Present Tense - El Presente

		compr	ar		beb	er		viv	ir
yo tú él/ella/Ud. nosotros, -as vosotros, -as ellos/ellas/Uds.		compr compr compr compr compr compr	o as a amos áis an		beb beb beb beb beb beb	o es e emos éis en		viv viv viv viv viv viv	o es e imos ís en

Useful examples

Hablo inglés y francés
I speak English and French

¿Quieres tomar algo?
Do you want something to drink?

¿Estudias o trabajas?
Do you study or work?

Viven y trabajan en Londres
They live and work in London

Llegamos el lunes
We arrive on Monday

Mi tren sale a las siete
My train leaves at seven

Nunca salimos
We never go out

No conducen nunca por Madrid
They never drive in Madrid

¿Qué haces esta noche?
What are you doing tonight?

Salimos a las nueve
We are leaving at nine

Te veo mañana
I'll see you tomorrow

¿Bailamos?
Shall we dance?

¿A que hora quedamos y donde?
When and where shall we meet?

The simple present can express events started in the past and are still going on when used in conjunction with "desde" (since), "hace + time expression + que", "desde hace" (for) Eg:

Vivimos en Barcelona desde enero
We have lived in Barcelona since January

Hace días que no te veo
I haven’t seen you for days

Soy vegetariano desde hace un mes
I have been a vegetarian for a month

The verb "llevar"

The verb "llevar", which normally means "to bring / to carry", is also used in the present tense to speak about situations that started in the past and are still continuing or have just finished.

Este museo lleva cerrado cinco años
This museum has been closed for five years

¿Cuánto tiempo llevas aquí?
How long have you been here?

Llevo 5 horas esperándote
I've been waiting for you for 5 hours

The verb "acabar"

The verb "acabar", which normally means "to end / to finish", is also used in the present tense (followed by the preposition "de" + infinitive) to talk about an action that started in the past and stopped recently.

Acabo de despertarme
I have just woken up

Acabamos de llegar
We've just arrived

Acaba de terminar
He has just finished