The Spanish Verb

The growing success of Spanish as a second language after English is a reality. Today, in France, Spanish is offered alongside German in education. This expansion is explained by the linguistic dynamism of a language spoken by more than 400 million people and by the richness and universality of the cultures of the many Spanish-speaking countries.

However, even though Spanish has its origins in Latin, like French, Spanish conjugation is considered difficult due to the number of irregular verbs and its rather complex diphthong system.

As in French, Spanish verbs can be classified into three main groups according to their infinitive endings: -ar (amar), -er (tener), -ir (vivir). Generally speaking, verbs ending in -er and -ir have the same endings except in the present indicative with nosotros and vosotros and in the imperative with vosotros.

In Spanish, the use of personal pronouns is not mandatory. This is due to the fact that the endings are clearly marked and easily heard, unlike in French where they are marked in writing but not in speech.