Spanish Tenses
Table of contents
Simple Tenses
|
Compound Tenses/Perfect Tenses
|
Present
Future
Imperfect
Preterit/Past Tense
|
Present Perfect
Past Perfect
Future Perfect
|
Present Tense
Uses: Actions happening right now
I speak – Yo Hablo
Habitual actions
I walk 10 km every day –Yo camino 10 km todos los días
Things happening in the near future
I start next week – Yo empiezo la semana que viene
Conjugations-
To form the present tense remove the infinitive ending (-ar,-er, or –ir) and replace it with the personal ending
-ar
|
-er
|
-ir
| |
yo
|
-o
|
-o
|
-o
|
tú
|
-as
|
-es
|
-es
|
él/ella/usted
|
-a
|
-e
|
-e
|
Nosotros
|
-amos
|
-emos
|
-imos
|
Vosotros
|
-áis
|
- éis
|
- ís
|
Ellos/ellas/ustedes
|
-an
|
-en
|
-en
|
Demonstration
To speak –Hablar (remove the –ar and you are left with habl)
Now just add the ending of your choice
I speak-Yo hablar
They speak-Ellos hablan
Future Tense
Uses: Things that will/shall happen
I will go to the office tomorrow- Iré a la oficina mañana
Uncertainty in the present
He must be hungry -Tendrá hambre
I wonder who she is?- ¿Quién será ella?
He is probably traveling alone.- Estará viajando solo.
Note-Things that happen in the near future use present tense, but things that occur further in the future use future tense.
(Present Tense) Tonight, I’m going to Spain-Esta noche voy a España.
(Future Tense) Next year, I’m going to Spain - El año que viene iré a España.
Conjugation- Add an ending after the infinitive ending of a verb
all
| |
yo
|
-é
|
tú
|
-ás
|
él/ella/usted
|
-á
|
Nosotros
|
-emos
|
Vosotros
|
-éis
|
Ellos/ellas/ustedes
|
-án
|
Demonstration-
I will speak – Yo hablaré
Imperfect Tense
Uses:
Something that happened in the past that doesn’t have a definite beginning or end.
Something that occured in the past habitually
I used to run 10 km everyday - Corría 5 km cada día
We would lunch together every day. - Almorzábamos juntos todos los días
The ladies would always chat in the mornings.- Las señoras siempre charlaban por las mañanas
Something that happened in the past over an extended period of time or set the scene for something else.
I was reading when ___- Yo leía cuando ___
Expressing time or age I the past
he was 3 when___ - tenía 3 años cuando___
it was 9 pm- era las nueve de la noche
Describe a scene in the past
the palace was gorgeous - el palacio era maravilloso
Conjugations
Drop the –ar/-er/-ir endings and add a personal ending
-ar
|
-er / -ir
| |
yo
|
-aba
|
-ía
|
tú
|
-abas
|
-ías
|
él/ella/usted
|
-aba
|
-ía
|
Nosotros
|
-ábamos
|
-íamos
|
Vosotros
|
-abais
|
-íais
|
Ellos/ellas/ustedes
|
-aban
|
-ían
|
Spanish Preterite (Past Tense)
Uses: Actions competed in the past
I spoke with him-yo hablé con él
To indicate an event or action that took place while another was taking place (the other action would use imperfect)
I was reading when my dad entered-Yo leía cuando entró mi papá. (in this example reading is in imperfect, entered is in preterit)
Conjugations:
To form a preterit verb, drop the infinitive ending and add a personal ending
-ar
|
-er / -ir
| |
yo
|
-é
|
-í
|
tú
|
-aste
|
-iste
|
él/ella/usted
|
-ó
|
-ió
|
Nosotros
|
-amos
|
-imos
|
Vosotros
|
-asteis
|
-isteis
|
Ellos/ellas/ustedes
|
-aron
|
-ieron
|
Demonstration
I lived – Yo viví
He lived – él vivió
Compound Tenses/Perfect Tenses
Tenses that are formed with the helping vierb and the past participle of the main verb.
These are used to indicate an action or state as completed/not in progress, with respect to the present future or past.
Conjugation
1. Use the helping verb haber formed for the appropriate tense and mood
2. Use the masculine singular for of the past participle
-ar
|
-er / -ir
| |
yo/ tú/ él/ella/usted/ Nosotros/ Vosotros/ Ellos/ellas/ustedes
|
-ado
|
-ido
|
Present Perfect Tense
Uses: Indicate an action or state as having occurred and have been completed
(note unlike English it cannot be used for actions that are ongoing I have been living here for 9 years, it also cannot be used for the idea I have just___ as in I just heard the news)
We have already seen the film - Ya hemos visto la película
Conjugation
1. Conjugate haber for present tense
2. Use the masculine singular form of the past participle.
-ar
|
-er / -ir
| |
yo
|
he ___- ado
|
he ___- ido
|
tú
|
has ___ - ado
|
has ___ - ido
|
él/ella/usted
|
ha ___- ado
|
ha ___- ido
|
Nosotros
|
hemos ___- ado
|
hemos ___- ido
|
Vosotros
|
habéis ___- ado
|
habéis ___- ido
|
Ellos/ellas/ustedes
|
han ___- ado
|
han ___- ido
|
Examples:
I have spoken-he hablado
Past Perfect
Uses: An action in the past that started in the past, and was completed in the past (prior to another action)
John said that he had traveled to Mexico.- Juan dijo que había viajado a México.
-ar
|
-er / -ir
| |
yo
|
había___- ado
|
había___- ido
|
tú
|
habías ___ - ado
|
habías ___ - ido
|
él/ella/usted
|
había ___- ado
|
había ___- ido
|
Nosotros
|
habíamos ___- ado
|
habíamos ___- ido
|
Vosotros
|
habréis ___- ado
|
habréis ___- ido
|
Ellos/ellas/ustedes
|
habrán ___- ado
|
habrán ___- ido
|
Demonstration
I will have spoken- había hablado
Future Perfect
Uses: To indicate an action as having occurred and been completed in the future (We use “will have”)
John will have left by 8:00 - Juan habrá salido para las ocho.
To indicate conjecture (when using words like probably)
That noise? It must have been the cat. -¿Ese ruido? Habrá sido el gato.
-ar
|
-er / -ir
| |
yo
|
-ar
|
-er / -ir
|
tú
|
habré
___- ado
|
habré
___- ido
|
él/ella/usted
|
habrás
___ - ado
|
Habrás
___ - ido
|
Nosotros
|
habrá
___- ado
|
habrá
___- ido
|
Vosotros
|
Habremos
___- ado
|
Habremos
___- ido
|
Ellos/ellas/ustedes
|
habíais
___- ado
|
Habíais
___- ido
|
Demonstration
I will have spoken-habré hablado
