Each example below has three parts: the original text, a literal gloss describing how every word works, and a natural translation. The glosses use a few shorthand labels so they stay short. Don't worry about memorising them: this is a reference you can come back to.
Person and number · 1sg / 2sg / 3sg: first / second / third person singular (I, you, he/she/it) · 1pl / 2pl / 3pl: first / second / third person plural (we, you-all, they)
Gender and case · m / f / n: masculine / feminine / neuter · sg / pl: singular / plural · m.sg: combined: masculine singular (and similarly f.pl, n.sg, etc.) · NOM / ACC / GEN / DAT / INS / LOC: grammatical cases (nominative/accusative/genitive/dative/instrumental/locative): which role the word plays in the sentence
Tense and aspect · PRES: present · PRET: preterite (a finished past event) · IMPF: imperfect (an ongoing or habitual past situation) · FUT: future · PERF: perfect (an action completed with present relevance) · PROG: progressive (action in progress, e.g. am eating) · COND: conditional (would…)
Mood · IND: indicative (regular statement) · SUBJ: subjunctive (uncertainty, wishes, doubts) · IMP: imperative (commands) · INF: infinitive (dictionary form: to go, to eat)
Other · REFL: reflexive (action on oneself: myself, yourself) · PERS: personal a (Spanish only: marks a human direct object) · HON: honorific (extra-polite form, common in Japanese/Korean) · TOP / SUB / OBJ: topic / subject / object markers (Japanese, Korean) · CL: classifier (Chinese, Japanese, Korean: a counter word for nouns) · NEG: negation
Spanish basic word order is Subject-Verb-Object (SVO), the same as English. However, Spanish is a pro-drop language: the subject pronoun is usually omitted because the verb ending already tells you who is performing the action. Including the pronoun adds emphasis or contrast. Word order is also more flexible than English: subjects can move after the verb for emphasis, especially with intransitive verbs or in questions. Adverbs and prepositional phrases can shift position more freely. Object pronouns, however, follow strict placement rules (usually before the conjugated verb).
Spanish articles agree with the noun in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural). Definite articles ('the'): el (m.sg), la (f.sg), los (m.pl), las (f.pl). Indefinite articles ('a/an/some'): un (m.sg), una (f.sg), unos (m.pl), unas (f.pl). Spanish uses definite articles more than English: with abstract nouns, generalizations, languages after most verbs, body parts, and titles when speaking about (not to) someone. The neuter 'lo' combines with adjectives to form abstract nouns (lo bueno = 'the good thing').
Subject: yo, tú/usted, él/ella, nosotros/-as, vosotros/-as (Spain) or ustedes (LatAm), ellos/-as. Direct object: me, te, lo/la, nos, os, los/las. Indirect object: me, te, le, nos, os, les. Reflexive: me, te, se, nos, os, se. Object pronouns precede conjugated verbs but attach to infinitives, gerunds, and affirmative commands. When both direct and indirect appear, indirect comes first; 'le/les' becomes 'se' before lo/la/los/las. Possessives: mi(s), tu(s), su(s), nuestro/-a(s), vuestro/-a(s), su(s); they agree with the thing possessed, not the possessor.
Every noun is masculine or feminine. Most nouns ending in -o are masculine, most ending in -a are feminine, but there are exceptions (la mano, el día, el problema). Nouns ending in -ción, -sión, -dad, -tad are usually feminine; -ma (from Greek), -or are usually masculine. Adjectives must agree with their noun in gender and number. Adjectives ending in -o have four forms (-o, -a, -os, -as); those ending in -e or a consonant usually have two forms (singular/plural). Adjectives normally follow the noun, but a few common ones (bueno, malo, grande) often precede it, sometimes shortening.
Spanish verbs fall into three groups by infinitive ending: -ar (hablar), -er (comer), -ir (vivir). Each tense has six person/number endings: yo, tú, él/ella/usted, nosotros, vosotros, ellos/ustedes. Regular verbs simply drop the infinitive ending and add tense-specific endings. Key irregular verbs you must memorize: ser (to be: identity), estar (to be: state/location), tener (to have), ir (to go), haber (auxiliary 'have' for compound tenses; impersonal 'there is/are' as 'hay'). Many verbs are stem-changing (e>ie, o>ue, e>i) in stressed syllables, and many have irregular yo forms.
