Present-Tense -er and -re Verbs in Catalan

In Brief

Catalan verbs ending in -er or -re belong to the second conjugation. A useful beginner pattern is perdo, perds, perd, perdem, perdeu, perden, but many common verbs alter their stem: bec but bevem, and veig but veiem. Learn the six forms of frequent verbs as a small family rather than assuming that every second-conjugation verb is completely regular.

Overview

The present indicative is the ordinary present-tense form used for facts, habits, and actions happening now. The indicative simply means the verb form used to present something as real or factual. This is an A1 topic because forms such as bec (“I drink”), correm (“we run”), and veus (“you see”) are needed in everyday conversation from the start.

Catalan infinitives—the dictionary forms of verbs—are traditionally divided into conjugations. Verbs in -er and -re, such as córrer (“to run”), perdre (“to lose”), beure (“to drink”), and veure (“to see”), make up the second conjugation. Unlike the large and relatively predictable -ar group, this group contains several common stem patterns. The stem is the main part of the verb that carries its meaning; in perdre, for example, the forms are built around perd-.

English usually requires an explicit subject such as “I,” “you,” or “we.” Catalan can omit the subject pronoun because the verb ending often identifies the person: Bec aigua already means “I drink water.” Pronouns such as jo and tu remain useful for emphasis or contrast, but they are not automatically required.

How It Works

The six grammatical persons

A Catalan present-tense paradigm has six forms. A paradigm is simply the complete set of forms for one verb.

Person	Subject pronoun	English equivalent
First-person singular	jo	I
Second-person singular	tu	you (one person, informal)
Third-person singular	ell, ella, vostè	he, she, you (formal)
First-person plural	nosaltres	we
Second-person plural	vosaltres	you (more than one person)
Third-person plural	ells, elles, vostès	they, you (formal plural)

The formal pronoun vostè takes the same verb form as ell and ella. Its plural vostès takes the same form as ells and elles.

The clearest model: perdre

For a straightforward verb such as perdre, remove the infinitive ending -re and use these forms:

Person	Ending	perdre (“to lose”)
jo	-o	perdo
tu	-s	perds
ell/ella/vostè	no added ending	perd
nosaltres	-em	perdem
vosaltres	-eu	perdeu
ells/elles/vostès	-en	perden

The cluster in perds may look unusual to an English speaker, but no extra vowel should be inserted in writing. Similarly, the third-person singular is simply perd, not perde.

The same endings are visible in many second-conjugation verbs, although spelling or stem shape may change. The plural forms -em and -eu are especially useful anchors: perdem, perdeu; correm, correu; bevem, beveu.

An -er model: córrer

The infinitive córrer ends in -er, but its present forms use the stem corr-:

Person	córrer (“to run”)
jo	corro
tu	corres
ell/ella/vostè	corre
nosaltres	correm
vosaltres	correu
ells/elles/vostès	corren

Notice two things. First, the accent written in the infinitive córrer does not appear in the conjugated forms. A written accent marks stress where Catalan spelling rules require it; it is not part of a permanent stem that must appear everywhere. Second, corres and corre contain a vowel before the ending, unlike perds and perd. This is why memorizing a representative verb is more reliable than applying one mechanical deletion rule to every -er/-re infinitive.

A common changing pattern: beure

Beure is frequent and important, but it does not keep one unchanged written stem throughout the paradigm.

Person	beure (“to drink”)
jo	bec
tu	beus
ell/ella/vostè	beu
nosaltres	bevem
vosaltres	beveu
ells/elles/vostès	beuen

The first-person singular has -c: bec. The first- and second-person plural have v: bevem, beveu. The remaining forms use beu-. These are not optional spelling variants; each belongs to a particular person.

A practical way to learn the pattern is in three chunks:

• bec
• beus, beu, beuen
• bevem, beveu

Veure: similar shapes, but a different first person

Veure partly resembles beure, but its first-person singular must be learned separately.

