⇒ The infinitive (el infinitivo) is the most basic form of a Spanish verb.
⇒ Verbs in the infinitive form are not conjugated and do not indicate anything about who is performing an action or at what point in time the action is taking place.
⇒ In English, infinitive verbs are preceded by the word to, as in to speak, to read, or to write.
⇒ In Spanish, infinitives are only one word and end in either -ar, -er, or -ir, as in hablar, leer, and escribir.
⇒ Many verb tenses use a form of the infinitive as the stem to which verb conjugation endings are attached. In general, for regular verbs, you simply need to remove the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, or -ir) to find the stem, and then you can the add specific endings needed to give tense/subject information.
⇒ Verbs that end in -ar are more common than -er and -ir verbs.
⇒ There are also fewer irregular -ar verbs than -er or -ir verbs.
⇒ Here are some examples of common -ar infinitives and their stems.
| Infinitive | Definition | Stem |
|---|---|---|
| buscar | to look for | busc- |
| cantar | to sing | cant- |
| comprar | to buy | compr- |
| escuchar | to listen to | escuch- |
| extrañar | to miss/to yearn for | extrañ- |
| hablar | to speak | habl- |
| llamar | to call | llam- |
| llenar | to fill | llen- |
| llevar | to carry | llev- |
| mirar | to watch | mir- |
| visitar | to visit | visit- |
⇒ Verbs that end in -er are the second-largest group of infinitives in Spanish. Here are some examples of common -er infinitives and their stems.
| Infinitive | Definition | Stem |
|---|---|---|
| beber | to drink | beb- |
| comer | to eat | com- |
| comprender | to understand | comprend- |
| correr | to run | corr- |
| creer | to believe | cre- |
| deber | to owe | deb- |
| leer | to read | le- |
| meter | to put into | met- |
| romper | to break | romp- |
| vender | to sell | vend- |
⇒ Verbs that end in -ir are the smallest group of Spanish infinitives. Here are some examples of common -ir infinitives and their stems.
| Infinitive | Definition | Stem |
|---|---|---|
| abrir | to open | abr- |
| asistir | to attend | asist- |
| cubrir | to to cover | cubr- |
| escribir | to write | escrib- |
| incluir | to include | inclu- |
| pedir | to order | ped- |
| permitir | to allow | permit- |
| recibir | to put receive | recib- |
| servir | to serve | serv- |
| vivir | to live | viv- |
⇒ Want to learn more about Spanish infinitives? Check out our articles on infinitives used as nouns and infinitive commands.