The present indicative covers current actions, habits, general truths, and near-future plans. Regular endings: -ar verbs take -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an; -er verbs take -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en; -ir verbs take -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en. Spanish has no progressive auxiliary by default: 'hablo' covers both 'I speak' and 'I am speaking', though the construction 'estar + gerund' (estoy hablando) emphasizes ongoing action. Stem-changing verbs change in all forms except nosotros/vosotros.
Spanish has two simple past tenses with a crucial aspectual distinction. The preterite (pretérito indefinido) is for completed, bounded events with a clear endpoint: 'I ate', 'she arrived'. The imperfect (imperfecto) is for ongoing, habitual, or descriptive past states without a defined endpoint: 'I used to eat', 'she was arriving', 'it was raining'. Imperfect describes background, age, time, weather, and ongoing states; preterite advances the narrative with specific completed events. Both can appear in the same sentence: imperfect sets the scene, preterite introduces what happened. Endings for the imperfect are highly regular; preterite has many irregulars.
Spanish has two ways to talk about the future. The synthetic future adds endings (-é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án) directly to the full infinitive: hablaré, comerás, vivirá. A handful of verbs use irregular stems (tendré, haré, diré, pondré, saldré, vendré, podré, sabré, querré). The periphrastic future uses 'ir a + infinitive' (voy a hablar = 'I am going to speak') and is much more common in speech for near-future plans. The synthetic future can also express probability or conjecture about the present ('¿Dónde estará?' = 'I wonder where he/she is').
Spanish has three regular conjugation classes, identified by the infinitive ending. To conjugate, drop the -AR / -ER / -IR and add the personal ending. The present indicative endings are the foundation of everyday speech and the basis for many other tenses.
| persona | -AR (andar: to walk) | -ER (comer: to eat) | -IR (vivir: to live) |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | ando | como | vivo |
| tú | andas | comes | vives |
| él / ella / usted | anda | come | vive |
| nosotros/-as | andamos | comemos | vivimos |
| vosotros/-as | andáis | coméis | vivís |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | andan | comen | viven |
Notice the yo form is -o for all three classes, and that -ER and -IR share endings everywhere except the nosotros and vosotros slots (-emos / -éis vs -imos / -ís). Subject pronouns are normally dropped because the ending already identifies the person. Use the present for actions happening right now, habits ('siempre como a la una'), general truths ('el agua hierve a cien grados'), and even near-future plans ('mañana viajo a Roma').
Watch out: vosotros is the informal plural in Spain only; Latin America uses ustedes for both formal and informal plural. Many extremely common verbs (ser, ir, tener, hacer, decir, poder, querer, venir) are irregular and must be memorized separately.
The verb querer ('to want') is irregular (it is an e → ie stem-changing verb) and is followed directly by an infinitive to express wanting to do something. No preposition links the two verbs: just querer + INF. This is one of the most useful early-learner patterns for ordering food, making requests, and expressing wishes.
| persona | querer (PRES IND) | + infinitivo |
|---|---|---|
| yo | quiero | |
| tú | quieres | |
| él / ella / usted | quiere | andar / comer / vivir |
| nosotros/-as | queremos | |
| vosotros/-as | queréis | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | quieren |
The stem change happens in every form except nosotros and vosotros: a pattern shared by many e → ie verbs (pensar, empezar, entender, preferir). For requests, querer in the present sounds slightly blunt; for politeness use the conditional me gustaría + INF (see its own section) or quisiera + INF ('I'd like…'). You can also use querer + a + person to mean 'to love (someone)': Te quiero = 'I love you'.
