Curso → Level 2 · La vida diaria → Lección 2
Level 2 · Lesson 2 Como, bebo, escribo
I eat, I drink, I write
El presente de los verbos en -er y en -ir, casi iguales.
The present of -er and -ir verbs, which differ in only two forms.
Escucha · Listen
¿Dónde vives?
Luis, where do you live?
I live in Seville. And you?
I live in Bogotá. I read and write in Spanish.
Do you write well in Spanish?
I write well. I read so-so.
Shall we eat with Diego?
Yes. We'll eat and drink with Diego.
Diego and Carmen are eating with us.
Explicación · Explanation
Las otras dos familias terminan en -er y en -ir. «Comer»: como, comes, come, comemos, coméis, comen. «Vivir»: vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, vivís, viven.
With -ar behind you, the other two families arrive together. Cut off -er or -ir and add the endings to what is left. For -er verbs: -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en. For -ir verbs: -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en. Notice how much of that is shared — the singular is identical, and so is the ellos form.
Los dos grupos son iguales en cuatro personas. La diferencia está en nosotros y en vosotros: comemos y coméis, con e; vivimos y vivís, con i.
Line the two up and only two boxes differ: comemos / coméis against vivimos / vivís. Everything else — como, comes, come, comen and vivo, vives, vive, viven — is the same. That is the whole difference between the second and third conjugations in the present, and it is worth memorising as a pair rather than as two separate lists.
El español no tiene una forma para «I eat» y otra para «I am eating». «Como» dice las dos cosas.
One English habit to unlearn: Spanish has a single present for both 'I eat' and 'I am eating'. Como covers your daily habit and this very moment alike, and escribimos can be either 'we write' or 'we are writing'. Context does the work that English does with an extra verb, so do not reach for anything longer.
Vocabulario · Vocabulary
| Palabra | Meaning | Nota · Note |
|---|---|---|
| comer | to eat | como · comes · come |
| beber | to drink | bebo · bebes · bebe |
| leer | to read | leo · lees · lee |
| escribir | to write | escribo · escribes · escribe |
| vivir | to live | vivimos, con i |
Práctica · Practice
Ponlo en práctica · Use it
Ahora hablas tú, en voz alta: «Vivo en …», «Leo en español», «Como con …». Después, la pregunta a un amigo: «¿Dónde vives?».
Say where you live out loud — vivo en, plus your city — then two more sentences with leo and como. Now switch to nosotros twice, once with an -er verb and once with an -ir verb, and hear the e and the i change places: comemos, vivimos. Ask a friend ¿dónde vives? and answer for them.