How to Say “To Become” in Spanish
In Spanish there is not just one verb “to become”, there are several. The one to use depends on the nature of the change involved, whether it is sudden or involuntary. The best way to learn when to use which verb is to remember specific examples. I have put together some key examples to help you master the verb “to become” in Spanish.
1. Hacerse
2. Ponerse
3. Volverse
4. Convertirse en
5. Other ways to express “to become” Continue reading
Preterite vs Imperfect
Master Which Past Tense to Use
One of the most difficult things people who are learning Spanish come across is which past tense to use. There are several past tenses in Spanish but the two most common ones are the preterite (or the past simple) and the imperfect which are also the easiest to confuse.
In this blog post we will help you work out when to use the preterite and when to use the imperfect so that when you come to talk or write in the past in Spanish you will be able to with ease. Continue reading
Master the ‘Preterite Tense’ in Spanish
The “preterite tense” in Spanish is also known as the “past simple tense”. As there are several different past tenses in Spanish, it can be tricky for learners to work out which one they should be using and when to choose the preterite tense.
This blog post will help you work out when you should be using the preterite tense / past simple tense.
When to use the Preterite Tense
Basically you need to use the preterite tense when talking about completed actions that happened at a specific time. You could also be talking about something that happened once – NOT habits or repeated actions. Continue reading
How to Talk About What You “Used to do” in Spanish Using the Imperfect Tense
As a Spanish learner you may not realise it but in everyday conversation Spanish speakers use about eight different past tenses! On the other hand, English only has four past tenses.
This can be quite scary to find out as a Spanish learner. However, the good news is that you do not need to know all of them to be able to communicate effectively in Spanish.
In this blog post we are going to concentrate on just one past tense, the imperfect tense which you will be pleased to hear is one of the easiest tenses to learn in Spanish! Continue reading
When do you need to use an infinitive verb in Spanish? – 10 tips!
What is the infinitive?
The infinitive is the simplest form of a verb. An infinitive tells you what the action is but not who is doing it nor when they are doing it. It translates into English as “to …” In Spanish there are 3 patterns of infinitive; those that end in -ar, -er or -ir. Examples are:
hablar – to speak
comer – to eat
vivir – to live
There are several common structures in Spanish that need the use of the infinitive. In this post we will look at these uses: Continue reading
Power verbs in Spanish: Gustar (to like)
When you first start learning Spanish you need to learn the most common verbs to help you form questions and basic needs and wants. One of the most important verbs to know is “gustar” (to like) so that you can express what you like, what you don’t like and ask other people what they like. This verb works a bit differently to most verbs as you also need the pronoun in front to say who likes the thing.
In this blog post we will look at how to use this important Spanish verb “gustar”: Continue reading
Spanish Power Verbs – Querer (to want)
When you first start learning Spanish you just need to learn a handful of verbs that will allow you to form the most important questions to express your needs and wants to get by. These include words like want, need, looking for, have. In this post we will look at how to express what you want in the present tense.
querer = to want
(Yo) quiero = I want
(Tú) quieres = you want (informal)
(Usted) quiere = You want (formal)
(Él) quiere = He wants
(Ella) quiere = She wants
(Nosotros) queremos = we want
(Vosotros) queréis = you all want (informal)
(Ustedes) quieren = you all want (formal)
(Ellos) quieren = they want Continue reading
What does “–ísimo” mean in Spanish?
In Spanish if you want to say, “very, very …” or “extremely …” with adjectives you use the –ísimo ending on the end of any adjective. This blog post looks at how to do this correctly with different endings of adjectives:
Most adjectives:
e.g. caro = expensive
To say “very expensive” or “extremely expensive” you just take off the last –o and add –ísimo. Make sure the ending agrees with the noun depending on if it is masculine, feminine, singular or plural: Continue reading
How to say what you “have done” in Spanish
The Perfect Tense
In Spanish to talk about what you have done recently or things you “have done” you would use what is called the “perfect tense”. Luckily it is one of the easier tenses to learn. In this blog post we will look at how to form this tense and the irregular verbs.
There are two parts to this tense: Continue reading
Irregular Future Tense verbs in Spanish
The two good things about the future tense in Spanish is that:
i) there is only a small group of irregular verbs to learn
ii) They still have the same endings as the regular verbs so you only need to remember the stem Continue reading
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