Spanish forms a periphrastic 'going to' future with the irregular verb ir ('to go') + the preposition a + an infinitive. This futuro próximo is far more common in everyday speech than the simple synthetic future (hablaré, comeré…) for plans and intentions.
| persona | ir (PRES IND) | + a + infinitivo |
|---|---|---|
| yo | voy | |
| tú | vas | |
| él / ella / usted | va | a andar / a comer / a vivir |
| nosotros/-as | vamos | |
| vosotros/-as | vais | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | van |
Ir is completely irregular in the present: memorize it. The preposition a is mandatory: never 'voy comer': always 'voy a comer'. When the infinitive itself is ir (to go), you still need the a: 'Voy a ir al cine' ('I'm going to go to the cinema'): yes, two irs. Pronouns attach to the infinitive or precede the conjugated ir: 'Voy a verlo' = 'Lo voy a ver' ('I'm going to see him').
Pitfall: don't double up: write 'voy a ir', NOT 'voy a a ir'. Compare with querer + INF (desire) and the synthetic future (more formal / less immediate).
The Spanish present perfect, called pretérito perfecto compuesto, is formed with the auxiliary haber in the present + a past participle. It describes past actions whose time frame still feels connected to the present ('today', 'this week', 'ever in my life'). In most of Spain it is the default past for events in the same day; in much of Latin America the simple preterite (comí, llegué) often replaces it.
| persona | haber (PRES) | + participio |
|---|---|---|
| yo | he | |
| tú | has | |
| él / ella / usted | ha | andado / comido / vivido |
| nosotros/-as | hemos | |
| vosotros/-as | habéis | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | han |
Regular past participles: -AR → -ado, -ER / -IR → -ido (andar → andado, comer → comido, vivir → vivido). Key irregular participles to memorize: abrir → abierto, decir → dicho, escribir → escrito, hacer → hecho, morir → muerto, poner → puesto, romper → roto, ver → visto, volver → vuelto, cubrir → cubierto, resolver → resuelto.
Nothing splits the auxiliary from the participle: '¿Has visto la película?', never '¿Has la película visto?'. The participle stays invariable (always -o); it does NOT agree with the subject. False-friend pitfall: this haber is the auxiliary 'to have done'. To say 'I have a car' (possession) use tener, never haber: 'Tengo un coche', NOT 'He un coche'.
Gustar ('to please / to be pleasing to') works backwards compared to English 'like': the thing liked is the grammatical subject, and the person is an indirect object. In the polite conditional form gustaría ('would please'), it makes a soft, courteous request: 'Me gustaría + INF' = 'I would like to + verb'.
| indirect-object pronoun | + gustaría | + infinitivo |
|---|---|---|
| me (to me) | gustaría | |
| te (to you, informal sg) | gustaría | |
| le (to him/her/you-formal) | gustaría | andar / comer / vivir |
| nos (to us) | gustaría | |
| os (to you-pl, Spain informal) | gustaría | |
| les (to them / you-pl) | gustaría |
The verb gustaría stays in 3rd person singular when followed by an infinitive (one 'thing' that pleases: the action). If what pleases is a plural noun, switch to gustarían: 'Me gustarían dos cafés'. For extra emphasis or clarity you can add 'a + person' before the pronoun: 'A mí me gustaría…', 'A Juan le gustaría…'.
Use me gustaría + INF in polite contexts (restaurants, requests, expressing hopes). It is softer than the blunt quiero + INF ('I want…').
Spanish marks an action explicitly in progress with estar + gerundio. Unlike English, the simple present already covers progressive meaning ('como' can mean both 'I eat' and 'I am eating'), so this construction is reserved for actions emphatically happening right now or over a defined ongoing period.
| persona | estar (PRES) | + gerundio |
|---|---|---|
| yo | estoy | |
| tú | estás | |
| él / ella / usted | está | andando / comiendo / viviendo |
| nosotros/-as | estamos | |
| vosotros/-as | estáis | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | están |
Gerund formation: -AR → -ando (andar → andando, hablar → hablando); -ER / -IR → -iendo (comer → comiendo, vivir → viviendo). Spelling shifts: when -iendo would follow a vowel it becomes -yendo (leer → leyendo, oír → oyendo, ir → yendo). A handful of -IR stem-changers shift e→i or o→u in the gerund (decir → diciendo, dormir → durmiendo, pedir → pidiendo).
