The same A0-C2 grammar guide from the MuyVerbs app.

Spanish verbs carry more information than English verbs.

A Verb Can Tell You

• The action or state: hablar, comer, vivir, ser, estar.
• The person: hablo means I speak; hablas means you speak.
• The number: habla can be one person; hablan is more than one.
• The time: hablo, hablé, hablaré.
• The mood: hablo as a fact; hable as a wish, doubt, or command-related form.
• The aspect: hablaba describes an ongoing/background past; hablé presents a completed event.

Infinitives

Spanish infinitives end in -ar, -er, or -ir.

Stem And Ending

Most conjugation starts by separating stem and ending.

• hablar = habl- + -ar
• comer = com- + -er
• vivir = viv- + -ir

Why This Matters

Once you know the stem and the verb type, you can build many forms predictably. Irregular verbs still follow patterns, but the high-frequency verbs must be learned early.

Spanish subject pronouns are often optional because the verb ending already identifies the subject.

Pronouns

Dropping The Pronoun

• Yo hablo and hablo both mean I speak.
• Tú comes and comes both mean you eat.
• Nosotros vivimos and vivimos both mean we live.

Spanish usually drops subject pronouns unless the speaker wants clarity, contrast, or emphasis.

Usted And Ustedes

Usted means you formal, but it uses third-person singular verb forms. Ustedes means you plural, and it uses third-person plural forms.

• usted habla = you speak, formal
• ustedes hablan = you all speak

Vosotros

Vosotros is common in Spain for informal plural you. In Latin America, ustedes is normally used for both formal and informal plural you.

The regular present tense is the first full verb system to master.

Uses

• Facts: Vivo en Valencia.
• Habits: Estudio cada día.
• Current states: Trabajo aquí.
• Scheduled future with time expression: Mañana salgo temprano.

Regular Endings

Examples

Precision

-ER and -IR are identical except nosotros and vosotros. This is why como/comemos and vivo/vivimos must be practiced together.

Ser, estar, and haber are foundational because they express identity, state, location, existence, and compound tenses.

Ser

Use ser for identity, origin, profession, time, material, possession, and defining qualities.

• Soy estudiante.
• Ana es de Perú.
• Son las tres.
• La mesa es de madera.

Estar

Use estar for location, temporary condition, result state, and progressive tenses.

• Estoy en casa.
• Está cansado.
• La puerta está abierta.
• Estamos estudiando.

Hay

Hay means there is or there are. It comes from haber and is invariable in the present.

• Hay una mesa.
• Hay tres sillas.

Key Contrast

• Es aburrido. = It is boring by nature.
• Está aburrido. = He/she is bored right now.
• Es listo. = He/she is clever.
• Está listo. = He/she is ready.

Common Mistakes

• Do not use estar for profession: Soy médico.
• Do not make hay plural: hay muchas personas, not hayan muchas personas in present indicative.
• Do not use ser for location of people or things: Estoy en casa. The event exception uses ser: La fiesta es en casa.

Many important verbs are irregular in the present tense, but the irregularities repeat in recognizable groups.

Yo-Go Verbs

-zco Verbs

Verbs ending in -cer or -cir often have -zco in yo.

• conocer -> conozco
• ofrecer -> ofrezco
• traducir -> traduzco

Stem Changes

Most stem changes happen in every form except nosotros and vosotros.

Boot Pattern

The forms yo, tú, él/ella/usted, and ellos/ustedes change. Nosotros and vosotros keep the normal stem.

• pensar: pienso, piensas, piensa, pensamos, pensáis, piensan.

Common Mistakes

• Do not stem-change nosotros: pensamos, not piensamos.
• Remember that irregular yo forms often matter later for subjunctive formation.
• Learn high-frequency verbs as complete patterns, not isolated forms.

Reflexive verbs show that the subject does the action to itself or that the verb is used with a reflexive meaning.

Reflexive Pronouns

Present Examples

• me levanto = I get up
• te llamas = your name is
• se ducha = he/she showers
• nos sentamos = we sit down
• os acostáis = you all go to bed
• se despiertan = they wake up

Placement

Before a conjugated verb:

• Me levanto temprano.

