Infinitives in Spanish

Introduction

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.

Verb Stems

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.

-ar Verbs

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-

-er Verbs

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-

-ir Verbs

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.