Conjugation of the week - 14. Irse - to leave

Having mentioned 'irse' in yesterday's post I thought perhaps it would be a good time to revive the 'Conjugation of the week' posts. This is the first one using the reflexive form which changes the meaning of 'ir' from 'to go' to 'to leave'. By the way, 'irse' is pronounced roughly like 'ear-say'.

irse - to leave

me voy - I leave
te vas - you leave (sing. fam.)
se va - he/she/it leaves, you leave (sing. pol.)
nos vamos - we leave
os vais - you leave (pl. fam.)
se van they leave, you leave (pl. pol.)

Conjugation of the week - 13. Tirar - to throw, simple past

This week it is back to the regular -ar verbs with the simplest of the many past tenses in Spanish. The simple past tense is also known as the past historic tense or the preterite tense. It is similar to the simple past tense in English, but is perhaps used less. It refers to a specific event in the past, that is now finished. See previous posts in this series for more about conjugations.

Tirar - to throw, simple past tense

tiré = I threw
tiraste = you threw (sing. fam.)
tiró = he/she/it/ you (sing. pol.) threw
tiramos = we threw
tirasteis = you threw (pl. fam.)
tiraron = they/you (pl. pol.) threw

Conjugation of the week - 12. Imperfect subjunctive of 'ser' - 'to be'

Having covered a few of the more straightforward conjugations over the last few weeks, I think it is time to throw in a more advanced verb tense. Don't be put off by the name though, the imperfect subjunctive form is not uncommon, nor that difficult. Although it takes a long time to perfect exactly when to use it, knowing the form makes it easy to recognise in written text or conversation. In the next post I will give an easier example of when to use it. It can often be translated into English as 'was' or 'were'. See previous posts in this series for more about conjugations.

Ser - to be, imperfect subjunctive

yo fuera/fuese
tu fueras/fueses
el/ella/usted fuera/fuese
nosotros fuéramos/fuésemos
vosotros fuerais/fueseis
ellos/ellas/ustedes fueran/fuesen

Notice that there are two versions, with -ra and -se endings. The two versions are identical as far as I can tell (and I have asked a few Spanish speakers and teachers). Some dictionaries only show the first, which is probably more common, but you will find both used frequently in books, sometimes together e.g. 'fuera lo que fuese' (loosely - 'being whatever it was' or 'whatever it may have been').

Conjugation of the week - conditional tense of hablar

Having covered the regular verbs in the present tense, as well as some of the most useful irregular verbs, this week we are going to look at the conditional tense. This can be recognised by the endings which contain -ría, and is equivalent to putting 'would' before a verb in English. Hablar is a regular verb, so all other regular -ar verbs form the conditional tense in the same way. See previous posts in this series for more about conjugations.

Hablar - to speak

hablaría - I would speak
hablarías - you would speak (sing. fam.)
hablaría - he/she/it/you (sing. pol.) would speak
hablaríamos - we would speak
hablaríais - you would speak (pl. fam.)
hablarían - they/you (pl. pol) would speak

Conjugation of the Week - 10. Aprender - to learn

This week we have the third and final series of regular verbs - the -er verbs. Again this means that all regular verbs ending in -er are conjugated the same way, and most irregular -er verbs will also follow a similar pattern with some variations. Notice that in the present tense, only the nosotros and vosotros forms are different from regular -ir verbs. See previous posts in this series for more about conjugations.

Aprender - to learn

aprendo = I learn
aprendes = you learn (sing. fam.)
aprende = he/she/it learns, you learn (sing. pol.)
aprendemos = we learn
aprendeís = you learn (pl. fam.)
aprenden = they learn, you learn (pl. pol.)

Conjugation of the Week - 9. Insistir - to insist

After a few weeks of the most common irregular verbs, this week we have another regular verb. The second of the three families of regular verbs are the -ir verbs. This means that all regular -ir verbs are conjugated the same, and most irregular -ir verbs are conjugated in a similar manner. See previous posts in this series for more about conjugations.


insistir - to insist


insisto = I insist
insistes = you insist (sing. fam.)
insiste = he/she/it insists, you insist (sing. pol.)
insistimos = we insist
insistís = you insist (pl. fam.)
insisten = they insist, you insist (pl. pol.)

Conjugation of the Week - 8. Haber - To Have

This week we have the other word for 'to have' in Spanish. The first one was 'tener'. Tomorrow I will talk about when to use which. See previous posts in this series for more about conjugations.

Tener - To have

he = I have
has = you have (sing. fam.)
ha = he/she/it has, you have (sing. pol.)
hemos = we have
habéis = you have (pl. fam.)
han = they have, you have (pl. pol.)