Attached to an infinitive or gerund:

• Voy a levantarme.
• Estoy levantándome.

Meaning Change

Some verbs change meaning when reflexive.

• ir = to go; irse = to leave
• dormir = to sleep; dormirse = to fall asleep
• llamar = to call; llamarse = to be called

Common Mistakes

• Do not forget the pronoun: me llamo, not llamo when giving your name.
• Do not attach pronouns to a simple conjugated verb: levántome is not standard present tense.
• Se can mean himself, herself, itself, yourself formal, themselves, or yourselves depending on context.

Two early verb structures let you talk about future plans and actions in progress.

Near Future

Formula: ir + a + infinitive.

Use it for plans, intentions, and immediate future.

• Voy a cocinar.
• Vamos a salir.

Present Continuous

Formula: estar + gerund.

• estoy hablando
• estás comiendo
• está viviendo

Gerunds:

• -AR -> -ando: hablar -> hablando
• -ER/-IR -> -iendo: comer -> comiendo, vivir -> viviendo
• Irregular: ir -> yendo, dormir -> durmiendo, pedir -> pidiendo

Difference

• Estudio español. = I study Spanish, habit or fact.
• Estoy estudiando. = I am studying right now.
• Voy a estudiar. = I am going to study.

Pretérito indefinido presents a past action as a completed event.

Uses

• Finished action at a finished time: Ayer compré pan.
• Sequence of events: Llegué, cené y dormí.
• Counted repetition: Fui tres veces.
• Start or end: Empezó a llover. Terminó el curso.
• Biographical facts: Nació en 1998.

Regular Endings

Important Irregular Stems

Time Markers

ayer, anoche, la semana pasada, el año pasado, en 2020, una vez, de repente.

Common Mistakes

• Preterite is not just past tense; it is completed-event past.
• Do not use regular endings on irregular stems with accents: tuve, not tuvé.
• Hacer changes in third person: hizo.

Pretérito imperfecto describes background, ongoing situations, repeated past actions, and past states.

Uses

• Habit: De niño jugaba al tenis.
• Ongoing action: Leía cuando llamaste.
• Description: La casa era pequeña.
• Time and age: Eran las ocho. Tenía quince años.
• Mental or emotional state: Quería descansar. Estaba nerviosa.

Regular Endings

Only Three Main Irregulars

• ser: era, eras, era, éramos, erais, eran
• ir: iba, ibas, iba, íbamos, ibais, iban
• ver: veía, veías, veía, veíamos, veíais, veían

Preterite vs Imperfect

• Llovía cuando salí. = It was raining when I left.
• Llovió ayer. = It rained yesterday as a completed event.

Common Mistakes

• Use preterite for a completed event, even if English says was: Nació en México.
• Use imperfect for background, not for the main completed action.
• Remember accents in -ía forms.

Pretérito perfecto connects a completed action to the present.

Formula

haber in present + participle.

Uses

• Unfinished time period: Hoy he trabajado mucho.
• Life experience: Nunca he estado en Chile.
• Recent action with present relevance: He perdido el móvil.
• Already/not yet: Ya he terminado. Todavía no he comido.

Participles

• -AR -> -ado
• -ER/-IR -> -ido
• Common irregulars: hecho, dicho, visto, escrito, abierto, puesto, vuelto, roto.

Regional Note

Spain uses this tense very often for recent events and unfinished time periods. Many Latin American varieties prefer the preterite in some of these contexts.

Common Mistakes

• Do not make the participle agree with the subject.
• Do not put words between haber and the participle.
• Use ayer fui, not ayer he ido, in standard finished-time contexts.

Commands use special verb forms and strict pronoun placement.

Affirmative Tú Commands

Usually match the él/ella present form.

• habla, come, vive

Common irregulars:

• decir -> di
• hacer -> haz
• ir -> ve
• poner -> pon
• salir -> sal
• ser -> sé
• tener -> ten
• venir -> ven

Negative Commands

Use no + present subjunctive.

