do speak, I am speaking, I am speaking (near future)
yo trabajo = I work, I do work, I am working, I am working (near future)

Keep in mind that the present tense is generally used for describing what is happening now, in the present time, but also has a few other uses.

The present tense can also be used to indicate an event in the near future:
Salgo esta noche.  I am leaving tonight.

As well as habitual actions:

Jennifer canta en el coro.  Jennifer sings in the chorus.