sirven

Sirven is the third-person plural present indicative form of the Spanish verb servir, meaning they serve. It is used with subject pronouns such as ellos, ellas, or ustedes, the latter in most Spanish-speaking regions when addressing a group. The form also appears in phrases where the subject is a plural noun, for example: Los camareros sirven la comida; ellos sirven muchas mesas.

Grammatical notes indicate that servir is a stem-changing verb in the present tense. In the present indicative, the stem changes from e to i in all forms except nosotros and vosotros. Thus the full present tense forms are: yo sirvo, tú sirves, él sirve, nosotros servimos, vosotros servís, ellos sirven. This pattern is typical of many -ir verbs with a similar e→i change.

Common uses of sirven include describing actions of distributing or presenting items, provisioning food or drink, or providing a service. It can also express usefulness, as in the construction sirve para + infintive, meaning “it is useful for” or “it serves to.” Examples: ¿Qué sirven estas tartenos? (What do these serve for?) or Este cuchillo sirve para cortar pan (This knife is good for cutting bread).

Etymology traces sirvan back to the Latin verb servire, related to serving, providing, or being useful. In modern Spanish, servir remains a frequent, versatile verb with multiple meanings depending on context, from waiter service to functionality.