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Making Past Participles Out of Regular -ar, -er, and -ir Verbs in Spanish
Every Spanish verb has a past participle that expresses a completed action, such as taken, spoken, and danced.Forming the past participle in English has probably become second nature to you. In Spanish [more…]
What Is the Subjunctive Mood?
In any language (Spanish or otherwise), the subjunctive isn’t a tense, which tells when an action took place: present, past, or future. Rather, the subjunctive is a [more…]
Forming the Subjunctive of Regular and Irregular Spanish Verbs
Forming the subjunctive mood of Spanish verbs is pretty easy, despite the subjunctive’s bad reputation among many Spanish students. The following sections show you how to turn regular and irregular present-tense [more…]
Conjugating the Spanish Verb Esperar (to Wait)
Spanish verbs fall into different groups, and each group is conjugated a little differently. If you’re going to master Spanish verbs like esperar, you need to be able to identify which group a verb belongs [more…]
Placing Spanish Object Pronouns Correctly
Adding object pronouns to your Spanish vocabulary can spice up your language skills in no time. A pronoun is basically a replacement word for a noun. This pronoun helps you avoid unnecessary, continuous [more…]
Expressing Desire and Suggestion with the Spanish Subjunctive Mood
Making suggestions and indicating desire are two important functions of the Spanish subjunctive mood. Everyone gives advice or asks for what they want; one of the coolest features of the subjunctive mood [more…]
Conjugating the Irregular Spanish Verb Estar (to Be)
Spanish verbs fall into different groups, and each group is conjugated a little differently. If you’re going to master Spanish verbs like estar, you need to be able to identify which group a verb belongs [more…]
Making Spanish Nouns Plural
In English, you use the articles the and a or an without caring whether a singular or plural noun comes after it. However, with Spanish articles, you point out whether you're referring to one or several [more…]
Asking Politely with the Spanish Imperfect Subjunctive
Proper manners are important wherever you go, whether the people there speak Spanish, English, or Swahili. In polite society, when you ask for something instead of giving a direct order. You don’t say, [more…]
Conjugating the Irregular Spanish Verb Probar (to Try)
Spanish verbs fall into different groups, and each group is conjugated a little differently. If you’re going to master Spanish verbs like probar, you need to be able to identify which group a verb belongs [more…]
Presenting the Present Perfect in Spanish
You use the present perfect verb tense in Spanish to express or describe actions that have happened recently and/or actions that still hold true in the present. The present perfect tense is one of seven [more…]
Answering Spanish Questions in the Negative
Nunca, nadie, ninguno — the Spanish language contains lots of words to answer questions in the negative. These words (and some of their Spanish friends) can help you become a no-man [more…]
Answering “Yes” and “No” in Spanish
Although answering “yes” in Spanish is pretty straightforward, answering “no” can be another story, complete with double negatives and a host of new negative words. The following sections break down the [more…]
The Big If: Spanish Conditional Tense
Maybe you would better understand Spanish verb tenses today if you had paid more attention in your high school Spanish classes. Would . . . that’s what the conditional tense is all about. If the conditions [more…]
Expressing Desire, Obligation, and Age with the Spanish Verb Tener
Tener is an extremely versatile Spanish verb. It works by itself the way other verbs do, but it also forms special verb structures to express age or a desire or obligation to take action. In short, you [more…]
Tricky Situations: Spanish Adjectives versus Spanish Adverbs
The question of when to use certain Spanish adjectives and Spanish adverbs can lead to some tricky situations. So just how can you know when to use an adverb versus an adjective? By knowing what to watch [more…]
Conjugating the Irregular Spanish Verb Ir (to Go)
Spanish verbs fall into different groups, and each group is conjugated a little differently. If you’re going to master Spanish verbs like ir, you need to be able to identify which group a verb belongs [more…]
Using Demonstrative Adjectives in Spanish Sentences
Dropping demonstrative adjectives into your Spanish vocabulary will help you express exactly what or whom you’re seeking. But first, you need to understand what demonstrative adjectives stand for and how [more…]
How to Use Spanish Interrogative Pronouns
The famous “five Ws” (who, what, when, where, why) are all considered interrogative pronouns because they’re pronouns used to ask a question. Their Spanish equivalents may not have a cute mnemonic device [more…]
Asking How, When, Where, and Why Questions in Spanish
When you need to know how, when, where, or why, you turn to a special set of question words called interrogative adverbs. This is true both in Spanish and in English. Your interrogative adverb choices [more…]
Using the Preterit Verb Tense in Spanish
The preterit tense in Spanish enables you to put the past behind you. This verb tense describes a completed past action — something that happened yesterday, last night, last week, last year, or at some [more…]
Forming Spanish “Yes” and “No” Questions by Using Intonation, Tags, and Inversion
You can easily form Spanish questions by changing your voice intonation, adding a tag phrase to a sentence, or inverting the order of the subject and verb. Here’s how. [more…]
Omitting Articles in Spanish
In the Spanish language, articles are often useful to indicate a subject’s number and gender. However, in some cases, dropping Spanish articles is more efficient, which can make knowing when to leave them [more…]
Recognizing Spanish Subject Pronouns
A subject pronoun takes the place of a subject noun in a sentence. Spanish subject pronouns aren’t used as frequently as in English because Spanish verb endings generally indicate the subject. However, [more…]
Forming Sentences in Spanish with Demonstrative Pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns can make your Spanish flow more naturally in both writing and conversation. So how exactly can you go about forming sentences with demonstrative pronouns? First, you need to understand [more…]
