Everyday verbs: 1–20 | Multilingual vocabulary

Hibiscus Teach · Multilingual vocabulary

Everyday verbs: 1–20

English · Español · Français · Italiano

A1–B2 · Explore by tense20 verbsChoose a few verbs

Created by , British English teacher.

Languages
Audio · All 20 verbs

Habits and states now. Listen to all the forms and an example in your chosen language.

Choose one picture. Click languages to show or hide them.

20 spaces

On a small screen, swipe across the comparison or select fewer languages above.

1bePresent

English

be

Present simple

Iam
you (sg.)are
he / she / itis
weare
you (pl.)are
theyare

I am a teacher.

Usage & form notes · be

English be has several uses. Spanish uses ser for identity and estar for states such as being ready. These examples describe Denis, so listo, prêt and pronto are masculine.

English core forms: be · was/were · been · being

Recordings are available for all 20 verbs in every mode.

Listen to everything · All 8 modes

Choose a language, close your eyes and listen. Each recording plays all 20 verbs through all eight modes in order.

Choose a language to begin.

Listening order: Present → Past events → Experiences & results → Past habits & states → Future → Past in progress → Earlier past → Imagined situations.

Present recordings · All 20 verbs

Listen in your chosen language

Each track reads all 20 verbs in the selected mode, including both meanings of be. English offers British and American versions. Spanish alternates Salome (Colombia) and Lia (Spain) by verb.

British English

Full MP3

American English

Full MP3

Choose a recording to begin.

How these comparisons work

Choose the meaning or time above. Each language shows its own grammatical form and an example with the same intended meaning. These are affirmative forms.

Past simple and present perfect: French passé composé and Italian passato prossimo can express both English patterns. This does not make their uses identical in every context. Spanish perfect usage also varies by region.

Continuing states: English “I have been ready for an hour” can correspond to Spanish “Llevo una hora listo”, French “Je suis prêt depuis une heure” and Italian “Sono pronto da un’ora”. A perfect form is not always the natural translation.

Past habits and actions in progress: French uses the imparfait for both. Spanish and Italian also use imperfect forms for habits and background; the progress examples here show estar/stare with a gerund.

Be: Identity and readiness are states. In Past in progress, the tables therefore show “was/were”, era/estaba, étais and ero, with a state example.

Have: These examples mean possession, a state. Past in progress therefore shows ordinary past forms: had, tenía, avais and avevo.

Agreement: French allé(e)(s) represents endings chosen for gender and number. Italian stato/a and andato/a are singular; stati/e and andati/e are plural. Examples with I use Denis as the speaker.

Go: English “has gone” means someone has left; “has been” normally describes a completed visit. The perfect example here uses “He has already gone to work”.

Study route: Begin with Present and Past events, then Experiences & results. Explore the remaining choices when comfortable. Levels and usage do not line up exactly across languages.

Audio: All eight modes have recordings for all 20 verbs. Each button reads the conjugations and example shown. Full MP3s follow the same order as the pictures, with both meanings of be. British and American English use matched wording. Spanish alternates Salome and Lia by verb, retaining that assignment across every mode.

Grammar references
Pronouns and useful language notes

English: You has the same form for one person and several people. He, she and it share one verb form.

Spanish: Usted is formal singular you. Ustedes is plural you throughout Latin America and formal plural in Spain. Vosotros/vosotras is informal plural in Spain. Vos is a regional singular you; its form is included below.

French: On uses the il/elle form, even when it means we. Vous means plural you or formal singular you.

Italian: Lei with a capital L is formal singular you and takes the lei form. Spanish and Italian often leave out subject pronouns.

Compact labels: sg. means singular; pl. means plural. Spanish Ud. means usted and Uds. means ustedes. Nosotros/as and vosotros/as include the masculine and feminine forms.

The tables show affirmative forms for the selected mode. In Present, English uses the present simple for habits; the other languages can also describe actions happening now. Here, play means playing an instrument. Spanish vos uses common Rioplatense present forms. In the other modes, the forms shown are commonly shared with tú; regional alternatives also exist.

Present practice · 6 questions

Choose one answer for each question, then read the feedback.

1. Which English verb means comer, manger and mangiare?

2. Complete the routine: She ___ to work.

3. Which Spanish sentence means I am ready, said by Denis?

4. Which Italian verb means play when the object is a guitar?

5. Which French form means we eat?

6. Which sentence uses the present simple to describe a habit?

Speak · Make the verbs yours

Choose English and one other language. Say a true sentence with I, then change it to he or she and we.

  • Identity: I am a…
  • Daily life: I go to… / I eat… / I run…
  • People and music: I talk to… / I play…

I am a teacher. I go to work. I talk to a friend.

Use the pictures, then repeat without reading. Listen again in any of the eight modes. Keep the meaning the same when you change languages.

Final challenge · Remember and compare
  1. Choose a few pictures, cover their words and name the actions in English.
  2. Say the matching verb in another language.
  3. Choose two verbs and make true present-tense sentences.
Reveal all 20 verbs

English: be, play, go, eat, talk, run, have, do, make, read, write, listen, watch, drink, work, study, buy, give, open, close.

Spanish: ser / estar, tocar, ir, comer, hablar, correr, tener, hacer, hacer, leer, escribir, escuchar, ver, beber, trabajar, estudiar, comprar, dar, abrir, cerrar.

French: être, jouer, aller, manger, parler, courir, avoir, faire, faire, lire, écrire, écouter, regarder, boire, travailler, étudier, acheter, donner, ouvrir, fermer.

Italian: essere, suonare, andare, mangiare, parlare, correre, avere, fare, fare, leggere, scrivere, ascoltare, guardare, bere, lavorare, studiare, comprare, dare, aprire, chiudere.

Can you explain why Spanish has two different verbs in the two be examples?

Explore more vocabulary

Original learning examples and generated picture scenes. Audio voices: Libby and Amanda (English), Salome (Colombian Spanish) and Lia (Spanish from Spain), Denise (French), Fabiola (Italian).