Pronouns can either precede the conjugated estar or attach to the end of the gerund (in which case an accent is added to preserve stress): 'Lo estoy leyendo' = 'Estoy leyéndolo'. Don't use estar + gerundio for scheduled future events the way English does ('I'm flying tomorrow' = 'Vuelo mañana', NOT 'Estoy volando mañana').
Poder ('to be able to / can / may') is an o → ue stem-changing verb, and like querer it is followed directly by an infinitive: no preposition. It expresses ability, possibility, and (politely) permission or requests.
| persona | poder (PRES IND) | + infinitivo |
|---|---|---|
| yo | puedo | |
| tú | puedes | |
| él / ella / usted | puede | andar / comer / vivir |
| nosotros/-as | podemos | |
| vosotros/-as | podéis | |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | pueden |
Like all o → ue verbs, the stem change appears in every form except nosotros and vosotros. For polite requests, use the conditional podría + INF ('could you…?') instead of the blunt present: '¿Podrías ayudarme?' sounds nicer than '¿Puedes ayudarme?'. To say someone cannot do something, place no before poder: 'No puedo venir hoy' ('I can't come today').
Poder also expresses speculation ('puede que llueva' = 'it might rain') and permission ('¿Puedo pasar?' = 'May I come in?'). For the meaning 'to know how to do something' (a learned skill), Spanish prefers saber + INF rather than poder + INF: 'Sé nadar' ('I can / know how to swim'), not 'Puedo nadar' (which sounds like 'I'm physically able to swim right now').
Two non-finite forms appear over and over in the periphrases above: the gerundio (used with estar for the continuous, and adverbially: 'salí corriendo') and the participio pasado (used with haber for compound tenses, and as an adjective: 'una puerta cerrada').
| infinitive class | gerundio (-ing) | participio (past) |
|---|---|---|
| -AR (andar) | andando | andado |
| -ER (comer) | comiendo | comido |
| -IR (vivir) | viviendo | vivido |
A few spelling-and-stem twists to know:
- -iendo → -yendo after a vowel: leer → leyendo, oír → oyendo, traer → trayendo, ir → yendo. - -IR stem-changers (e→i, o→u) keep the change in the gerund: pedir → pidiendo, dormir → durmiendo, sentir → sintiendo. - Irregular participles (memorize): abrir → abierto, decir → dicho, escribir → escrito, hacer → hecho, morir → muerto, poner → puesto, romper → roto, ver → visto, volver → vuelto, cubrir → cubierto, resolver → resuelto, poner → puesto.
When the participle is used as an adjective (after ser, estar, or modifying a noun) it agrees in gender and number: 'la puerta cerrada', 'los libros abiertos'. After haber in compound tenses, it stays invariable in -o: 'he abierto la puerta', 'hemos escrito las cartas'.
A short tour of the mistakes that show up again and again in beginner Spanish. Each pitfall references the relevant section above for the full pattern.
**1. vosotros vs ustedes (regional). In Spain, the informal plural 'you (guys)' is vosotros/-as with its own verb form (-áis/-éis/-ís, also imperative -ad/-ed/-id). In all of Latin America, vosotros has disappeared: speakers use ustedes** for both formal and informal plural, conjugated in 3rd-person plural. Pick one register and be consistent. Materials made for Spain will conjugate vosotros; materials made for LatAm will skip it.
**2. haber vs tener: both translate as 'have'. Haber** is ONLY the auxiliary for compound tenses (he comido = 'I have eaten'). For possession use tener (tengo un coche = 'I have a car'). Saying 'he un coche' is ungrammatical. The only place haber means 'there is/are' is the impersonal form hay (hay tres libros = 'there are three books').
**3. ir a + INF: never double the a. The pattern is ir + a + infinitive**. When the infinitive starts with a or is ir itself, do NOT add a second a: 'voy a ir al cine' ✓ (not 'voy a a ir' ✗); 'voy a ayudarte' ✓.
4. Periphrastic verbs need no extra preposition. querer, poder, deber, saber all take a bare infinitive: never 'quiero a comer' ✗ or 'puedo de hablar' ✗. Only ir uses a, tener uses que (tengo que estudiar = 'I have to study'), and acabar uses de (acabo de llegar = 'I have just arrived').
