Spanish verbs generally act the same as English verbs. Most involve action (play, sing, do, make, eat, go, etc...) and some serve other functions like describing a state of being (I am, I have, etc..)
Verbs DO NOT have anything to do with the male / female distictions that Spanish adjectives and adverbs have. The third person single (he or she) has the same ending no matter if it is a man or woman. For example "ella camina (she walks) and "el camina" (he walks) have the same verb, namely "camina". The "a" at the end has nothing to do with being male or female.
Bellow you will find some common verbs that are a little bit, well strange for most English-speaking people!
Estar
This version of the verb "to be" is used when you are talking about an event in a place or being in a place or anything to do with location. For example:
Yo estoy en la casa (I am in the house)
Donde esta usted? (Where are you?)
Estar can also be used when you want to use the verb "be" in a temporary sense. For example:
Yo estoy feliz (I am happy)[right now, anyway!]
Ella esta triste (She is sad) [temporarily we hope]
There are other uses for Estar, such as the auxiliary verb when using the present progressive tense, but that's a different story.
Ser
This is the second form of the verb to be. It is used when you are talking about permanent-type stuff. For example:
La casa es roja (The house is red)[and not going to change anytime soon!]
El es guapo (he is handsome)[permanent unless he falls down some stairs]
Yo soy de Canada (I am from Canada)[permanently]
La computadora es de Juan (the computer is Juan's)[for the foreseeable future]
Tomar
Tomar means "to take", but take what? Like English you can use tomar to mean "take a class" or "take a walk" or "take a job. In Spanish, you can also use it like you would use the verb "drink" in English. Here are some examples:
Yo tomo te (I drink tea)
El toma el bus a trabajar (He takes the bus to work)
Ella no toma cerveza (she doesn't drink beer)
Hacer
The classic "to do" or "to make" verb. Spanish-speakers go crazy trying to learn this one in English. Fortunately it is easier for us - just about anywhere you would use the verb "do" or "make" you can substitute have. For example:
Yo hago la cena (I make dinner)
El hace su tarea (He does his homework)
Que hace aqui? (What are you doing here?)
Haber
This verb has one very specific use. Namely, in the third person "hay" it means "there is" OR "there are". Examples:
Hay dos platos (there are two plates)
Cuantos perros hay? (how many dogs are there?)
Que hay de nuevo? (what is there that's new - basically "what's new")
Tener
Tener means "to have" and is used similarly to English both when you want to say you "have" something, and when you want to say you "have to do something". For example:
Yo tengo que ir (I have to go)
El edificio tiene dos pisos (the building has two floors)
Ellos tienen mucho dinero (they [all men] have much money!)
No tengo nada (I don't have anything)
