Hello and welcome back to FluentlyFast!
Today we'll be diving into an important topic- The Present Tense of Indicative Mood.
In Spanish there are 4 moods- indicative, subjunctive, imperative and conditional. In English they aren't taught separately as they are in Spanish, so you may feel it is something new. Don't worry. When you learn and understand the rules and uses of each mood and each tense in the 4 moods, it'll be a piece of cake.
Let's begin!
To not complicate matters we are going to study the use of and rules of each tense under the indicative mood.
There are three conjugations for verbs, which are distinguished by the
thematic vowel :
-a, for the first conjugation
-e, for the second conjugation
-i, for the third conjugation
There are two types of verbs: Regular Verbs and Irregular Verbs
Conjugation for regular verbs ending in AR, ER, IR
The ending of the first person of the singular is equal in the three conjugations.
The endings of the third conjugation are the same as those of the second except
in the first and in the second persons of the plural.
Uses of the Indicative Present
To make timeless affirmations, talk about general truths.
El sol sale por el este. [The sun rises in the east.]
To talk about habits or actions that are repeated regularly.
Como tres veces al día. [About/Like three times a day.]
To give instructions.
Pelas las patatas y las cortas en rodajas finas. [Peel the potatoes and cut them into thin slices.]
To talk about intentions.
Mañana te llamo. [Tomorrow I'll call you.]
To talk about the chronological present, that is, about things that are true at the present time.
Soy un ingeniero. [I am an engineer.]
To relate, normally written, in the historical present.
En 1914, comienza la Primera Guerra Mundial. [In 1914, the First World War begins.]
To ask for things and actions, in questions.
¿Me dejas tu periódico? [Will you leave your newspaper?]
To formulate hypotheses about the present and the future.
Si mañana tengo tiempo, te escribo un mensaje. [If I have time tomorrow, I'll write you a message.]