• no hables
• no comas
• no vivas
• no lo hagas
• no me digas

Pronoun Placement

Affirmative commands attach pronouns.

• Cómpralo.
• Dímelo.
• Levántate.

Negative commands put pronouns before the verb.

• No lo compres.
• No me lo digas.
• No te levantes.

Formal Commands

Usted and ustedes commands use subjunctive forms.

• Hable usted.
• No salgan ustedes.

Common Mistakes

• no hagaslo is wrong; no lo hagas is correct.
• compra lo is wrong; cómpralo is correct.
• Add accents when pronouns attach and stress must be preserved.

Pretérito pluscuamperfecto shows that one past action happened before another past point.

Formula

haber in imperfect + participle.

Uses

• Earlier past: Cuando llegué, Ana ya había salido.
• Explanation: Estaba cansado porque había trabajado mucho.
• Past discovery: No sabía que habías vivido allí.
• Experience before a moment: Nunca había probado eso.

Timeline Precision

• Cuando llegué, Ana salió. = I arrived, then Ana left.
• Cuando llegué, Ana había salido. = Ana left before I arrived.

Common Mistakes

• The participle does not agree: había comprado las entradas.
• No and pronouns go before haber: no lo había visto.
• Do not use tenía + participle as the general equivalent of had done.

Future and conditional use similar stems and endings, but they express different meanings.

Future

Use the infinitive plus -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án.

• hablaré, comerás, viviremos

Uses:

• prediction: Lloverá.
• promise: Te llamaré.
• probability now: Estará en casa.

Conditional

Use the infinitive plus -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían.

• hablaría, comerías, viviríamos

Uses:

• hypothetical result: Viajaría si pudiera.
• politeness: ¿Podrías ayudarme?
• advice: Deberías descansar.
• probability in the past: Serían las diez.

Shared Irregular Stems

Common Mistakes

• si tendré is wrong for real future conditions: Si tengo tiempo, iré.
• si tendría is wrong for hypothetical conditions: Si tuviera tiempo, iría.
• Use voy a + infinitive for many everyday plans.

Object pronouns interact with verb forms across tenses, infinitives, gerunds, and commands.

Direct Object Pronouns

Indirect Object Pronouns

Placement With Conjugated Verbs

Pronouns go before a conjugated verb.

• Lo veo.
• Te llamé.
• No se lo dije.

Infinitives And Gerunds

Pronouns can go before the conjugated helper or attach to the infinitive/gerund.

• Lo voy a comprar.
• Voy a comprarlo.
• Lo estoy leyendo.
• Estoy leyéndolo.

Two Pronouns

Indirect object comes before direct object. Le and les change to se before lo, la, los, las.

• Le doy el libro. -> Se lo doy.
• Les compré las entradas. -> Se las compré.

Common Mistakes

• le lo is wrong; use se lo.
• Attached gerunds need accents when stress shifts: leyéndolo.
• Object pronouns do not replace subject pronouns.

Gustar-type verbs reverse the English perspective. The thing liked is the grammatical subject.

Basic Pattern

indirect object pronoun + verb + subject.

• Me gusta el café. = Coffee pleases me.
• Me gustan los libros. = Books please me.

The verb agrees with the thing, not the person.

Pronouns

Clarification

Use a + person to clarify or emphasize.

• A mí me gusta.
• A Ana le gustan.
• A ellos les interesa.

Common Verbs

• gustar = to like
• encantar = to love
• interesar = to interest
• importar = to matter
• faltar = to lack
• quedar = to have left / fit
• doler = to hurt
• parecer = to seem

Tense Examples

• Me gustaba. = I used to like it.
• Me gustó. = I liked it as a completed reaction/event.
• Me gustaría. = I would like.

Common Mistakes

• Me gusto means I like myself, not I like.
• Use gustan for plural things: Me gustan las canciones.
• Do not forget le/les even when the person is named: A Ana le gusta.

The present subjunctive is used when the action is not presented as a plain fact.

Formation

Take the yo present form, remove -o, add opposite endings.

