Action Words in Spanish: Common Verbs

Think about actions you do every day — eating, running, sleeping. Now imagine you are in Spain and you want to tell someone what you are doing. How would you say it? Verbs are action words. In English we have words like 'eat', 'run', and 'sleep'. Spanish has its own action words too, and some of them look a little like English words. Let's find out which ones!

In Spanish, a verb in its basic form is called an infinitive. Most Spanish infinitives end in -ar, -er, or -ir. For example, 'hablar' means 'to speak' and ends in -ar. Here are eight common Spanish verbs you will use all the time: • hablar — to speak • comer — to eat • beber — to drink • correr — to run • leer — to read • escribir — to write • dormir — to sleep • ir — to go Notice that 'ir' is very short — just two letters! It is one of the most important verbs in Spanish, so it is worth remembering. A handy trick: 'comer' looks a bit like 'consume', and 'leer' sounds like 'leer' — to look at something. These little links can help you remember. When Spanish speakers use these verbs in sentences, the ending of the verb changes depending on who is doing the action. For now, we will focus on learning what each verb means.