Spanish language: The Verb

Verb (Verbo)

The Spanish verb has preserved with only few and easily recognizable modifications the system of the Latin verbal endings. According to the pattern of the infinitive ending, the verbs fall in 3 subdivisions (conjugations):

I conjugation: -ar	II conjugation: -er	III conjugation: -ir
amar to love comprar to buy hablar to speak pasear to walk	deber must querer to want, love (a woman) tener to have vender to sell	pedir to ask salir to come out servir to serve vivir to live

The verbal endings are characteristical of the person and the usage of the personal pronouns as verbal Subjects accomplishes rather emphatical functions.

There are 4 simple tenses in Spanish (the Present, the Past, the Imperfect and the Future) and 5 compound tenses constructed with the auxiliary haber to have and the past passive participle. Moreover, there are used specific verbal constructions to express immediate intention, recent accomplishment, continuisness, reiteration, obligation etc. Spanish has 5 verbal moods -- indicative, subjunctive, imperative, infinitive and potential (or conditional) mood. As compared with Latin, Spanish lost the Future Imperative and developed (like Portuguese) the Future Subjunctive. The Latin present and future participles were only sporadically preserved in Spanish as verbal adjectives (like ausente absent, presente present or futuro future).

The passive voice is formed analytically with the auxiliary ser to be and the past passive participle.

Polite speaking requires the usage of a special personal pronoun usted (pl. ustedes) with the 3rd person of the verb (in singular or plural, respectively). For more details see the Forms of Address.

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