Main Trigger Families

• Desire: quiero que, espero que, prefiero que
• Influence: recomiendo que, insisto en que, es necesario que
• Emotion: me alegra que, siento que, temo que
• Doubt/denial: dudo que, no creo que, no es cierto que
• Impersonal judgment: es importante que, es posible que
• Purpose: para que, a fin de que
• Future time: cuando, en cuanto, hasta que, antes de que

Indicative vs Subjunctive

• Creo que viene. = I believe he is coming.
• No creo que venga. = I do not believe he is coming.
• Busco el libro que explica esto. = known book.
• Busco un libro que explique esto. = unknown/non-specific book.

High-Frequency Irregulars

• ser -> sea
• estar -> esté
• ir -> vaya
• saber -> sepa
• dar -> dé
• haber -> haya

Common Mistakes

• Que alone does not cause subjunctive.
• Same subject often uses infinitive: Quiero estudiar.
• Future time clauses use subjunctive: Cuando llegue, te llamo.

Perfect subjunctive tenses combine subjunctive mood with completed action.

Present Perfect Subjunctive

Formula: haya + participle.

Uses:

• Me alegra que hayas venido.
• No creo que hayan terminado.
• Cuando hayas terminado, avísame.

Past Perfect Subjunctive

Formula: hubiera or hubiese + participle.

Uses:

• Ojalá hubiera sabido.
• Dudaba que hubieran llegado.
• Si hubieras estudiado, habrías aprobado.

Common Mistakes

• Do not use indicative after negative belief: No creo que ha venido is wrong.
• Do not use habría in the si clause of standard third conditionals.
• Participles stay invariable with haber.

Imperfect subjunctive is essential for past subjunctive triggers and hypothetical conditions.

Formation

Use the ellos preterite, remove -ron, add -ra or -se endings.

• hablaron -> hablara
• comieron -> comiera
• tuvieron -> tuviera
• fueron -> fuera

-ra Endings

-ra, -ras, -ra, -ramos, -rais, -ran. Nosotros has an accent: habláramos, comiéramos, tuviéramos.

Past Trigger

• Quiero que vengas.
• Quería que vinieras.

Hypothetical Si Clauses

Use imperfect subjunctive in the condition and conditional in the result.

• Si tuviera dinero, viajaría.
• Si fueras más paciente, aprenderías más.

As If

• Habla como si supiera todo.
• Me miró como si no me conociera.

Common Mistakes

• si tendría is wrong in the standard hypothetical pattern.
• Do not confuse imperfect indicative and imperfect subjunctive: quería que venías is wrong.
• The -se forms are correct too, but -ra forms are more common in speech.

Verbal periphrases combine a conjugated verb with an infinitive, gerund, or participle to express aspect, obligation, continuation, beginning, repetition, or completion.

Obligation

• tener que + infinitive: Tengo que estudiar.
• deber + infinitive: Debes llamar.
• hay que + infinitive: Hay que practicar.
• haber de + infinitive: formal or literary obligation/future.

Beginning And Imminence

• empezar a + infinitive: Empezó a llover.
• ponerse a + infinitive: Se puso a llorar.
• ir a + infinitive: Voy a salir.
• estar a punto de + infinitive: Está a punto de empezar.

Continuation

• seguir + gerund: Sigue trabajando.
• continuar + gerund: Continúa estudiando.
• llevar + time + gerund: Llevo dos años aprendiendo español.

Completion And Result

• acabar de + infinitive: Acabo de llegar.
• dejar de + infinitive: Dejé de fumar.
• tener + participle: Tengo escritas tres páginas.

Repetition

• volver a + infinitive: Volvió a llamar.

Common Mistakes

• Do not translate English modal verbs mechanically.
• Llevar + gerund expresses duration until now: Llevo una hora esperando.
• Acabar de + infinitive means to have just done something, not to finish doing in every context.

Se is one of the most important advanced verb markers in Spanish.

Reflexive Se

The subject acts on itself.

• Ana se lava.
• Se levantan temprano.

Reciprocal Se

Plural subjects act on each other.

• Se conocen.
• Se ayudan.

Passive Se

The verb agrees with the thing affected.