**5. Stem changes skip nosotros and vosotros. In querer (e→ie), poder (o→ue), pedir (e→i)** etc., the we and you-pl forms keep the original stem: queremos / podemos / pedimos, NOT quieremos ✗.
**6. Past participle stays in -o with haber.** 'He comido' ✓, NOT 'he comida' ✗ even if the subject is feminine. Agreement only happens when the participle is used adjectivally (after ser/estar or modifying a noun).
7. The progressive isn't always needed. English uses 'I am eating' constantly; Spanish prefers the simple present como unless the action is genuinely emphasised as in-progress right now. And don't use estar + gerundio for future plans ('Mañana vuelo a Roma' ✓, not 'Mañana estoy volando…' ✗).
Both verbs mean 'to be' but are not interchangeable. Ser expresses inherent identity, characteristics, origin, profession, nationality, material, possession, and time/date: 'Soy médico', 'Es de España', 'Son las tres'. Estar expresses location, temporary states, emotions, conditions, and ongoing actions (with the gerund): 'Estoy cansado', 'Está en casa', 'Estamos comiendo'. Some adjectives change meaning depending on which verb: 'ser aburrido' = to be boring, 'estar aburrido' = to be bored; 'ser listo' = to be clever, 'estar listo' = to be ready. The contrast is essence (ser) versus state or position (estar).
Basic negation places 'no' immediately before the conjugated verb: 'No hablo francés' = 'I don't speak French'. Object pronouns stay between 'no' and the verb: 'No lo veo'. Unlike English, Spanish uses double (and triple) negatives: when a negative word like nunca, nadie, nada, ningún, tampoco follows the verb, 'no' must precede the verb. If the negative word comes before the verb, 'no' is dropped: 'Nunca como carne' = 'Nadie sabe'. This stacking is grammatically required, not emphatic. 'Ni... ni...' means 'neither... nor...'.
Yes/no questions are often formed by rising intonation alone, with the same word order as a statement: '¿Hablas español?'. Inversion (verb-subject) is also common, especially in writing: '¿Habla María español?'. Written Spanish uses an inverted question mark '¿' at the start and a normal '?' at the end. Wh-questions begin with an interrogative word, all of which carry a written accent: qué (what), quién/quiénes (who), dónde (where), cuándo (when), cómo (how), por qué (why), cuánto/-a/-os/-as (how much/many), cuál/cuáles (which). Subject pronouns may follow the verb in wh-questions.
Nouns ending in an unstressed vowel add -s: libro > libros, casa > casas. Nouns ending in a consonant or a stressed vowel add -es: papel > papeles, rey > reyes, café > cafés (some accept -s only). Nouns ending in -z change z to c and add -es: luz > luces, pez > peces. Nouns ending in -s in an unstressed final syllable do not change in the plural: el lunes > los lunes, la crisis > las crisis. Adding a plural ending may require adjusting written accents to preserve the stress pattern: examen > exámenes, joven > jóvenes.
Reflexive verbs take a pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) that refers back to the subject. The infinitive form ends in -se: llamarse, levantarse, lavarse. Many describe daily routines and changes of state: 'Me levanto a las siete' = 'I get up at seven'. Others are inherently reflexive in form (quejarse, atreverse). 'Gustar'-type verbs are not strictly reflexive but use a similar object-pronoun pattern: the thing liked is the grammatical subject, and the person is an indirect object ('Me gusta el café' literally = 'Coffee pleases me'). The reflexive pronoun precedes the conjugated verb or attaches to infinitives/gerunds.
When the direct object of a verb is a specific person (or a personified being, including pets), Spanish inserts the preposition 'a' before it. This 'personal a' has no English equivalent and is not translated. Compare: 'Veo la casa' (I see the house) vs. 'Veo a María' (I see María). It is used with specific people, named pets, and personified entities or groups; it is generally omitted with non-specific or indefinite persons after 'tener' ('Tengo dos hermanos'). Question words referring to people also take it: '¿A quién buscas?'. With 'el', 'a' contracts to 'al'.