Spanish Tenses and Moods (Video Notes) - Vocabulary Flashcards

Key terms and their concise definitions covering all major Spanish tenses, moods, periphrasis, and related concepts from the notes.

Presente (present tense)

Used to describe actions happening now, habitual actions, and factual states; can also point to near-future events with time markers.

Pretérito Perfecto (present perfect)

Formed with haber + past participle; describes actions completed in a time period that includes the present or have relevance to the present.

Pretérito Indefinido (simple past)

Completed actions in the past with no direct influence on the present.

Pretérito Imperfecto (past imperfect)

Past description of background, habitual actions, or ongoing situations in the past.

Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto (past perfect)

Had + participle; action completed before another past action.

Pretérito Anterior (past anterior)

Literary tense for an action that occurred immediately before another past action; rarely used.

Futuro (future simple)

Actions to happen in the future; regular and irregular stems depending on the verb.

Futuro Perfecto (future perfect)

Will have + participle; actions that will be completed by a certain future moment.

Condicional Simple (conditional)

Would; used for hypothetical situations, polite requests, and wishes.

Condicional Compuesto (conditional perfect)

Would have + participle; refers to past actions that would have occurred under different conditions.

Progressive (estar + gerundio)

Verbal periphrasis that describes actions in progress; estar conjugated + gerund.

Gerundio (gerund)

The -ando / -iendo form; used for progressive aspect and can function as a noun in Spanish.

Participio (participle)

Past participle; endings -ado / -ido; used with haber to form perfect tenses; many irregulars exist.

Irregular participles

Participles with irregular forms (e.g., abrir→abierto; decir→dicho; hacer→hecho).

Regular present tense endings (-ar, -er, -ir)

Conjugation patterns: -ar: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an; -er: -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en; -ir: -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en.

Stem-changing present verbs (e → ie, o → ue, e → i)

Some -e/ -o endings change in the present (e.g., pensar/poder/pedir); affects stem but not all forms.

Reflexive verbs (reflexive pronouns)

Conjugated with reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nos, os, se) placed before or attached to the verb.

Progressive gerund formation (-ar → -ando, -er/-ir → -iendo)

Gerund endings: -ar → -ando; -er/-ir → -iendo; some -uir verbs form -yéndo.

Gerund with vowel-ending roots (-yendo)

Verbs whose roots end in a vowel use -yendo instead of -iendo (e.g., leer→leyendo, oír→oyendo).

Gerund accents with -ido

When the participle ends in -ido and the root ends in a vowel, the i takes an accent: -ído (e.g., leído, oído).

Estar + gerundio (progressive usage)

Expresses actions in progress; table of estar forms with the gerund.

Two-subject subjunctive vs infinitive

If the main clause and subordinate clause have different subjects, use subjunctive; if the same subject, use the infinitive.

Conjunctions requiring the subjunctive

Certain conjunctions (e.g., para que, a fin de que, sin que, antes de que) require the subjunctive.

Conjunctions with both moods (context dependent)

Some conjunctions can take either mood depending on meaning (e.g., aunque, como, mientras).

Future with ir + a (futuro próximo)

Near-future periphrasis using ir + a + infinitive; not a tense, often substitutes for future.

Irregular future stems (add a -d- before endings)

Verbs like poner, salir, tener, valer, venir insert a -d- before future endings (pondré, vendré, etc.).

Verbs that lose a vowel in the future (caber, haber, poder, saber)

Infinitive loses final -e before adding endings (cabré, habré, podré, sabré).

Future vs. Conditional usage

Future expresses certainty or plans; conditional expresses hypothetical or wishes.

Future Perfect (futuro compuesto)

Haber in the future tense + participle (habré hablado, etc.); actions completed before a future moment.

Past Perfect Subjunctive (pretérito pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo)

Hubiera/hubiese + participle; action completed before another past action in subjunctive.

Past anterior (pretérito anterior) vs. other past tenses

Literary past tense used for actions that occurred before another past action; largely replaced by pluperfect.

Imperfect Subjunctive endings (-ra / -se)

Two acceptable forms for each person; used in past subjunctive contexts.

Imperfect Subjunctive irregular stems

Some verbs use irregular stems in the imperfect subjunctive (e.g., fuera, estuviera, pudiera, hiciera).

Present Subjunctive irregulars

Some verbs irregular in the present subjunctive (e.g., ser→sea, ir→vaya, haber→haya).

Present Subjunctive stem-changing patterns

Stem-changing in present subjunctive (e→ie, o→ue, e→i) for certain verbs (e.g., pedir, poder, querer).

Past Perfect (pretérito pluscuamperfecto)

Had + participle; describes an action completed before another past action.

Past Perfección de participles (irregular participles)

Irregular participles like abierto, dicho, hecho, escrito, muerto, puesto, visto, vuelto.

Subjunctive in compound sentences (two clauses)

In compound sentences, the subjunctive in the subordinate clause often follows a main clause in present, past, or conditional.

Two-subject subjunctive in sequences

When there are two different subjects, subordinate clause uses subjunctive; with one subject, infinitive.

Imperfect vs. Preterite usage

Imperfect describes ongoing/habitual past actions; preterite describes one-off or sequential past actions.

Past vs. Present Perfect distinction

Present perfect links past actions to the present; preterite describes past actions with no present relevance.

Signal words for present vs present perfect

Signals like hoy, esta semana, este año indicate present or perfect; desde hace, hace + time indicate duration.

Signal words for past tenses (preterite vs imperfect)

Signals like ayer, el año pasado indicate preterite; siempre, todos los días indicate imperfect.

Conjugation table reference (regular -ar/-er/-ir)

Guides the verb endings for each tense; essential for forming correct forms.

Direct and indirect object pronouns (CD y CI) placement

Pronouns can precede the verb or attach to the infinitive; order can be changed with verbs.

Reflexive pronouns with progressive and perfect tenses

Reflexive pronouns precede haber/estar or attach to the gerund; in combination with estar/haber.