How to Manage the Most Frequently Used Verb Conjugations in Spanish for Healthcare Workers.
Verbs are are the glue that hold a language together and create meaning. A pure vocabulary-based subject/noun/adjective communication style is caveman speak, and you’re way to smart for that!
So, in this post we’re breaking down the most common Spanish verb conjugations and verb tenses for everyday clinical settings. Of course there are more verb tenses in the Spanish language, but since your goal is not to be a Spanish linguist – you should probably focus on these first. Take a look below!
Present Tense Verbs:
Meaning: to describe everyday things that you are doing or do habitually.
Conjugations: stem of the verb + the conjugations below
| AR Verbs | ER Verbs | IR Verbs | |||
| Yo: -o | Nosotros -amos | Yo -o | Nosotros -emos | Yo -o | Nosotros -imos |
| Tú: -as | Tú -es | Tú -es | |||
| Él, Ella, -a Usted |
Ellos, Ellas, -an Ustedes |
Él, Ella, -e Usted |
Ellos, Ellas, -en Ustedes |
Él, Ella, -e Usted |
Ellos, Ellas, -en Ustedes |
Common Irregular verbs in the present tense:
Conocer = to know (people or places)
Dar = to give
Decir = to say / to tell
Estar = to be (feelings, location, state of being)
Hacer = to do
Ir = to go
Oir = to hear
Poner = to put / to place
Saber = to know (information, facts, how to do something)
Salir = to go out
Ser = to be (occupation, characteristics, origin/nationality, time)
Tener = to have
Traer = to bring
Venir = to come
Ver = to see
Get your free irregular verb cheat sheet today!
Present Progressive Tense:
Meaning: this is when you want to say you “are doing” something in the moment. Ex. I am speaking Spanish = Yo estoy hablando español.
Conjugations: This is verb tense requires two verbs: Estar + the action verb. Estar is the verb you conjugate – the action verb will be modified only slightly with an -ando or -iendo ending.
| AR Verbs | ER Verbs | IR Verbs | |||
| Yo: estoy -ando | Nosotros estamos -ando | Yo estoy -iendo | Nosotros estamos -iendo | Yo estoy -iendo | Nosotros estamos -iendo |
| Tú: estás -ando | Tú estás -iendo | Tú estás -iendo | |||
| Él Ella está -ando Usted |
Ellos Ellas están -ando Ustedes |
Él Ella está -iendo Usted |
Ellos Ellas están -iendo Ustedes |
Él Ella está -iendo Usted |
Ellos Ellas están -iendo Ustedes |
Common Irregular verbs in the Present Progressive Tense:
Creer = to believe
Destruir = to destroy
Incluir = to include
Ir = to go
Leer = to read
Oír = to hear
Traer = to bring
Get your free irregular verb cheat sheet today!
Present Perfect Tense:
Meaning: to “have done” something
Conjugation: Helping verb “haber” + the stem of the verb (everything but the ending) plus the conjugations below
| AR Verbs | ER Verbs | IR Verbs | |||
| Yo: he + -ado | Nos. hemos + -ado | Yo he + -ido | Nos. hemos + -ido | Yo he + -ido | Nos. hemos + -ido |
| Tú: has + -ado | Tú has + -ido | Tú has + -ido | |||
| Él Ella ha + -ado Usted |
Ellos Ellas han + -ado Ustedes |
Él Ella ha + -ido Usted |
Ellos Ellas han + -ido Ustedes |
Él Ella ha + -ido Usted |
Ellos Ellas han + -ido Ustedes |
Common Irregular Verbs in the Present Perfect Tense (same irregulars for Past Perfect Tense):
Cubrir = to cover
Decir = to say / to tell
Escribir = to write
Hacer = to do / to make
Morir = to die
Poner = to put / to place
Resolver = to resolve
Romper = to break
Volver = to return
Ver = to see
Get your free irregular verb cheat sheet today!
Imperative (Command) Tense for Usted:
Meaning: this is the command tense that you need to use with your adolescent and adult patients, used for quick instructions: “Do this”, “Don’t do that”, etc
Conjugation:
- Go to the “yo” (of the present tense)
- Drop the “o”
- Add the opposite ending
- AR > e
- ER/IR > a
| AR Verbs | ER Verbs | IR Verbs | ||||
| Usted | Ustedes | Usted | Ustedes | Usted | Ustedes | |
| Affirmative | -e | -en | -a | -an | -a | -an |
| Negative | No + -e | No + -en | No + -a | No + -an | No + -a | No + -an |
Common Irregular Verbs in the Usted Command Form:
Estar = to be (feelings, location, states of being)
Haber = to be / to have (helping verb for perfect tenses)
Ir = to go
Saber = to know
Ser = to be (occupation, characteristics, origin/nationality, time)
Get your free irregular verb cheat sheet today!
