What is conjugation in Spanish?
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Today is the day for you to learn about this important grammar concept.
We conjugate verbs a lot, but many people do not know what it is. Do you? Don’t worry we’ll go over it right now.
Conjugation changes verbs. Before we go on you need a little lesson on verbs.
- Verbs are words that express action or a state of being.
- They are one of the parts of speech.
- Every sentence has at least one verb.
Verbs are the only type of word that conjugates.
We’re going to explore conjugation and discover how conjugation works in sentences. Are you ready? Great!
Spanish Verb Conjugation
In Spanish, conjugation is la conjugación.
Conjugation changes the form of a verb.
What does that mean?
It means there are many forms of a verb. The verb form changes to match the subject of the sentence. This is called subject verb agreement.
They also change to show time and mood (also known as verb tense).
But wait! First you need to know that the infinitive is the base verb form. They are not conjugated because they don’t have any context like the other verbs forms do.
Click here to see a list of infinitives.
Infinitives have a stem and ending. On the left, the stem provides the word meaning. On the right, the ending changes form.
stem | ending
Ganar becomes gan|an. Ellos siempre ganan. They always win.
Venir becomes vien|e. Viene el doctor. The doctor is on his way.
Correr becomes corr|e. El perro corre. The dog runs.
What is conjugation in Spanish? Let’s look at some examples of conjugations!
| Infinitive verb with no subject | ganar | to win |
| Verb with a subject | ¡Nosotros ganamos! | We won. |
| Verb with no subject | ¡Ganamos! | We won. |
As you can see, the verb form tells us about the subject of the sentence. Because of that, the personal pronouns (replaces subject) can be dropped most of the time.
Here are some examples of subjects and verbs.
Example: Yo hablo español.
| verb form | hablo |
| stem | habl |
| ending | o |
| subject (personal pronoun) | yo |
Example: ¿Sabes bailar?
| helping verb form (verb phrase) | sabes |
| stem | sab |
| ending | es |
| subject pronoun (not stated) | tú |
| main verb form (verb phrase) | bailar |
| stem | bail |
| ending | ar |
| subject (personal pronoun) | (none) |
What is conjugation? Got it all? Here is a summary.
- Conjugation changes the form of the verb.
- Infinitive verbs are the base form.
- Verbs have two parts (stem, ending).
- The stem provides the word meaning and ending tells us who.
- Two verbs can work together (a type of verb phrase).
Take note, endings also change to show time and purpose of the sentence. You can learn more about verb tenses and moods here (click on the links).
The Six Verb Forms
For next next bit, we’re going to focus on subject verb agreement.
Remember that verbs tell us about the subject? The verb ending matches the person and number of the subject of the sentence.
Person is first, second, third. First person is the speaker. Second Person is the person spoken to. Third person is the person spoken about.
Number is singular, plural. Singular is one subject. Plural is two or more subjects.
The six verb forms are first person singular, second person singular, third person singular, first person plural, second person plural, third person plural.
A conjugation matrix looks like this.
| First Person Singular Camino todos los días. | First Person Plural Caminamos a la playa. |
| Second Person Singular Ahora caminas. | Second Person Plural Camináis de vez en cuando. |
| Third Person Singular Ella camina con su perro. | Third Person Plural Ustedes caminan y corren. |
Did you notice how many times the verb changed form? That’s right six times!
Six boxes for six verb forms. There are six combinations of person and number.
Personal Pronouns
The subject can be replaced with a personal pronoun (a type of pronoun).
Personal Pronouns are yo, tú, vos, él, ella, usted, nosotros, nosotras, vosotros, vosotras, ellos, ellas, ustedes.
They agree with the verb in person and number.
Example: ¿Quién arregla?
Who fixes?
| arreglar | to fix |
|---|---|
| First Person Singular Yo arreglo. | First Person Plural Nosotros arreglamos. Nosotras arreglamos. |
| Second Person Singular Tú arreglas. Vos arreglas. | Second Person Plural Vosotros arregláis. Vosotras arregláis. |
| Third Person Singular Él arregla. Ella arregla. Usted arregla. | Third Person Plural Ellos arreglan. Ellas arreglan. Ustedes arreglan. |
The personal pronouns also have gender (masculine, feminine). Gender does not change the verb form. This means masculine and feminine subjects share the same verb form.
Example: ¿Quién ama?
Who loves?
| amar | to love |
|---|---|
| First Person Singular amo | First Person Plural amamos |
| Second Person Singular amas | Second Person Plural amáis |
| Third Person Singular ama | Third Person Plural aman |
Answers:
Yo amo. Tú amas. Vos amas. Él ama. Ella ama. Usted ama. Nosotros amamos. Nosotras amamos. Vosotros amáis. Vosotros amáis. Ellos aman. Ellas aman. Ustedes aman.
This is how conjugation works.
Verbs change to agree with the subject in the sentence.
Recommended Set of Conjugation Flashcards
Becoming familiar with conjugations is important to be able to communicate confidently and clearly in Spanish. Flashcards are a great learning tool. Make your own or grab this set of flashcards:
You can learn new conjugations, tenses, review, or test your memory.
Grammarians, the fancy word for conjugation is inflection.
Congratulations! You’ve reached the bottom of the lesson. You’re a conjugation pro now!
You have earned this trophy. 🏆
Summary
Conjugation changes the verb form to match the subject. There are six verb forms. The verb and the subject agree in person and number.
Now you’re ready to conjugate Spanish verbs!
If you’d like to fast-track your way through verb conjugations, you need to check out our Instant Conjugation Kit!
It’ll save you time and wasted effort, and it will bring you well-earned confidence.
I hope this lesson helped you learn about verb conjugation!
This is original content from https://www.growspanish.com/what-is-conjugation-in-spanish
Other Helpful Resources
How to Practice Spanish Verb Conjugation
Using Spreadsheets to Conjugate Verbs
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