Spanish Infinitives: What They Are and How to Use Them

Spanish infinitives—also known as “dictionary form” verbs—are verbs that end in -er, -ar or -ir. They’re the verbs before the endings are removed and conjugated.

Aside from being how verbs appear in dictionaries, infinitives are also used in daily life. So today, we’ll uncover when and how to use them.

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What Are Spanish Infinitives?

Spanish infinitive verbs are the basic verb forms that you see listed in a dictionary before they have been conjugated.

The infinitive always informs us about an action, but in their original form, they don’t tell us any more information. 

Infinitive verbs in Spanish are the equivalent of an English verb preceded by to. For example: estudiar means “to study” in English. 

The 3 Types of Spanish Infinitives

In Spanish, infinitive verbs always end in -er, -ar or -ir.

For example:

• comer  — to eat
• hablar  — to speak
• vivir  — to live

It’s important to remember that infinitives by themselves tell us what the action is, but they don’t tell us who’s doing it or when they’re doing it (past, present, future, etc.).

If I want to say “I’m speaking,” for example, I would need to conjugate hablar in the present tense ( yo hablo ) or present progressive tense ( estoy hablando ).

Some verbs are regular and follow specific conjugation patterns. Others are irregular and have to be memorized separately.

Common Spanish Infinitives

Here are 10 of the most common -ir, -ar and -er Spanish infinitive verbs.

Common -ir Verbs

Spanish -ir Verbs	English Translation
Vivir	To live
Escribir *	To write
Abrir *	To open
Decidir	To decide
Describir *	To describe
Existir	To exist
Recibir	To receive
Permitir	To allow
Compartir	To share
Subir	To go up, to get on

*Note that escribir, abrir and describir are all regular -ir verbs, however they have irregular past participles escrito (escribir), abierto (abrir) and descrito (describir).

To learn more about -ir verbs, check out this guide:

Common -ar Verbs

Spanish -ar Verbs	English Translation
Hablar	To talk, to speak
Amar	To love
Llamar	To call
Descansar	To rest
Escuchar	To listen
Ayudar	To help
Esperar	To wait
Limpiar	To clean
Estudiar	To study
Bailar	To dance

Here’s a list of -ar verbs to learn more:

Common -er Verbs

Spanish -er Verbs	English Translation
Deber	To have to, to must, to owe
Beber	To drink
Comer	To eat
Aprender	To learn
Comprender	To understand
Correr	To run
Vender	To sell
Sorprender	To surprise
Prometer	To promise
Esconder	To hide

Click here for more -er verbs:

Common Irregular Verbs

Irregular Spanish Verbs	English Translation
Decir	To say
Ir	To go
Pedir	To ask for
Venir	To come
Dormir	To sleep
Oír	To hear
Estar	To be
Llegar	To arrive
Abrazar	To hug
Dar	To give
Gustar	To like
Pensar	To think
Ser	To be
Tener	To have
Hacer	To do, to make
Haber	To have, to be
Conocer	To know
Saber	To know
Querer	To want
Ver	To see

Here are more important irregular verbs to know:

When to Use Spanish Infinitives

1. After conjugated verbs

As you learn new verbs in Spanish, you’ll find that many of them can be followed by infinitives. Often, the English version of these infinitives translates as to + verb.

• Quiero comprar un billete. — I want to buy a ticket.
• Prefiero volar. — I prefer to fly.
• Odio bailar. — I hate dancing.
• No sé nadar.  — I don’t know how to swim.

You’ll also encounter many verbs that “go with” a preposition (a small word like a, en, etc.) and are then followed by an infinitive.

• Voy a comer.  — I’m going to eat.

• Empezamos a leer. — We’re starting to read.

• Acabo de estudiar. — I just studied.

• Estoy pensando en ir a México en julio. — I’m thinking of going to Mexico in July.

It’s best to learn such verbs as short phrases, along with their prepositions. The use of the preposition with each verb should feel automatic.

2. As nouns

Infinitives come in handy when you want to talk about an action in a general way.

In English, we would often use a gerund (a noun made from a verb ending in “-ing”) in such cases.

For example:

• Estudiar español es interesante. — Studying Spanish is interesting.

• Jugar al ajedrez es divertido. — Playing chess is fun.

• El saber proviene de la experiencia. — Knowing (wisdom) comes from experience.

In these cases, the infinitive is grammatically functioning as a noun and the subject of the sentence, that is, it’s the “thing” that’s performing an “action.”

You can use infinitives in this way when you’re making broad statements about what an action is like, or what it does.

You’ve probably also learned the phrase me gusta…, which means “I like…” or literally “… pleases me.”

You can use an infinitive in that blank to talk about actions that you like.

• Me gusta caminar. — I like to walk.

• Me gusta volar. — I like to fly.

• Me gusta leer. — I like to read.

What activities do you like to do? You can explain with the above constructions.

3. To express obligation

When somebody needs to do something, you can conjugate the verb tener (to have), then add the word que and an infinitive verb.

• Tenemos que irnos. — We have to go.

• Tengo que leer. — I have to read.

• Tienes que ser bueno. — You have to be good.

• Tenéis que ver eso. — You guys have to see that.

If you want to talk in a general way about some action needing to happen, you can use the construction hay + que + infinitive.

This can be kind of a sneaky way of saying that something needs to be taken care of without explicitly saying who should do it.

In English, we often rework such a sentence into the passive voice to express the idea.

• Hay que sacar la basura. — The trash needs to be taken out.

• Hay que limpiar la ventana.  — The window needs to be cleaned.

• Hay que bañarse. — A shower has to be taken.

4. After prepositions

Prepositions can of course also show up in Spanish without any verb before them. When you want to put a verb after the preposition, you’ll use the infinitive form.

Often, the English equivalent makes use of the “-ing” form of the verb instead. 

• Al hablar con ella, entendí todo. — Upon speaking with her, I understood everything.

• Gracias por escuchar. — Thanks for listening.

• Para sacar una buena nota, tienes que estudiar. — To get a good grade, you need to study.

5. In written signs

If you’ve learned the command forms (imperative mood) of verbs, you’ve probably wondered why there are written signs in Spanish without those forms.

You’re probably seeing signs that say things like:

• No fumar  — No smoking

• No tocar — Don’t touch

It’s true that in conversation you would say something like “¡No fumes!“ (Don’t smoke!) or “No toques eso” (Don’t touch that).

But it’s quite common to just use the infinitive on signs. This use is pretty easy to notice and recognize. It just expresses the general idea that the action of the verb shouldn’t be happening here.

How to Study Spanish Infinitive Verbs

The best way to get a feel for how infinitive verbs function in everyday speech and writing is to start seeing and hearing how they’re used in context.

If you want to see the infinitive in action, you can get a lot of helpful exposure from Spanish language literature and media.

You can even find videos of Spanish speakers on YouTube or other streaming services. The infinitive comes up frequently in conversations and dialogue.

If you’d like to use videos as a more focused learning method, FluentU is a language learning program that allows you to watch videos in Spanish made by and for native speakers.

The infinitive is probably the easiest verb form to learn just from exposure. You don’t have to learn conjugations—only how these words work in sentences and the syntax around them.

To further study infinitive verbs and how they can change based on the way they’re used, you could check out this video from the FluentU Spanish YouTube channel:

 

If you need a break from studying the hundreds of forms that Spanish conjugations can take, perhaps some work with these nice, plain infinitives will seem relaxing.

See if you can use them in some sample sentences like the ones above, and stay alert to such instances of -ar, -er and -ir endings in constructions as you continue your Spanish adventure.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)