Spanish Verb Tenses

Spanish Verb Tenses

Present Tense

• Used to describe what is happening or what is true now, generally or at a specific moment.
• Key phrases: "now", "today", "these days"
• Structure: verb base + verb ending

Conjugation (Regular Verbs)

• -ar verbs: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an (e.g., hablar)
• -er verbs: -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en (e.g., comer)
• -ir verbs: -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en (e.g., vivir)

Irregular Verbs

• Common Irregular Verbs: ser, estar, tener, ir, etc.
  • ser: Used for enduring situations, origin, relationships, physical/personality attributes, profession, identification, date/time, nationality, and natural color.
  • estar: Used for short-term states, location, moods, physical conditions, and results of actions/ unnatural color or condition.

Hay

• Meaning: "There is", "There are". Also used in questions (e.g., "Is there?") or negative (e.g., "No hay…" (There isn't any).

Tener

• Meaning "to have"
• Uses: Possession, age, idiomatic expressions (e.g., tener hambre), obligation (tener que infinitive).

Personal A

• Used before a direct object when it's a specific person (e.g., Veo a Juan).
• Not used with the verbs ser, tener, or hay.

Irregular Verb Groups

• Verbs ending in -cer (preceded by a vowel) or -ucir: Irregular in the yo form. Add a 'z' before the 'c'(e.g., conocer -> yo conozco)
• Verbs ending in -ger or -gir: The “g” changes to “j” in the yo form. (coger -> yo cojo)
• Verbs ending in -aer: yo form ends in *-aigo. (e.g., *caer* -> yo caigo )
• Verbs ending in -uir (not preceded by 'g'): add ‘y’ to the stem in all forms except nosotros and vosotros (e.g., huir -> huyo)
• Verbs ending in -guir: drop the letter ‘u’ in the yo form (e.g, distinguir -> yo distingo)

Reflexive Verbs

• Subject and object are the same (e.g., "I see myself"). Requires reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nos, os, se) before the verb.

Verbs Like Gustar

• Used in the third-person singular or plural with indirect object pronouns to indicate what is pleasing to someone (e.g., Me gusta el libro).
  Common verbs: gustar, encantar, importar, interesar, molestar.

Present Progressive

• Formation: estar (conjugated) + present participle.
• -ar verbs: -ando
• -er and -ir verbs: -iendo (but -yendo if the stem ends in a vowel)

Past Tenses

Preterite

• Used for specific, completed past actions.
• Regular -ar Endings: -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron
• Regular -er/-ir Endings: -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron
• Irregular verbs require memorization of irregular stem and endings

Imperfect

• Used for non-specific, habitual, or continuous past actions. Often signals “used to …” or “was -ing” in the past.
• Regular -ar Endings: -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban
• Regular -er/-ir Endings: -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían
• Only three irregular verbs: ser, ir, ver

Future Tense

• Used to describe actions that will take place.
• Formula: infinitive + é, ás, á, emos, éis, án
  Some common irregulars stems include cabr-, dir-, habr-, har-, podr-, pondr-, querr-, sabr-, saldr-, tendr, and vendr-

Conditional Tense

• Expresses future uncertainty or actions that would happen if a condition were met. Key word \"would.\"
• Formed by adding endings (-ía, -ías, ía, íamos, íais, ían) to the infinitive (or irregular stem as with Future Tense

Compound Verbs

Present Perfect

• Used to describe actions that have happened recently or are still true.
• Formula: haber (present tense) + past participle (-ado/-ido).

Past Perfect

• Formation: haber (imperfect) + past participle.
  Used to refer to an action that happened PRIOR to something else.
  To conjugate, to form verbs in this tense, fi rst conjugate haber in the imperfect tense.

Imperative (Commands)

Tú Commands

• Affi rmative: Use the él/ella/usted form of the present tense (e.g., ¡Habla!).
• Negative: Use the tú form of the present subjunctive (e.g., ¡No hables!). Regular negative commands have the verb hables, adding -es . For verbs ending with -er/-ir verbs, add -as

Usted Commands:

• Identical to the present subjunctive (Ud. form). Requires that the 1st person singular of the present tense is known. E.g, Hablar -> hablo = hable. Regular Usted commands use one of these: 1 - Coma 2 - Hable 3 - viva The only two abbreviations are: Sea & Esté.

Ustedes Commands:

• Same as Usted commands just more words added. Hablen, Coman. Vivan. Séan , Esten Coman el arroz

Vosotros Commands:

• Affi rmative: Drop the -r from the infinitive and add -d (e.g., Hablad) (but drop the d if a reflexive pronoun is attached.
• Negative: Use the vosotros form of the present subjunctive (e.g., No habléis).

Nosotros Commands:

• Similar to the present subjunctive (nosotros forms): -emos for -ar verbs, -amos for -er and -ir verbs. Use the -uc- (if there is one) in the 1st person single to determine what to use. (e.g. : Conduzcamos & Tranduzcamos)

Subjunctive Voice

The subjunctive is used for situations with:
1 Desire
2 Ignorance
3 Emotional statement or comment
4 Impersonal opinion
5 Uncompleted action
6 Vague or indefi nite antecedent
7 “Perhaps” and “maybe”
8 “Even if ”
It's a way of acknowledging not so secure / solid facts with a little bit of doubt.

Present Subjunctive

• Requires que between to conjugate all other sentences. (e.g. Yo sé que tu estas cansado & Yo dudo que tu estés cansado) If that line is crossed just use a word like Creo.
  The Three steps are known in the present for the subject -
  1 - the subject in the form: yo
  2 take away the -o
  3 and use appropriate endings (a, as, a , amos, ais, an) as well as what side to use depending on each of the three verb sets.
  Ex - hablar -> hable, hables, hable, ablemos, abéis, ablen.
  (The above applies if and only if the the sentence makes use for 1 of the 8 reasons above and the use has a form of "I … something, que", then the subjunctive is used)

Imperfect Subjunctive

• Requires a base that has the “-eron” removed . (Hablar (Preterite form) → Hablaron = HABL - e - [Imperfect Subjunctive Endings] ra, ras, ra, ramos, rais, ran : hablaras.
  In order to use this use a key as "if i.. or I wanted.. in its preterite form)
  To get it set here are a few steps:
  1 find the preterite then apply it to their form. Note the irregular. So if we were using elgier would become “eligible & puderas (could)"
  (e.g. Si pudieras hacer algo harías or fuera (were)) It gets put in a hypothetical question that has the past tense to indicate non realism