Conjugation
Spanish: Year 5 & 6 National Curriculum, topic 4.1.4
Conjugation of Verbs
To use a verb in a sentence, you have to change the infinitive. To change a verb correctly, you need to know who or what is doing the verb and the tense of the verb.
Who or what is doing the verb
- Who or what is doing the verb is called the subject.
- I am playing. → 'I' is the subject.
- Yo juego. → 'Yo' is the subject.
The tense of the verb
- The tense of the verb tells you when the verb is happening.
- E.g. past, present or future.
- I play. (present simple tense)
- Yo juego.
- I played. (simple past tense)
- Yo jugué.
Verb endings in English
- To use verbs, we need to know the subject.
- The subject is who or what is doing the verb.
- In English, we never use a verb without a subject, but in Spanish you do.
Verb endings in Spanish
- In Spanish, the end of the verb changes for every subject in every tense.
- Sometimes the middle changes too.
- The verb changes so you know who/what is doing the verb by looking at the ending.
Test yourself on Conjugation
What tells you the subject of a verb?