vivir
to live| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | vivo |
| tú | vives |
| él | vive |
| nosotros | vivimos |
| vosotros | vivís |
| ellos | viven |
Yo vivo en un piso pequeño cerca del centro. — I live in a small apartment near downtown.
Level 3 of 60 · Tense System · Presente
Regular -IR Verbs
The 10 most common -IR verbs in Presente
When to use it
The present tense (Presente) of regular -IR verbs is used to express:
- Actions happening right now — "Yo escribo una carta." (I write a letter.)
- Habitual or repeated actions — "Ella vive en Barcelona." (She lives in Barcelona.)
- General truths or facts — "Los estudiantes comparten ideas." (The students share ideas.)
-IR Verbs vs -ER Verbs
-IR verbs are the third and smallest verb group in Spanish. Their conjugation is almost identical to -ER verbs — only two forms differ: nosotros and vosotros.
Key Differences
| Feature | -ER verbs | -IR verbs |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive ending | -er | -ir |
| Example | comer | vivir |
| "We" ending | -emos | -imos |
| "You all" ending (Spain) | -éis | -ís |
| All other endings | same | same |
This means: if you already know -ER conjugation, you only need to memorize two new endings for -IR verbs.
How to form it
IR
To conjugate a regular -IR verb in the present tense, remove -ir from the infinitive and add the correct ending.
Example: vivir → viv- (stem)
| Pronoun | Ending | Full Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | vivo |
| tú | -es | vives |
| él / ella / usted | -e | vive |
| nosotros / nosotras | -imos | vivimos |
| vosotros / vosotras | -ís | vivís |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | -en | viven |
Meaning: vivo = I live, vives = you live, vive = he/she lives, vivimos = we live, vivís = you all live, viven = they live.
Grammar in detail
The -IR Verb Group
Spanish verbs ending in -ir form the third and last conjugation group. This level focuses only on regular -IR verbs — verbs that follow the standard pattern without any stem changes or irregular forms.
Infinitive
The infinitive is the dictionary form of the verb. In English, it appears as "to + verb".
- vivir = to live
- escribir = to write
- abrir = to open
- decidir = to decide
- recibir = to receive
Stem
The stem is the part that remains after removing the -ir ending.
| Infinitive | Stem | Ending | Verb Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| vivir | viv- | -ir | -IR verb |
| escribir | escrib- | -ir | -IR verb |
| abrir | abr- | -ir | -IR verb |
| decidir | decid- | -ir | -IR verb |
| recibir | recib- | -ir | -IR verb |
Present Tense Endings for -IR Verbs
| Pronoun | Ending |
|---|---|
| yo | -o |
| tú | -es |
| él / ella / usted | -e |
| nosotros / nosotras | -imos |
| vosotros / vosotras | -ís |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | -en |
Full Conjugation: vivir (to live)
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | vivo |
| tú | vives |
| él / ella / usted | vive |
| nosotros / nosotras | vivimos |
| vosotros / vosotras | vivís |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | viven |
Comparing All Three Groups
| Pronoun | -AR | -ER | -IR |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | -o | -o |
| tú | -as | -es | -es |
| él / ella / usted | -a | -e | -e |
| nosotros | -amos | -emos | -imos |
| vosotros | -áis | -éis | -ís |
| ellos / ustedes | -an | -en | -en |
Notice: -ER and -IR are identical except for nosotros (-emos vs -imos) and vosotros (-éis vs -ís). The "yo" form (-o) is always the same.
Quick Pattern Check
All regular -IR verbs follow the same present tense pattern:
| Verb | yo | tú | él/ella |
|---|---|---|---|
| vivir | vivo | vives | vive |
| escribir | escribo | escribes | escribe |
| abrir | abro | abres | abre |
| decidir | decido | decides | decide |
The 10 verbs in this level
escribir
to write| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | escribo |
| tú | escribes |
| él | escribe |
| nosotros | escribimos |
| vosotros | escribís |
| ellos | escriben |
Yo escribo correos cortos por la mañana. — I write short emails in the morning.
abrir
to open| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | abro |
| tú | abres |
| él | abre |
| nosotros | abrimos |
| vosotros | abrís |
| ellos | abren |
Yo abro la ventana cada mañana. — I open the window every morning.
subir
to go up / to upload| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | subo |
| tú | subes |
| él | sube |
| nosotros | subimos |
| vosotros | subís |
| ellos | suben |
Yo subo la maleta al cuarto. — I carry the suitcase up to the room.
decidir
to decide| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | decido |
| tú | decides |
| él | decide |
| nosotros | decidimos |
| vosotros | decidís |
| ellos | deciden |
Yo decido rápido cuando tengo claro el objetivo. — I decide quickly when I am clear about the goal.
recibir
to receive| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | recibo |
| tú | recibes |
| él | recibe |
| nosotros | recibimos |
| vosotros | recibís |
| ellos | reciben |
Yo recibo correos importantes cada mañana. — I receive important emails every morning.
compartir
to share| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | comparto |
| tú | compartes |
| él | comparte |
| nosotros | compartimos |
| vosotros | compartís |
| ellos | comparten |
Yo comparto mis ideas contigo. — I share my ideas with you.
existir
to exist| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | existo |
| tú | existes |
| él | existe |
| nosotros | existimos |
| vosotros | existís |
| ellos | existen |
Yo existo en este sistema aunque no me vean. — I exist in this system even if they do not see me.
insistir
to insist| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | insisto |
| tú | insistes |
| él | insiste |
| nosotros | insistimos |
| vosotros | insistís |
| ellos | insisten |
Yo insisto en que el equipo debe revisar los datos antes de presentarlos al cliente. — I insist that the team must review the data before presenting it to the client.
permitir
to allow| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | permito |
| tú | permites |
| él | permite |
| nosotros | permitimos |
| vosotros | permitís |
| ellos | permiten |
Yo no permito errores graves en mi equipo. — I do not allow serious mistakes in my team.