Verbs, verbs, and nothing but verbs
What is a verb? A verb (from the latin verbum, meaning “word”) is a word that tells what someone or something is or what someone or something is doing. Ex. Amber does her homework. Geoffrey is a senior.
What is a verb tense? A verb tense is not what you feel before an exam, it is what tells us when the action of the verb happened, its time. Ex. I am not listening right now. (present tense) I came to class late. (past tense)
There are seven simple tenses in Spanish. English names Spanish names Present Indicative Imperfect indicative Preterite Future Conditional Present subjunctive Imperfect subjunctive Presente indicativo Imperfecto Pretérito Futuro Condicional Presente de subjuntivo Imperfecto de subjuntivo
English examples of these tenses using the verb eat Presente indicativo: I eat Imperfecto: I was eating, I used to eat Pretérito: I ate Future: I will eat Condicional: I would eat Presente de subjuntivo: I am happy that he eats vegetables. Imperfecto de subjuntivo: I am angry that she ate my Twinkies.
Perfect tenses- These are called perfect because the action is complete. English names Spanish names Present perfect Pluperfect indicative Anterior preterite Future perfect Conditional perfect Present perfect subjunctive Pluperfect subjunctive Presente perfecto Plusuamperfecto de indicativo Pretérito anterior Futuro perfecto Condicional perfecto Presente perfecto subjuntivo Pluscuamperfecto del subjuntivo
Examples of perfect tenses with the verb to talk Presente perfecto: He has talked for a year. Plusuamperfecto de indicativo: He had talked until midnight. Futuro perfecto: She will have talked for a month on the phone. Condicional perfecto: He would have talked for a year but he got laryngitis. Presente perfecto subjuntivo: The teacher is mad that she has talked all class. Pluscuamperfecto del subjuntivo: The teacher is glad that she had stopped talking.
To infinitive and beyond The infinitive is the form of the Spanish verb found in most dictionaries. It is called infinitive because it has no tense, therefore no time. It is translated to + verb Ex. Comer = to eat lloriquear = to whine vivir = to live
No conjugation, no action To be useful, an infinitive must be conjugated. A conjugated verb gives us the following information: - when the action occurs (tiempo) - who is doing the action (persona) - how many people are doing the action (número) - if the action is complete (aspecto)
Example with the verb lloriquear (to whine) Yo lloriqueo Tiempo: This is present tense, the action is happening now. (maybe as we speak) Persona: I am doing the action. (first person) Número: One person is doing the action. (singular) Aspecto: The action is seen as complete.
Tipos de persona Primera persona: I am talking about myself (yo) or us (nosotros/as) Segunda persona: I am talking to you (tú, usted) or you all (vosotros, ustedes) Tercera persona: I am talking about her (ella), him (él), or them (ellos, ellas)
Conjugating a regular verb, no matter what the tense A regular verb is a verb that follows all the conjugation rules without doing anything strange. Rules 1. drop the last two letters (er, ir, or ar) from the infinitive to get the stem or root. 2. List the subject pronouns (yo, tú, etc.) 3. Write the stem after the pronouns. 4. Add the endings for the tense.
Present tense with verb comer The stem is com Yo como Tú comes Él come Ella come Usted come Nosotros/as comemos Vosotros/as coméis Ellos comen Ellas comen Ustedes comen