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Provide practice exercises for -ER, -IR, and -RE verbs visualisation

Provide practice exercises for -ER, -IR, and -RE verbs

Navigate French Verb Conjugations: Your Definitive Guide: Provide practice exercises for -ER, -IR, and -RE verbs
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Here are practice exercises for Spanish -ER, -IR, and -RE verbs focusing on conjugation in the present indicative tense:

-ER Verb Exercises

Regular -ER verbs in Spanish follow a predictable pattern in the present tense: -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en. The key is to remove the infinitive ending and add the correct present-tense ending for each subject.

  1. Conjugate the verb “comer” (to eat) in present tense:

    • Yo ______ (comer)
    • Tú ______ (comer)
    • Él/Ella ______ (comer)
    • Nosotros ______ (comer)
    • Vosotros ______ (comer)
    • Ellos/Ellas ______ (comer)

    Answer pattern: como, comes, come, comemos, coméis, comen

  2. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of “aprender” (to learn):

    • Nosotros ______ español.
    • Tú ______ rápido.
    • Ella ______ mucho en la escuela.

    Answer pattern: aprendemos, aprendes, aprende

  3. Complete the sentence with a common -ER verb:

    • María ______ café por la mañana.
    • Los niños ______ pan con mantequilla.
    • Ustedes ______ muy bien.

    Answer pattern: bebe, comen, responden

-IR Verb Exercises

Regular -IR verbs use almost the same present-tense pattern as -ER verbs, but the nosotros and vosotros forms change slightly: -imos and -ís instead of -emos and -éis. That small difference is one of the easiest ways to tell the two groups apart.

  1. Conjugate “vivir” (to live) in the present tense:

    • Yo ______ (vivir)
    • Tú ______ (vivir)
    • Él/Ella ______ (vivir)
    • Nosotros ______ (vivir)
    • Vosotros ______ (vivir)
    • Ellos/Ellas ______ (vivir)

    Answer pattern: vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, vivís, viven

  2. Complete the sentences with the present tense of “escribir” (to write):

    • Yo ______ cartas a mis amigos.
    • Ellos ______ poemas bonitos.
    • Tú ______ en el cuaderno.

    Answer pattern: escribo, escriben, escribes

  3. Practice with another regular -IR verb:

    • Nosotros ______ en una casa pequeña.
    • La profesora ______ en la pizarra.
    • Vosotros ______ cerca del parque.

    Answer pattern: vivimos, escribe, vivís

-RE Verb Exercises (French example)

Since Spanish does not have regular -RE verbs like French, here is practice for French -RE verbs. In French, many common -RE verbs drop the final -e in the third person forms, and the spelling often changes more than Spanish learners expect, so paying attention to the full stem matters.

  1. Conjugate “vendre” (to sell) in present tense:

    • Je ______ (vendre)
    • Tu ______ (vendre)
    • Il/Elle ______ (vendre)
    • Nous ______ (vendre)
    • Vous ______ (vendre)
    • Ils/Elles ______ (vendre)

    Answer pattern: vends, vends, vend, vendons, vendez, vendent

  2. Fill in the blanks with correct present tense form of “attendre” (to wait):

    • Nous ______ le bus.
    • Tu ______ ta sœur.
    • Ils ______ au magasin.

    Answer pattern: attendons, attends, attendent

  3. Practice another common French -RE verb:

    • Je ______ la porte.
    • Vous ______ la vérité.
    • Elle ______ son ami.

    Answer pattern: ouvre, savez, répond

These exercises help practice regular verb conjugations in the present tense for -ER and -IR verbs in Spanish and -RE verbs in French to build strong foundational skills. 2, 7, 13

How to use these exercises

A useful practice routine is to say the full conjugation aloud before writing it down. Active recall works better than passive rereading because the learner has to retrieve the form, not just recognize it.

A simple sequence works well:

  1. Cover the answer patterns.
  2. Conjugate each verb from memory.
  3. Check the full subject-verb pair, not just the ending.
  4. Repeat with a new verb of the same type.

Common mistakes

A frequent Spanish error is mixing up -er and -ir endings in the nosotros and vosotros forms. For example, comemos and vivimos are both correct, but they do not share the same vowel in the ending.

Another common mistake is forgetting that French -RE verbs often require a stem change before the ending is added. In forms like vendons and vendent, the written stem stays visible, but the pronunciation may be less obvious than it looks on the page.

Quick self-check

A correct present-tense regular verb form should match three things at once:

  • the verb type (-ER, -IR, or -RE),
  • the subject (yo, tú, él/ella, etc.),
  • and the language being studied.

For short daily practice, five verbs per pattern are usually enough to build speed without losing accuracy.

References