Conjugation Of The Week - 7. Estar - To Be

Last week we had one of the 'to be' verbs in Spanish (ser). This week we have the other 'to be' verb - 'estar'. Tomorrow I will run through when to use which one. See previous posts in this series for more about conjugations.

Estar - to be

estoy = I am

estás = you are (sing. fam.)

está = he/she/it is, you are (sing. pol.)

estamos = we are

estáis = you are (pl. fam.)

están = they are, you are (pl. pol.)

Conjugation of the Week - 6. Ser - To be

 

This week another essential and very irregular verb - 'ser', meaning 'to be'. Ser is actually one of two verbs in Spanish for 'to be' and the choice of which one to use can be quite subtle. More on that in future posts. See previous posts in this series for more about conjugations.

Ser - to be 

soy = I am

eres = you are (sing. fam.)

es = he/she/it is, you are (sing. pol.)

somos = we are

sois = you are (pl. fam.)

son = they are, you are (pl. pol.)

Conjugation of the Week - 5. Ir - To go

Take a few minutes each week to learn a verb conjugation and help your grammar improve painlessly. See previous posts in this series for more about conjugations.


This week, an essential and very irregular verb. It isn't the easiest verb but is is important to learn.


Ir - To go


voy - I go
vas - you go (sing. fam.)
va - he/she/it goes, you go (sing. pol.)
vamos - we go
vais - you go (pl. fam.)
van - they go, you go (pl. pol.)

Conjugation of the Week - 4. Cerrar - To close

 

This week another slightly irregular -ar verb. This time it is the forms with a stressed 'e' which change to 'ie'. Again this is quite common in Spanish, with many verbs containing an 'e' in the second last sylable transforming in the same way. See previous posts in this series for more about conjugations.

Cerrar = To close

cierro = I close

cierras = you close (sing. fam.)

cierre = he/she/you (sing. pol.) close(s)

cerramos = we close

cerráis = you close (pl. fam.)

cierran = they/you (pl. pol) close

Conjugation of the Week - 3. Contar - To count or to tell

Like last week's example, 'contar' is an -ar verb, so it has the same endings as andar and other regular -ar ending verbs. However it is slightly irregular, like many Spanish verbs that have an 'o' or an 'e' in the second to  last sylable. More on that tomorrow. See previous posts in this series for more about conjugations.

Contar - To count or to tell (a story)

cuento = I count
cuentas = you count (sing. fam.)
cuenta = he/she/it counts, you count (sing. formal)
contamos = we count
contáis = you count (pl. fam.)
cuenten = they count, you count (pl. formal)

Conjugation of the week - 2. Andar - To walk (regular -ar verb)

This week we have a regular -ar verb, which means the endings are the same as for any other regular -ar verb. More on that tomorrow. Note that whilst in Spain, 'andar' usually means 'to walk' in Latin America it can often mean 'to go'. For more on conjugating verbs, see last week's post.

Andar - To walk

yo ando = I walk
tu andas = you walk (sing. fam.)
el/ella anda = he/she walks
usted anda = you walk (sing. formal)
nosotros andamos = we walk
vosotros andáis = you walk (plural fam. in Spain)
ellos/ellas andan = they walk
ustedes andan = you walk (plural formal, and plural in Latin America)

Conjugation of the week - 1. Tener - To have

So - grammar is boring and learning verbs is even more boring. Unfortunately it is also pretty important. Unless you are lucky enough to be able to pick up the language entirely by listening and speaking, you are going to have to learn some verbs.

My suggestion is to spend ten minutes or so every few days choosing a different verb and learning how to conjugate it. To help out (and to revise the verbs myself at the same time) I will post a different verb/tense to learn each week. For those put off by big grammar words like conjugate, It is simply learning the different forms of the verb for I, we, he, she, they, you - e.g. I am, we are, he/she is, they are, you are. Unfortunately Spanish is a little more complicated as there are more forms of each verb. More on that later. For now, here goes with the first verb:

1. Tener = to have

yo tengo = I have
tú tienes = you have (singular, familiar)
el/ella tiene = he/she/it has
usted tiene = you have (singular, formal)
nosotros tenemos = we have
vosotros tenéis = you have (plural, familiar) *
ellos/ellas tienen = they have (ellos for males, ellas for females)
ustedes tienen = you have (plural, formal)

* vosotros is used in Spain but not in Latin America where ustedes is used instead for the plural form of you, whether formal or familiar.

Note that the subject pronoun (yo, tu etc.) is generally omitted in Spanish as the verb form makes it clear who is being talked about, so 'tengo el coche' = 'I have the car'. Also note that the usted form (you, formal) is exactly the same as the el/ellos (he/she) form. This is always the case in Spanish, but the explanation of why will have to wait for another post.