Spanish
Notes on the Spanish language.
See also: Errores inevitables, a blog where I practise writing in Spanish.
Debo a la conjunción de un espejo y de una enciclopedia el descubrimiento de Uqbar.
(I owe the discovery of Uqbar to the conjunction of a mirror and an encyclopedia.)
Si lo piensas, nunca encuentras un buen día para un atraco.
(If you think about it, you’ll never find a good day for a heist.)
Verb conjugation cheatsheet
A quick reference for the patterns of forming regular verbs. I’ll add to this (and fix mistakes!) as I learn more. Note that I’m studying European Spanish for now; I’ve left out the vos forms used in parts of Latin America.
There are three regular conjugations: -ar, -er, and -ir. These are demonstrated below with examples using three regular verbs: hablar (to speak), comer (to eat), and vivir (to live).
Present simple tense
| -ar | -er | -ir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | -o | -o |
| tú | -as | -es | -es |
| usted | -a | -e | -e |
| nosotros/as | -amos | -emos | -imos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | -éis | -ís |
| ustedes | -an | -en | -en |
Hablamos. (We speak.)
Como. (I eat.)
Viven. (They live.)
Three irregular verbs are also used as auxiliary verbs to form other tenses (e.g. to have spoken). It’s useful to memorise the present tense forms of these verbs early on. They are estar (to be), haber (to have), and ir (to go).
| estar | haber | ir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | estoy | he | voy |
| tú | estás | has | vas |
| usted | está | ha | va |
| nosotros/as | estamos | hemos | vamos |
| vosotros/as | estáis | habéis | vais |
| ustedes | están | han | van |
Present continuous
Use (1) the present tense of estar followed by (2) the gerund form of the verb.
To form the gerund:
- -ar → -ando
- -er → -iendo
- -ir → -iendo
Estamos hablando. (We are speaking.)
Estoy comiendo. (I am eating.)
Están viviendo. (They are living.)
Imperative
-
Tú: Take the present form and drop the final s. Generally this is the same as the present usted form.
-
Usted: Take the present form and swap the final a and e vowels.
-
Vosotros/as: Take the infinitive form and change the final r to d. The infinitive is also used without change in informal speech.
| -ar | -er | -ir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| tú | -a | -e | -e |
| usted | -e | -a | -a |
| nosotros/as | -emos | -amos | -amos |
| vosotros/as | -ad, -ar | -ed, -er | -id, -ir |
| ustedes | -en | -an | -an |
Habla. (Speak.)
Hablemos. (Let’s speak.)Come. (Eat.)
Comamos. (Eat.)
In the negative, the second-person forms are taken from the present subjunctive.
| -ar | -er | -ir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| tú | -es | -as | -as |
| usted | -e | -a | -a |
| nosotros/as | -emos | -amos | -amos |
| vosotros/as | -éis | -áis | -áis |
| ustedes | -en | -an | -an |
No hables. (Don’t speak.)
No comas. (Don’t eat.)
Preterite (simple past)
Actions that were completed in the past.
| -ar | -er | -ir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | -é | -í | -í |
| tú | -aste | -íste | -íste |
| usted | -ó | -ió | -ió |
| nosotros/as | -amos | -imos | -imos |
| vosotros/as | -asteis | -isteis | -isteis |
| ustedes | -aron | -ieron | -ieron |
The third-person plural forms for -ar and -ir are the same as the present tense.
Hablamos. (We spoke.)
Comí. (I ate.)
Vivieron. (They lived.)
Imperfect
What was happening or used to happen.
| -ar | -er | -ir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | -aba | -ía | -ía |
| tú | -abas | -ías | -ías |
| usted | -aba | -ían | -ían |
| nosotros/as | -ábamos | -íamos | -íamos |
| vosotros/as | -abais | -íais | -íais |
| ustedes | -aban | -ían | -ían |
Hablábamos. (We were speaking.)
Comía. (I was eating.)
Vivían. (They were living.)
Perfect
Use (1) the present tense of haber followed by (2) the past participle.
To form the past participle:
- -ar → -ado
- -er → -ido
- -ir → -ido
Hemos hablado. (We have spoken.)
He comido. (I have eaten.)
Han vivido. (They have lived.)
Future
Add the verb ending onto the infinitive. All three conjugations are the same.
| -ar | -er | -ir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | -(ar)é | -(er)é | -(ir)é |
| tú | -(ar)ás | -(er)ás | -(ir)ás |
| usted | -(ar)á | -(er)á | -(ir)á |
| nosotros/as | -(ar)emos | -(er)emos | -(ir)emos |
| vosotros/as | -(ar)éis | -(er)éis | -(ir)éis |
| ustedes | -(ar)án | -(er)án | -(ir)án |
Hablaremos. (We will speak.)
Comeré. (I will eat.)
Vivirán. (They will live.)
Conditional
Add the verb ending onto the infinitive. All three conjugations are the same.
| -ar | -er | -ir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | -(ar)ía | -(er)ía | -(ir)ía |
| tú | -(ar)ías | -(er)ías | -(ir)ías |
| usted | -(ar)ía | -(er)ía | -(ir)ía |
| nosotros/as | -(ar)íamos | -(er)íamos | -(ir)íamos |
| vosotros/as | -(ar)íais | -(er)íais | -(ir)íais |
| ustedes | -(ar)ían | -(er)ían | -(ir)ían |
Hablaríamos. (We would speak.)
Comería. (I would eat.)
Vivirían. (They would live.)