Lesson 18: The we form for 'er' and 'ir' verbs
Here we'll cover how to say 'we' with verbs that end 'er' or 'ir'
Creating the we form for all verb types
As we have covered earlier there are three types of verbs in Spanish - verbs ending 'ar', 'er' or 'ir'.
To get the 'we' form:
- for 'ar' verbs we replace the 'ar' with 'amos'
- for 'er' verbs we replace the 'er' with 'emos'
- for 'ir' verbs we replace the 'ir' with 'imos'
One thing to note here is that throughout the whole Spanish language 'er' and 'ir' verbs are treated the same ... except in this one area - the we form in the present tense.
Apart from here you can be certain that what applied to an 'er' verb applies to a 'ir' verb as well and vice versa.
Preferir - to prefer
 Spanish |  English |
|---|---|
| Preferir | to prefer |
| Prefiero | I prefer |
| Prefiere | he/she/it/you (formal) prefer(s) |
| Prefieren | They prefer |
| Preferimos | We prefer |
So as you can see we have the same action as with 'ar' verbs, the 'e' split because we put pressure on it but in the 'we' form we don't put pressure so it doesn't split.
Knowing the 'we form' is also a great way to find the 'to form'. Because no letters split we know that if we take off the 'imos' and add 'ir' we have the 'to form'.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Venir | To come |
| Venimos | We come / we are coming |
Vivir - to live
This is probably a verb you will have heard of! Its often heard in films - 'Viva la revolución' ("Long live the revolution lives"), Or 'Viva Las Vegas' ("Long live Las Vegas").
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Vivir | To live |
| Vivo | I live |
| Vivo aquí | I live here |
| No vivo aquí | I don't live here |
| No vivo aquí pero él vive aquí | I don't live here but he lives here |
| ¿Dónde viven? | Where do they live? |
| Quiero saber dónde viven | I want to know where they live |
| Vivimos | We live |
Recapping entender - to understand
We covered this in a previous lesson but no harm in some practice while we introduce the 'we form'!
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Entender | To understand |
| Entiendo | I understand |
| Entiende | He understands |
| No entiende | He doesn't understand |
| ¿Por qué no entiende? | Why doesn't he understand |
| Quiero saber por qué no entiende | I want to know why he doesn't understand |
| Entendemos | We understand |
Recapping Perdermos - to lose
We also covered this in a previous lesson but lets see it again with the we form as well.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Perder | to lose |
| Pierdo | I lose |
| Perdemos | we lose |
| Siempre perdemos | we always lose |