Edexcel International GCSE Spanish (4SP1) · Grammar spine 2 of 10 — The present-tense system
Mini-Lesson
The present-tense system
The present tense is the engine of Spanish — you will use it in every theme, every paper. This lesson builds it from the ground up: regular verbs, the stem-changers, the core irregulars, the crucial ser vs estar split, and the present continuous.
Make a guess: where did the "I" and the "am" go in «Estudio español»?
Mission 1Where did the "I" and the "am" go?
Mission 2When does a verb change inside, and where?
Mission 3Which message would Pablo rather not read?
Mission 4Which verb does each line of Lucía's text need?
Work through each screen and answer the questions as you go — some ask you to recognise the right form, some ask you to produce it by typing. Collect ⭐ stars and press Start.
What the present tense does
One tense, three English ideas
A single Spanish present-tense verb can be translated three ways in English. There is no separate word for "am/do":
Estudio español. → I study Spanish.
Estudio español. → I am studying Spanish.
Sí, estudio español. → I do study Spanish.
Why this matters: beginners often try to translate "am" with a word (soy) and write soy estudio. Don't — the ending -o already carries "I". The verb does the whole job.
Quick check
Reading the present
?A text says: María trabaja en un hospital. Which English translation is possible?
Who is doing it?
The six persons
Every verb has six "persons". You'll rarely write the pronoun (the ending shows who), but you must know them to pick the right ending:
yo
I
tú
you (one friend)
él / ella / usted
he / she / you (formal)
nosotros / nosotras
we
vosotros / vosotras
you all (Spain, informal)
ellos / ellas / ustedes
they / you all (formal)
Key:usted and ustedes mean "you" but take the él/ellos endings — a polite quirk. Spanish normally drops the pronoun: just hablo, not yo hablo, unless you want emphasis or to avoid confusion.
Regular verbs · Step 1
-AR verbs: the biggest family
Take the infinitive hablar (to speak), chop off -ar, and add the endings:
hablar — to speak
person
form
yo
hablo
tú
hablas
él / ella / usted
habla
nosotros
hablamos
vosotros
habláis
ellos / ustedes
hablan
Same endings for every regular -ar verb: trabajar (work), estudiar (study), escuchar (listen), visitar (visit).
Type it
Your turn — an -AR verb
1Write the nosotros ("we") form of trabajar (to work).
Hint: chop -ar, add the "we" ending -amos.
Regular verbs · Step 2
-ER and -IR verbs
These two families share all their endings except nosotros and vosotros:
comer — to eat
como
comes
come
comemos
coméis
comen
vivir — to live
vivo
vives
vive
vivimos
vivís
viven
Spot the difference:-er takes -emos / -éis; -ir takes -imos / -ís. Everywhere else they are identical (o, es, e, en).
Sort it
Pick the ending
Choose the correct present-tense ending for each verb.
Mission 1 check
Where did the "I" and the "am" go?
?Four pupils try to write "We are living in Madrid." Which attempt is correct?
Type it
Your turn — an -IR verb
2Write the vosotros ("you all") form of escribir (to write).
Hint: the -ir "you all" ending is -ís (with an accent). Typing without the accent still counts — but see the proper spelling.
Mission 2 of 4
When does a verb change inside, and where?
Make a guess: in «poder», which forms change the vowel inside?
Stem-changing (boot) verbs
The "boot" verbs
Some verbs keep regular endings but change the vowel inside the stem — in every form except nosotros and vosotros. Shade the forms that change and you get a boot shape:
e → ie · pensar
pienso
piensas
piensa
pensamos
pensáis
piensan
o → ue · poder
puedo
puedes
puede
podemos
podéis
pueden
e → i · pedir
pido
pides
pide
pedimos
pedís
piden
Same-family verbs:querer, empezar, preferir (e→ie); dormir, volver, encontrar, jugar (o→ue, and jugar u→ue); servir, repetir (e→i). The nosotros/vosotros forms never change — that's the top of the boot.
Quick check
Spot the boot
?You want to say "I sleep" from dormir (o→ue). Which form is correct?
Type it
Your turn — a boot verb
3Write the yo ("I") form of pensar (to think, e→ie).
Hint: "I" sits inside the boot, so the e becomes ie.
The "yo" oddities
Verbs that only trip up on "yo"
A big group of common verbs is completely regular except for a surprise yo form. Learn the "I" form and the rest fall into place:
infinitive
yo form
hacer (to do/make)
hago
poner (to put)
pongo
salir (to go out)
salgo
conocer (to know a person)
conozco
dar (to give)
doy
ver (to see)
veo
Careful: after the yo form, hacer is ordinary — haces, hace, hacemos… Only "I" is odd.