Imperative (Command) Tense for Tú:
Meaning: this is the command tense that you need to use with your patients who are children (under 13 or 14 y/o), used for quick instructions: “Do this”, “Don’t do that”, etc
Conjugations: Tú commands are tricky because they use one form for the affirmative command, and a different form for the negative command.
Affirmative commands take the 3rd person singluar form of the present tense: ex. hablar > habla (él, ella, usted form of the verb). Negative commands take the tú form in the present subjunctive. Explained in different terms, it’s the usted command + “s”: ex. No Hablar > no hables
| AR Verbs | ER Verbs | IR Verbs | |
| Affirmative | -a (habla) | -e (come) | -e (vive) |
| Negative | No + -es (no hables) | No + as (no comas) | No + as (no vivas) |
Common Irregular Verbs in the Tú Command Form:
Hacer = to do / to make
Poner = to put / to place
Salir = to leave / to go out
Ser = to be (occupation, characteristics, origin/nationality, time)
Tener = to have
Venir = to come
Get your free irregular verb cheat sheet today!
Preterite Past Tense Verbs:
Meaning: this is the simple past tense used to describe completed actions in the past.
Uses: SPICY & SAFE Acronyms for Preterite Past tense
| AR Verbs | ER Verbs | IR Verbs | |||
| Yo: -é | Nosotros -amos | Yo -í | Nosotros -imos | Yo -í | Nosotros -imos |
| Tú: -aste | Tú -iste | Tú -iste | |||
| Él, Ella, -ó Usted |
Ellos, Ellas, -aron Ustedes |
Él, Ella, -ió Usted |
Ellos, Ellas, -ieron Ustedes |
Él, Ella, -ió Usted |
Ellos, Ellas, -ieron Ustedes |
Irregular Preterite Past Tense Verbs in Spanish:
Dar = to give
Decir = to say / to tell
Estar = to be (feelings, location, state of being)
Hacer = to do / to make
Ir = to go
Poder = to be able to
Poner = to put / to place
Querer = to want / to desire
Saber = to know (means “found out” in this tense)
Ser = to be (occupation, characteristics, origin/nationality, time)
Tener = to have
Traer = to bring
Venir = to come
Get your free irregular verb cheat sheet today!
Imperfect Past Tense Verbs:
Meaning: This is the past tense that often describes habitual actions in the past “used to” or an ongoing action in the past “was doing”.
Uses: See DUWIT Acronym here
| AR Verbs | ER Verbs | IR Verbs | |||
| Yo: -aba | Nosotros -ábamos | Yo -ía | Nosotros -íamos | Yo -ía | Nosotros -íamos |
| Tú: -abas | Tú -ías | Tú -ías | |||
| Él, Ella, -aba Usted |
Ellos, Ellas, -aban Ustedes |
Él, Ella, -ía Usted |
Ellos, Ellas, -ían Ustedes |
Él, Ella, -ía Usted |
Ellos, Ellas, -ían Ustedes |
Irregular Imperfect Past Tense Verbs in Spanish:
Ir = to go
Ser = to be (occupation, characteristics, origin/nationality, time)
Ver = to see
Get your free irregular verb cheat sheet today!
Past Progressive Verbs:
Meaning: this is when you want to say you “were doing” something in the moment. Ex. I was speaking Spanish = Yo estaba hablando español.
Conjugations: This is verb tense requires two verbs: Estar + the action verb. Estar is the verb you conjugate – the action verb will be modified only slightly with an -ando or -iendo ending.
| AR Verbs | ER Verbs | IR Verbs | |||
| Yo: estaba -ando | Nosotros estábamos -ando |
Yo estaba -iendo | Nosotros estábamos -iendo |
Yo estoy -iendo | Nosotros estábamos -iendo |
| Tú: estabas -ando | Tú estabas -iendo | Tú estabas -iendo | |||
| Él Ella estaba -ando Usted |
Ellos Ellas estaban -ando Ustedes |
Él Ella estaba -iendo Usted |
Ellos Ellas están -iendo Ustedes |
Él Ella estaba -iendo Usted |
Ellos Ellas estaban -iendo Ustedes |
Common Irregular verbs in the Past Progressive Tense:
Creer = to believe
Destruir = to destroy
Incluir = to include
Ir = to go
Leer = to read
Oír = to hear
Traer = to bring
Get your free irregular verb cheat sheet today!
Keep up the good work speaking responsible Spanish to your patients! Check out our other books, classes & products to help you !
*If the link isn’t working for you, you may need to unblock pop-ups in your browser settings.
People Also Read: Spanish Reflexive Verbs – When and How to Use them
Pingback: Medical Spanish - Regular Present Tense Verbs in Spanish For Healthcare Context | Common Ground International Language Services