Person	veure (“to see”)
jo	veig
tu	veus
ell/ella/vostè	veu
nosaltres	veiem
vosaltres	veieu
ells/elles/vostès	veuen

Compare bec with veig, and bevem with veiem. The other three forms—veus, veu, veuen—are easy to recognize once you know beus, beu, beuen, but the two verbs are not interchangeable templates.

Escriure: another high-frequency family

The verb escriure (“to write”) shows why the second conjugation is best learned through complete paradigms.

Person	escriure (“to write”)
jo	escric
tu	escrius
ell/ella/vostè	escriu
nosaltres	escrivim
vosaltres	escriviu
ells/elles/vostès	escriuen

Here the plural forms are escrivim and escriviu, not forms in -em/-eu. This pattern belongs to a group of verbs in -iure. At beginner level, the useful conclusion is not a long historical rule: it is that the infinitive tells you the conjugation group, but it does not always predict every present-tense vowel.

Statements, negatives, and questions

Catalan does not need an auxiliary equivalent to English “do” or “does” in present-tense negatives and questions.

Function	Catalan pattern	Example
Statement	conjugated verb	Beus cafè. — You drink coffee.
Negative	no + conjugated verb	No beus cafè. — You do not drink coffee.
Question	conjugated verb + question intonation	Beus cafè? — Do you drink coffee?

This differs sharply from English. Do not translate “Do you see it?” word by word with a separate verb meaning “do”: Catalan simply says Ho veus?

Examples in Context

Catalan	English	Note
Jo bec aigua.	I drink water.	Bec is the first-person singular of beure.
Beus cafè al matí?	Do you drink coffee in the morning?	A question needs no equivalent of English “do.”
La Marta beu te sense sucre.	Marta drinks tea without sugar.	Third-person singular: beu.
Bevem molta aigua quan fa calor.	We drink a lot of water when it is hot.	The subject pronoun is naturally omitted.
Ell perd les claus sovint.	He often loses the keys.	Third-person singular of perdre: perd.
No perdo mai el bitllet.	I never lose the ticket.	No comes before the conjugated verb.
Perdeu molt de temps en el trànsit.	You all lose a lot of time in traffic.	Perdeu addresses more than one person.
Nosaltres correm cada matí.	We run every morning.	A habitual action in the present.
Els nens corren pel parc.	The children run through the park.	Third-person plural of córrer.
Tu veus la muntanya?	Do you see the mountain?	Veus is informal singular “you see.”
Des d'aquí no veiem el mar.	From here we cannot see the sea.	Literally “we do not see the sea.”
Veieu aquella casa blanca?	Do you all see that white house?	Plural “you”: veieu.
Escric un missatge a la meva germana.	I am writing a message to my sister.	The simple present can describe an action happening now.
Els estudiants escriuen en català.	The students write in Catalan.	Third-person plural of escriure.
Vostè corre cada dia?	Do you run every day?	Formal singular vostè takes the third-person form.

Common Mistakes

Treating every -er/-re verb as perfectly regular

• Wrong: Jo beuo aigua.
• Right: Jo bec aigua.
• Why: Beure changes its stem. Its first-person singular is bec, not a form made by simply adding -o to beu-.

Using the wrong stem in the plural

• Wrong: Nosaltres beuem aigua.
• Right: Nosaltres bevem aigua.
• Why: The first-person plural uses bev- in bevem. Reserve beu- for beus, beu, and beuen.

Copying beure when conjugating veure

• Wrong: Jo vec la muntanya.
• Right: Jo veig la muntanya.
• Why: Although beure and veure have several similar forms, their first-person singular forms are bec and veig respectively.

Adding English do or does to a question

• Wrong: Fas tu veus la muntanya?
• Right: Veus la muntanya?
• Why: Catalan forms an ordinary yes/no question with the conjugated verb and question intonation. It has no direct counterpart to auxiliary “do” here.

