2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. El Presente
2. Irregular Yo Forms
3. Ser y Estar
4. Verbos Como Gustar
5. El Preterito
6. El Imperfecto
7. El Imperfecto y el Preterito
3. EL PRESENTE
The present tense of regular verbs is formed by dropping the infinitive ending
–ar, -er, or –ir and adding personal endings.
Used to express habitual actions or actions that will take place in the near
future.
e – ie O – ue U – ue
Pensar (to Poder (To be Jugar (to play)
think) able to, can)
Pienso Puedo Juego
Piensas Puedas Juegas
Piensa Pueda Juega
Pensamos Podemos Jugamos
Pensio Podeis Jugais
Piensan Pueden Juegan
4. IRREGULAR YO FORMS
Many –er and –ir verbs have irregular yo forms in the present tense. Verbs
ending in –cer or –cir change to –zco in the yo form; those ending in –ger or
–gir change to –jo. Several verbs have irregular –go endings, and a few have
individual irregularities.
Verbs with prefixes follow the same patterns.
Reconocer – yo reconozco
Dehacer – Yo deshago
Rehacer – yo rehago
Aparecer – yo aparezco
Desaparcer – yo desparazco
Ending in –jo: Other verbs Other commonly used verbs in
Dirigir – yo dirijo Cober – yo quepo Spanish are irregular in the
Escoger – yo escojo Saber – yo se present tense or combine a stem-
Proteger – yo protejo Ver – yo vero change with an irregular yo form
or other spelling change.
5. SER Y ESTAR
Ser and estar are not interchangeable.
Using one or the other can change the meaning of a sentence.
Ser – Used to describe inherent, expected Estar – Used to describe temporary or
qualities. variable qualities or a change in
• Nationality and place of origin appearance or condition.
• Profession or occupation • Location or spatial relationships
• Characteristics of people, animals, and things • Health
• Generalizations • Physical states and conditions
• Possession • Emotional states
• Material of Composition • Certain weather expressions
• Time, date, or season • Ongoing actions (progressive tense)
• Where or when an event takes place • Results of actions (past participles)
6. VERBOS COMO GUSTAR
• Gustar is preceded by an indirect object pronoun indicating the person
who is pleased.
• Because the thing or person that pleases is the subject, gustar agrees in
person and number with it.
• When gustar is followed by one or more verbs in the infinitive, the singular
form of gustar is always used.
• Gustar is often used in the conditional (me gustaria) to soften a request.
• The construction a + [prepositional pronoun] or a + [noun] can be used to
emphasize who is pleased, bothered, etc.
• Quedar expresses what someone or something has left. It is also used to
talk about how clothing fits or looks on someone.
7. PRETERITO
The preterite is used for past actions that are seen as completed.
For example:
-ar -er and –ir Comer
Hablar
é í Comí
Hablé
aste iste Comiste
Hablaste
ó ió Comió
Habló
amos imos Comimos
Hablamos
asteis isteis Comisteis
Hablasteis
aron ieron Comieron
Hablaron
8. IMPERFECTO
The imperfect is used for past actions that are not seen as completed.
-ar -er and –ir
aba ía Por ejemplo:
abas ías Hablar Vivir
aba ía Hablaba Vivía
ábamos íamos Hablabas Vivías
abais íais Hablaba Vivía
aban ían Hablábamos Vivíamos
Habais Vivíais
Haban Vivían
9. EL IMPERFECTO Y EL PRETERITO
The preterite tells us specifically when an action took place. The imperfect
tells us generally when an action took place.
Signal Phrases: Imperfect Situations: Preterite Situations:
•Time •Beginning or end
Preterite Imperfect •Weather of an action
•Ayer •A menudo •Age •Limited time frame
•Entonces •A veces •Simultaneous Actions •Action that
•En ese momento •Cada semana •Physical descriptions interupts ongoing
•La semana pasada •Muchas veces events
•Esta tarde •Siempre •Specific instances
