When learning a language, there are always more than a few aggravating issues that can cause speedbumps in the learning process. Don’t feel like you’re all alone in your frustration, however, as many of these issues tend to be the same for everybody!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They are the backbone of a language, understand how they are used and the battle is half won. There are grammatical terms associated with verb conjugation which may be confusing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the top of the tree are the Moods which allow us to convey facts, uncertainty and commands. Under each of these moods come the tenses which allow us to distinguish, past, present or future events for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The subjunctive (el subjunctivo)<\/em> is one of the three moods in Spanish. The other two moods are the indicative and imperative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Click here<\/mark><\/a> to read more about indicative<\/strong> and subjunctive <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Spanish tenses refer to the time when the performance of an action happens, and they\u00b4re an integral part of speaking Spanish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we talk about verb tenses, it\u2019s important to consider the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Verb tenses can be simple or compound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Simple verb tenses are when the action is expressed with a single word. They\u2019re compound when the action is expressed with more than one word such as an auxiliary verb [ser<\/em> and haber<\/em> (to be and to have)], and a participle non-personal form of the verb that has the ending -do in the regular form of Spanish and can form compound tenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Spanish language has many tenses, but the three main tenses are the past, the present and the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The present tense is used to show what a subject usually does or is doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Siempre me levanto temprano<\/em>. (I always get up early).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The past tense or preterit<\/strong> is used to express actions or events that happened at a certain time in the past. So, it’s common to use it\u00a0with expressions\u00a0that state a certain time period such as\u00a0ayer<\/em>\u00a0(yesterday),\u00a0la semana pasada<\/em>\u00a0(last week) and\u00a0el a\u00f1o pasado<\/em>\u00a0(last year) among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fui al cine la semana pasada<\/em>. (I went to the movies last week).<\/p>\n\n\n\n We can think of this as the simple or dot past, it happened once and was done. For a majority of verbs we can think of a little cha cha like the dance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The future is used to express actions that have not been performed yet. These actions are independent of any other action. It’s common to use future tense with expressions like ma\u00f1ana<\/em> (tomorrow), la pr\u00f3xima semana<\/em> (next week), en dos d\u00edas<\/em> (in a couple of days) and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Comprar\u00e9 una nueva computadora el pr\u00f3ximo fin de semana<\/em>. (I will buy a new computer next weekend).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
The Tenses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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ser amado<\/em>- to be loved\nhe hablado - I have spoken\nhemos comido - we have eaten\nha comido - he\/she\/it has eaten <\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Present tense<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Past tense<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Fui al cine la semana pasada<\/em>. (I went to the movies last week). note:<\/mark> the conjugation Ir - to go is extremely irregular.<\/mark>\nme lo habl\u00f3 ayer - He told me about it yesterday<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
~ar verbs\n\u00e8 and \u00f2\n\n\n\n~er and ~ir verbs\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Future tense<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Example Verb conjugations <\/h2>\n\n\n\n