• Se vende una casa.
• Se venden casas.

Impersonal Se

The verb stays third-person singular and the agent is general or unknown.

• Se vive bien aquí.
• Se trabaja mucho.

Accidental Se

Often expresses unplanned or accidental events with indirect object pronouns.

• Se me olvidó.
• Se le cayó el vaso.
• Se nos perdió la llave.

Se For Le/Les

Le and les change to se before lo, la, los, las.

• Le di el libro. -> Se lo di.

Common Mistakes

• In passive se, make the verb agree: Se venden coches.
• In impersonal se, keep singular: Se ayuda a los estudiantes.
• Do not assume every se is reflexive.

At advanced levels, subjunctive is not just a list of triggers. It marks whether the speaker treats the information as factual, known, specific, hypothetical, desired, or pending.

Relative Clauses

Indicative for known/specific referents:

• Busco el libro que explica esto.

Subjunctive for unknown/non-specific referents:

• Busco un libro que explique esto.

Adverbial Clauses

Use subjunctive when the event is future or not yet realized.

• Te llamo cuando llegue.
• Lo haré en cuanto pueda.
• Espera hasta que termine.

Use indicative when the event is habitual or already factual.

• Siempre me llama cuando llega.
• Lo hice cuando pude.

Aunque

Indicative when the fact is accepted:

• Aunque está cansado, trabaja.

Subjunctive when the fact is uncertain, hypothetical, or dismissed:

• Aunque esté cansado, trabajará.

Como

Indicative can mean because:

• Como estás cansado, descansa.

Subjunctive can mean if:

• Como estés cansado, descansa.

Common Mistakes

• Do not memorize connectors without checking whether the action is factual.
• Future time requires subjunctive even though English uses future or present.
• The same connector can take different moods depending on meaning.

Advanced Spanish includes forms that are important for recognition, register, and precision, even when they are rare in conversation.

Pretérito Anterior

Formula: hube + participle. Use: an action completed immediately before another past action in literary style.

• Apenas hubo terminado, salió.

Modern alternatives:

• Apenas terminó, salió.
• Cuando había terminado, salió.

Future Subjunctive

Legal or archaic future hypothetical.

• quien incumpliere la norma
• si fuere necesario

Modern alternatives:

• quien incumpla la norma
• si es necesario / si fuera necesario

Future Perfect Subjunctive

Legal or archaic completed future hypothetical.

• quien hubiere pagado
• cuando hubiere terminado

Modern alternatives:

• quien haya pagado
• cuando haya terminado

Why Learn Them

• Literature
• Legal language
• Exams and formal reading
• Understanding register

Common Mistakes

• Do not use these rare tenses in normal conversation unless you intentionally want legal, archaic, or literary style.
• Recognize them by haber forms: hube, hubiere.
• Translate by meaning, not word-for-word.

Mastery means choosing the verb form that fits region, register, relationship, and discourse style.

Spain And Latin America

• Vosotros forms are normal in Spain, rare in most of Latin America.
• Ustedes is used for plural you across Latin America and also formally in Spain.
• Pretérito perfecto is more frequent in Spain for recent events: Hoy he comido.
• Many Latin American varieties prefer preterite in the same context: Hoy comí.

Voseo

In several regions, vos replaces or coexists with tú.

• vos hablás
• vos tenés
• vos vivís

The app focuses on standard tú, usted, vosotros, and ustedes, but recognizing vos is useful.

Formality

• tú = informal singular
• usted = formal singular
• vosotros = informal plural in Spain
• ustedes = plural, formal in Spain, general in Latin America

Register Choices

• Quiero que venga. = neutral request/desire.
• Quisiera que viniera. = more formal or softened.
• Ven. = direct command.
• ¿Podrías venir? = polite request.

Precision Checklist

Before choosing a verb form, ask:

• Is it fact, doubt, wish, command, or hypothesis?
• Is the time present, past, future, or relative to another event?
• Is the action completed, ongoing, repeated, or background?
• Is the tone informal, formal, legal, literary, or conversational?
• Is the region using vosotros, ustedes, or vos?