Welcome to Unit 3 — Daily Life! In this first lesson, you'll learn to talk about your morning routine using regular -ar verbs. By the end, you'll be able to describe what you do each morning, from waking up to heading out. These are the verbs you'll use every day to talk about real life, so let's jump in!
Learning tips
- Regular -ar verbs are the most common verb type in Spanish — master these endings and you'll conjugate hundreds of verbs.
- Focus on the yo and tú forms first, since those are what you'll use most in conversation.
- Try describing your own morning routine out loud using the new verbs.
- Notice that 'levantarse' is a reflexive verb — you'll learn more about these in lesson 3.4.
Warm-up & Active Recall
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| mi | my |
| tu | your (informal) |
| su | his/her/your (formal) |
| nuestro | our (m.) |
| nuestra | our (f.) |
| la casa | the house |
| el carro | the car |
| el libro | the book |
| la cosa | the thing |
| nuevo | new |
Dialog
In this dialog, Andrés describes his typical morning in Bogotá. Notice how regular -ar verbs change their endings based on who is doing the action: 'hablo' (I speak), 'habla' (she speaks). The word 'siempre' (always) tells us this is a habitual routine. 'Tomar café' literally means 'to take coffee' — the most common way to say 'to have/drink coffee' in Latin America.
Vocabulary
Active words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| levantarse | /le.βanˈtaɾ.se/ | to get up, to wake up | Reflexive verb — 'me levanto' means 'I get up' |
| desayunar | /de.sa.ʝuˈnaɾ/ | to have breakfast | A single verb that means 'to eat breakfast' |
| la mañana | /la maˈɲa.na/ | the morning | Used with 'por la mañana' to mean 'in the morning' |
| temprano | /temˈpɾa.no/ | early | Opposite of 'tarde' (late) |
| tarde | /ˈtaɾ.ðe/ | late | Can also mean 'afternoon' as a noun (la tarde) |
| hablar | /aˈβlaɾ/ | to speak, to talk | Regular -ar verb — one of the most useful verbs in Spanish |
| caminar | /ka.miˈnaɾ/ | to walk | Regular -ar verb — 'camino al trabajo' means 'I walk to work' |
| tomar | /toˈmaɾ/ | to take, to drink, to have | Very versatile — 'tomar café' (have coffee), 'tomar el bus' (take the bus) |
| el café | /el kaˈfe/ | the coffee | Colombia is famous for its coffee — 'tinto' is a common word for black coffee in Colombia |
| siempre | /ˈsjem.pɾe/ | always | Adverb of frequency — usually placed before or after the verb |
Passive words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| despertar | /des.peɾˈtaɾ/ | to wake (someone) up | Non-reflexive form — 'despertar a alguien' means 'to wake someone up' |
| el despertador | /el des.peɾ.taˈðoɾ/ | the alarm clock | Literally 'the awakener' |
| la ducha | /la ˈdu.tʃa/ | the shower | The noun — 'ducharse' is the verb 'to shower' |
| el pan | /el ˈpan/ | the bread | A staple at Colombian breakfasts, often as 'pan de bono' or 'arepa' |
| la leche | /la ˈle.tʃe/ | the milk | Common in breakfast — 'café con leche' is coffee with milk |
| rápido | /ˈra.pi.ðo/ | fast, quick | Can be used as adjective or adverb |
Useful chunks
| Word | Translation |
|---|---|
| por la mañana | in the morning |
| me levanto | I get up |
Grammar: Present tense of regular -ar verbs
| Pronoun | hablar | caminar | tomar |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablo | camino | tomo |
| tú | hablas | caminas | tomas |
| él/ella/usted | habla | camina | toma |
| nosotros/as | hablamos | caminamos | tomamos |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hablan | caminan | toman |
Regular -ar verbs are the largest group of verbs in Spanish. To conjugate them in the present tense, remove the -ar ending and add the appropriate ending for each person.
For 'hablar' (to speak): habl + o = hablo (I speak), habl + as = hablas (you speak), habl + a = habla (he/she speaks), habl + amos = hablamos (we speak), habl + an = hablan (they speak).
This same pattern works for 'caminar' (to walk), 'tomar' (to take/drink), 'desayunar' (to have breakfast), and hundreds of other -ar verbs.
The endings are: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -an. Notice that 'yo' always ends in -o, and 'tú' always ends in -as for -ar verbs.
Tip: In Latin America, 'ustedes' is used for both formal and informal 'you all' — there is no 'vosotros' form.
Exercises
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each sentence by conjugating the verb in parentheses.
- Yo por la mañana. (hablar)(yo form of hablar)
- Ella al trabajo. (caminar)(ella form of caminar)
- Nosotros café. (tomar)(nosotros form of tomar)
- Tú temprano. (desayunar)(tú form of desayunar)
- Ellos español. (hablar)(ellos form of hablar)
Grammar Application
Conjugate the verb for the given pronoun.
- yo + caminar → (remove -ar, add -o)
- tú + hablar → (remove -ar, add -as)
- ella + tomar → (remove -ar, add -a)
- nosotros + desayunar → (remove -ar, add -amos)
- ustedes + caminar → (remove -ar, add -an)
Translation (English → Spanish)
Translate each sentence into Spanish.
- I speak Spanish.
- She walks to work.
- We have coffee in the morning.
- You have breakfast early.
- I always get up early.
Creative Construction
Describe a morning routine using at least 3 verbs from this lesson. Use complete sentences.
Takeaway
Regular -ar verbs follow a simple pattern: remove -ar and add -o (yo), -as (tú), -a (él/ella), -amos (nosotros), -an (ellos). This pattern works for hundreds of Spanish verbs!