Game · Match
Match the infinitive to its "yo" form
Tap an infinitive on the left, then tap its "I" form on the right.
INFINITIVE
hacer
poner
salir
conocer
dar
ver
"YO" FORM
conozco
hago
veo
salgo
doy
pongo
The core irregulars
The "big five" to memorise whole
Five verbs are so common — and so irregular — that the spec expects the full present tense of each. Learn them cold:
ser — to be
soy
eres
es
somos
sois
son
estar — to be
estoy
estás
está
estamos
estáis
están
ir — to go
voy
vas
va
vamos
vais
van
tener — to have
tengo
tienes
tiene
tenemos
tenéis
tienen
hacer — to do/make
hago
haces
hace
hacemos
hacéis
hacen
Notice:tener is a "yo" oddity (tengo) and a boot verb (tienes, tiene, tienen) — two patterns at once.
Type it
Your turn — a core irregular
4Write the yo ("I") form of ser (to be).
Hint: "I am" (permanent) — one short word.
Mission 2 check
When does a verb change inside, and where?
?Inés uses «volver» (o→ue), "to come back". She needs "they come back" and "we come back". Which pair is right?
Mission 3 of 4
Which message would Pablo rather not read?
Make a guess: which message would Pablo rather not read?
The big split · ser vs estar
Two verbs for "to be"
Spanish has two verbs meaning "to be", and choosing wrongly changes your meaning. The rule of thumb:
ser — essence
Permanent / defining facts: identity, origin, nationality, job, what something is, physical & character description, time & date.
estar — state
Changeable / where: location, moods & feelings, health, temporary conditions, and the present continuous.
Soy profesora. — I am a teacher. (job → ser)
Madrid está en España. — Madrid is in Spain. (location → estar)
Hoy estoy cansado. — Today I am tired. (feeling → estar)
Son las tres. — It is three o'clock. (time → ser)
Meaning changes:ser aburrido = to be boring; estar aburrido = to be bored. ser listo = to be clever; estar listo = to be ready. Same adjective, different verb, different meaning.
Sort it
ser or estar?
Choose the verb that fits each gap.
Uses ser
Uses estar
Mission 3 check
Which message would Pablo rather not read?
?Sara sends two messages about her brother. First: «Mi hermano es listo.» Then: «Mi hermano está listo.» What do they tell you?
Quick check
Which "to be"?
?You want to say "My grandmother is ill" (she has a cold this week). Which is right?
Mission 4 of 4
Which verb does each line of Lucía's text need?
Make a guess: how do you know which verb each line needs?
Right now · present continuous
estar + the gerund
When you want to stress that something is happening at this very moment, use estar + the gerund (the "-ing" form):
estar + gerund-ar → -ando · -er / -ir → -iendo
trabajar → estoy trabajando — I am working (right now).
comer → está comiendo — he is eating.
escribir → estamos escribiendo — we are writing.
Don't overuse it. For habits and general truths, plain present is better: Estudio español ("I study / am studying Spanish" in general), notestoy estudiando unless you mean at this exact second. A few gerunds are irregular: leer → leyendo, dormir → durmiendo, pedir → pidiendo.
Quick check
When to use it
?Which sentence best needs the present continuous (estar + gerund)?
Type it
Your turn — present continuous
5Translate "they are working" (right now) into Spanish. Two words.
Hint: estar in the "they" form + trabajar as a gerund (-ando).
Everyday present-tense phrases
tener, hay and hace
Three high-frequency patterns use the present tense where English does something different:
tener for feelings & age. Spanish "has" the feeling: tengo hambre (I'm hungry), tengo sed (thirsty), tengo frío/calor (cold/hot), tengo miedo (afraid), tengo 15 años (I'm 15).
hay = "there is / there are". One word for both: hay un problema, hay muchos turistas. And hay que + infinitive = "one must" (hay que estudiar).
hace for weather.hace calor / frío / sol / viento; hace buen / mal tiempo.
Watch out: never translate "I am hungry" word-for-word as soy/estoy hambre. Feelings like hunger, thirst, fear, cold and age use tener.
Quick check
Reading an idiom
?A friend writes: Tengo mucho calor. What do they mean?
Mission 4 check
Which verb does each line of Lucía's text need?
?Four pupils translate a text from the beach: "I am thirsty and it is windy." Which attempt is correct?