Using an infinitive after the subject

• Wrong: Nosaltres córrer cada matí.
• Right: Nosaltres correm cada matí.
• Why: The infinitive córrer means “to run.” A finite verb—a verb marked for a subject and tense—is required in the sentence.

Forcing a subject pronoun into every sentence

• Less natural without emphasis: Jo bec aigua i jo escric un missatge.
• More natural: Bec aigua i escric un missatge.
• Why: Catalan verb forms normally make the subject clear. Use jo when it adds contrast, as in Jo bec aigua, però ell beu cafè (“I drink water, but he drinks coffee”).

Usage Notes

One present tense covers several English meanings

The Catalan simple present can correspond to more than one English construction:

• Corro cada dia. — “I run every day.”
• Ara corro cap a l'estació. — “I am running to the station now.”
• Demà correm al parc. — “We are running in the park tomorrow.”

Context words such as cada dia (“every day”), ara (“now”), and demà (“tomorrow”) clarify the meaning. Catalan also has progressive constructions, but English speakers often overuse them because English strongly favors “be + -ing” for an action in progress. The simple Catalan present is frequently enough.

Pronouns add contrast, not just identity

Compare Bec te with Jo bec te. Both can mean “I drink tea,” but the second may imply “I, for my part, drink tea” or contrast with someone else. This makes pronoun omission more than a shortcut: choosing to state the pronoun can change the focus of the sentence.

Forms vary, but the standard paradigms are shared

Pronunciation differs across Catalan-speaking regions, especially in unstressed vowels. The written standard forms in the tables remain useful across varieties. As a beginner, learn the spelling and listen to the variety you encounter rather than trying to make every regional pronunciation sound identical.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master all second-conjugation families at A1, but you will meet many more irregular verbs in this group. Some have a velar consonant—a c or g sound appearing in parts of the paradigm—as in bec, escric, and conec (“I know/am acquainted with”). Others alternate vowels or consonants between singular and plural forms. These patterns can also affect later forms such as the subjunctive (a verb form often used for wishes, doubt, or non-factual situations) and the past participle (a form used in compound tenses).

A useful advanced distinction is between a truly predictable ending and a recurring verb family. For example, prendre (“to take”) has prenc, prens, pren, prenem, preneu, prenen. Its forms resemble some parts of other second-conjugation verbs, but learning prendre as its own family prevents false analogies. The same principle applies to conèixer (“to know or be acquainted with”) and other frequent verbs.

Also remember that a present form does not always describe present time. Like English, Catalan can use the present for scheduled or arranged future events: Demà bevem un cafè? can mean “Shall we have a coffee tomorrow?” In narratives and lively summaries, an advanced writer may also use the historical present, describing a past event with present forms to make it feel immediate. Context—not the form alone—supplies the time reference in these uses.

For now, keep the beginner system simple:

1. Recognize -er/-re verbs as the second conjugation.
2. Use perdre and córrer as basic reference patterns.
3. Memorize the complete present paradigms of very common changing verbs, especially beure and veure.
4. Expect later second-conjugation verbs to belong to recurring families rather than one perfectly uniform rule.

Practice Tips

1. Learn forms in contrasts. Say bec–bevem, veig–veiem, and escric–escrivim. Pairing the first-person singular with the first-person plural makes stem changes easier to notice and remember.
2. Build a six-line mini-paradigm. For one verb each day, write the six subject pronouns and forms, then cover the forms and reproduce them. Start with perdre, córrer, beure, and veure before adding new verbs.
3. Turn one sentence into three. Begin with Beus cafè. Make it negative (No beus cafè) and then a question (Beus cafè?). This practises Catalan structure without importing English “do/does.”

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Subject Pronouns — learn who the six verb forms refer to and when Catalan omits the pronoun.
• Related pattern: Present Tense: -ar Verbs — compare the more regular first-conjugation endings with this varied group.
• Next step: Present Tense: -ir Verbs — complete the basic overview of Catalan present-tense conjugations.
• Next step: Common Irregular Verbs — study other essential present forms that cannot be predicted from the infinitive alone.