Regular verb conjugation
| Person | Present | Preterit | Imperfect | Future | Conditional | Present Subjunctive |
| yo | hablo | hablé | hablaba | hablaré | hablaría | hable |
| tú | hablas | hablaste | hablabas | hablarás | hablarías | hables |
| él, ella, Ud. | habla | habló | hablaba | hablará | hablaría | hable |
| nosotros | hablamos | hablamos | hablábamos | hablaremos | hablaríamos | hablemos |
| vosotros | habláis | hablasteis | hablábais | hablaréis | hablaríais | habléis |
| ellos, ellas, Uds. | hablan | hablaron | hablaban | hablarán | hablarían | hablen |
-er and -ir verbs (beber [to drink]; subir [to go up])
| Person | Present | Preterit | Imperfect | Future | Conditional | Present Subjunctive |
| yo | bebo
subo |
bebí
subí |
bebía
subía |
beberé
subiré |
bebería
subiría |
beba
suba |
| tú | bebes
subes |
bebiste
subiste |
bebías
subías |
beberás
subirás |
beberías
subirías |
bebas
subas |
| él, ella, Ud. | bebe
sube |
bebió
subió |
bebía
subía |
beberá
subirá |
bebería
subiría |
beba
suba |
| nosotros | bebemos
subimos |
bebimos
subimos |
bebíamos
subíamos |
beberemos
subiremos |
beberíamos
subiríamos |
bebamos
subamos |
| vosotros | bebéis
subís |
bebisteis
subisteis |
bebíais
subíais |
beberéis
subiréis |
beberíais
subiríais |
bebáis
subáis |
| ellos, ellas, Uds. | beben
suben |
bebieron
subieron |
bebían
subían |
beberán
subirán |
beberían
subirían |
beban
suban |
High-frequency irregular verbs (present tense only)
| Infinitive | yo | tú | él, ella, Ud. | nosotros | vosotros | ellos, ellas, Uds. |
| dar (to give) | doy | das | da | damos | dáis | dan |
| decir (to say) | digo | dices | dice | decimos | decís | dicen |
| estar (to be) | estoy | estás | está | estamos | estáis | están |
| hacer (to do) | hago | haces | hace | hacemos | hacéis | hacen |
| ir (to go) | voy | vas | va | vamos | vais | van |
| poder (to be able to) | puedo | puedes | puede | podemos | podéis | pueden |
| poner (to put) | pongo | pones | pone | ponemos | ponéis | ponen |
| querer (to want) | quiero | quieres | quiere | queremos | queréis | quieren |
| saber (to know) | sé | sabes | sabe | sabemos | sabéis | saben |
| ser (to be) | soy | eres | es | somos | sois | son |
| tener (to have) | tengo | tienes | tiene | tenemos | tenéis | tienen |
| venir (to come) | vengo | vienes | viene | venimos | venís | vienen |
| ver (to see) | veo | ves | ve | vemos | veis | ven |
Parts of speech
- A noun is a part of speech that refers to a person, place, thing, quality, idea, or action.
- A verb is a part of speech that shows action or a state of being. A transitive verb requires a direct object to complete its meaning. An intransitive verb does not have an object.
- An adjective modifies a noun.
- Demonstrative adjectives express this, that, these, and those.
- Possessive adjectives indicate that something belongs to a specific An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
- A preposition shows the relation of a noun to some other word in the sentence.
- A pronoun is a part of speech that is used instead of a noun.
- A subject pronoun is followed by the verb expressing the main action in the sentence. These pronouns include I, you, he, she, it, we, and they.
- Interrogative pronouns ask a question (who, which, what, and so on).
- Direct object pronouns replace direct object nouns and answer who or what the subject is acting upon.
- Indirect object pronouns replace indirect object nouns and explain to or for whom something is done.
- Reflexive pronouns show that the subject is acting upon itself.
Forming gerunds
A gerund is usually equivalent to an English present participle — the verb form ending in –ing — and is used in the Spanish progressive tenses.
Spanish gerunds generally follow forms of the verb estar (to be), seguir (to continue [on]), continuar (to continue) and other verbs of motion to show that an action or event is, was, or will be continuing or in progress at a particular time.
A gerund may also be used to express “by” followed by an English present participle.
Forming gerunds of regular verbs
| Ending | Verb Example | Meaning | Gerund | Meaning |
| -ar | bailar | to dance | bailando | dancing |
| -er | comer | to eat | comiendo | eating |
| -ir | abrir | to open | abriendo | opening |
Forming gerunds of -er or -ir verbs ending in a vowel
| Verb Example | Meaning | Gerund | Meaning |
| caer | to fall | cayendo | dancing |
| leer | to read | leyendo | reading |
| oír | to hear | oyendo | hearing |
| traer | to bring | trayendo | bringing |
Forming commands (the imperative) of regular verbs
You use commands to tell someone (or something) what to do. Remember that the subject of a command is understood to be “you.”
The imperative of regular verbs
| Person | -ar Verbs | -er Verbs | -ir Verbs |
| mirar (to look [at], watch) | correr (to run) | partir (to leave) | |
| Ud. | Mire. (Look.) | Corra. (Run.) | Parta. (Leave.) |
| No mire. (Don’t look.) | No corra. (Don’t run.) | No parta. (Don’t leave.) | |
| Uds. | Miren. (Look.) | Corran. (Run.) | Partan. (Leave.) |
| No miren. (Don’t look.) | No corran. (Don’t run.) | No partan. (Don’t leave.) | |
| tú | Mira. (Look.) | Corre. (Run.) | Parte. (Leave.) |
| No mires. (Don’t look.) | No corras. (Don’t run.) | No partas. (Don’t leave.) | |
| vosotros | Mirad. (Look.) | Corred. (Run.) | Partid. (Leave.) |
| No miréis. (Don’t look.) | No corráis. (Don’t run.) | No partáis. (Don’t leave.) |
Asking for information
When you want to ask for information in Spanish, you’ll more than likely use one of the following words/phrases:
| ¿cuánto(s)? ¿cuánta(s)? | How much/many? |
| ¿cómo? | How? |
| ¿cuándo? | When? |
| ¿dónde? | Where? |
| ¿adónde? | (To) where? |
| ¿por qué? | Why? (for what reason) |
| ¿para qué? | Why? (for what purpose) |
| ¿quién(es)? | Who? |
| ¿a quién? | (To) whom? |
| ¿de quién? | Whose? |
| ¿cuál(es)? | What? Which one(s)? |
| ¿qué? | What? |