lavar means: to launder, to wash
Click to see all conjugation charts of lavar in every tense

In this conjugation lesson we will see how to inflect the verb lavar in the Presente tense of the Indicativo mood. It means we will see step by step how to create and translate forms of each grammatical person.

This lesson is specifically about the lavar verb conjugation. For a general overview of all the Simple Tenses conjugation have a look at our Simple Tenses Conjugation Chart.

We also have a Video Presentation on how to conjugate verbs in Presente. It’s embedded below, but using the above link you may see more detailed information on conjugation in this tense as well as explanation of exceptions and special cases.

How to translate Presente to English

Note that the English phrases provided below next to each conjugation are not direct translations from Spanish to English. They are usually the closest general equivalents. The example differences are:

• In Spanish conjugation, there is the form usted in the third person singular. But this person does not translate to the English third person singular. It translates to the so called formal you and uses the inflected form which is most often represented as he/she/it in English conjugation charts.
• Similar situation happens in the third person plural, where ustedes translates to the English plural formal you but uses the form which corresponds to the they form in English.
• Tenses are used differently in Spanish and English, so the actual translation should always take into account the context and focus on translating the meaning, not just words.
• In both languages each verb may have multiple meanings and not every meaning translates directly to the other language. Here also, the context and focusing on the particular meaning helps to create the most accurate translation.

The Spanish Presente de Indicativo tense translates to one of the following:

• The English Present tense, for example:
  nosotras lavamos

  (feminine) we launder
• The English Present Progressive (also called Present Continuous) tense, for instance:
  hoy usted lava

  (formal) you are laundering today
  
  Note though, that the Spanish equivalent of the Present Progressive also exists and is in common use – that’s Presente Progresivo (or Presente Continuo).

Note the timeline

The ability to properly locate the desired position on the timeline is a crucial skill for proper choice of tenses. So pay attention to the timeline in our lessons and visualize it while speaking, listening, writing and reading. After a bit practice you will be able to select the right tense to use much easier.

Step by step instructions

Presente belongs to the simple tenses group, which means that all of its conjugated forms are one word long. There are also compound (compuesto) tenses in the Spanish language, where each inflected form consists of two words.The verb lavar has an entirely regular conjugation in the Presente tense of the Indicativo mood. It means that this verb follows the basic rules for its conjugation group (-ar) without any exceptions. The basis for the conjugation in this tense is the stem of the verb, so we begin by splitting the infinitive into a stem and an ending. It’s very easy to do. Just remove two letters from the end of the infinitive and you have the ending — one of -ar, -er or -ir. What’s left is the stem. So for our verb:

• the stem is: lav-
• and the ending is: -ar

Use the stem lav- in each subject as the basis for conjugation, the common prefix or root that each of the forms begins with. Next, add to this regular stem the endings specific to each person. See the image on the side showing all the six endings. Note the shapes and colors of the letters. It should help you find patterns and make it easier to remember these endings.Each grammatical person has a specific ending in each of the three conjugation groups -ar, -er, -ir. Add the regular ending -o for the first person singular to create lavo:

• yo lavo – I launder

Also as in the previous case add the regular ending -as for the second person singular to create lavas:

• tú lavas – you launder

Similarly add the regular ending -a for the third person singular to create lava:

• él lava – he launders
• ella lava – she launders
• usted lava – (formal) you launder

One more time add the regular ending -amos for the first person plural to create lavamos:

• nosotros lavamos – we launder
• nosotras lavamos – (feminine) we launder

And one more time add the regular ending -áis for the second person plural to create laváis:

• vosotros laváis – (plural) you launder
• vosotras laváis – (feminine, plural) you launder

And as before add the regular ending -an for the third person plural to create lavan:

• ellos lavan – they launder
• ellas lavan – (feminine) they launder
• ustedes lavan – (formal, plural) you launder

That’s it! The conjugation is now done. Put together, the conjugation chart looks like this:

yo	lavo	I launder
tú	lavas	you launder
él/ella/usted	lava	he/she/it launders
nosotros/nosotras	lavamos	we launder
vosotros/vosotras	laváis	you launder
ellos/ellas/ustedes	lavan	they launder

Click to see all conjugation charts of lavar in every tense
But do not end your session yet – it’s important to repeat and practice the material in order to remember it. Check below for suggestions.

Next Steps to Perfection To practice this conjugation and test your knowledge try this Conjugation Exercise or the Memory Game To see other conjugation lessons for this verb choose another tense: PretéritoImperfectoCondicionalFuturoPretérito Perfecto CompuestoPretérito PluscuamperfectoFuturo PerfectoCondicional PerfectoPretérito Perfecto Compuesto (subjuntivo)Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto A (subjuntivo)Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto B (subjuntivo)Futuro Perfecto (subjuntivo)  For exercises and examples related to lavar visit our Exercise section To see conjugation charts in all tenses for lavar visit the Conjugator To explore other learning materials visit the Study section

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