Understanding Regular Verbs in Galician Grammar
In Galician grammar, regular verbs play a crucial role in conveying actions and events. As a starting point, it is essential to familiarize oneself with the three verb conjugations, how they function within sentences, and their vital inflections.
Three Verb Conjugations: -AR, -ER, and -IR
Galician verbs are divided into three main conjugations, distinguished by their infinitive endings: -AR, -ER, and -IR. To comprehend the structure of regular verbs, one must first identify the verb conjugation it belongs to.
-AR Conjugation
The first conjugation, -AR, contains a vast majority of Galician regular verbs. Some common examples are:
– falar (to speak)
– amar (to love)
– estudar (to study)
-ER Conjugation
The second conjugation, -ER, also contains several regular verbs such as:
– comer (to eat)
– correr (to run)
– aprender (to learn)
-IR Conjugation
The third and final conjugation, -IR, includes verbs like:
– abrir (to open)
– descubrir (to discover)
– cumprir (to fulfill)
Basic Inflections: Person, Number, Tense, and Mood
Regular verbs in Galician grammar change or inflect to agree with the subject in person (first, second, or third), number (singular or plural), tense (present, past, or future), and mood (indicative, subjunctive, or imperative).
Indicative Mood
The indicative mood is employed to state facts or express certainty about actions. The present, past, and future tenses are inflected differently for each conjugation:
Present Indicative
-AR: falo, falas, fala, falamos, falades, falan
-ER: como, comes, come, comemos, comedes, comen
-IR: abro, abres, abre, abrimos, abrides, abren
Past Indicative
-AR: falei, falaches, falou, falamos, falastes, falaron
-ER: comin, comiches, comeu, comemos, comestes, comeron
-IR: abrin, abriches, abriu, abrimos, abristes, abriron
Future Indicative
-AR: falarei, falarás, falará, falaremos, falaredes, falarán
-ER: comerei, comerás, comerá, comeremos, comeredes, comerán
-IR: abrire, abrirás, abrirá, abriremos, abrides, abrirán
Subjunctive Mood
Regular verbs in the subjunctive mood represent actions with uncertainty, doubt, or desire.
Present Subjunctive
-AR: fale, fales, fale, falemos, fale, falem
-ER: coma, comas, coma, comamos, come, coman
-IR: abra, abras, abra, abramos, abrades, abran
Past Subjunctive
-AR: falase, falases, falase, falasemos, falasedes, falasen
-ER: comes, comieses, themes, comiesemos, comiesedes, comiesen
-IR: abrise, abrisess, abrise, abrisemos, abrisedes, abrisen
Imperative Mood
The imperative mood is used for commands or requests.
-AR: fala, falade
-ER: come, comede
-IR: abre, abride
Conclusion
Mastering the use of regular verbs in Galician grammar requires understanding the three primary conjugations and their respective inflections for person, number, tense, and mood. A strong foundation in these areas will enable effective communication and enhance language proficiency.