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Plain-English guides to the parts of Spanish that trip everyone up
These are the explanations we kept writing out for people: how many tenses Spanish really has and which 16 nemiria teaches, how to choose between the two past tenses, which “to be” to use, why some Spanish sentences seem to run backwards, how to talk about the future, why some verbs change their vowels, when to say he hablado, and the word pairs that English speakers mix up. Start with a level check if you are not sure where you are. No jargon for its own sake, real example sentences, and an honest view of what to learn first.
Find your level
Which Spanish verb tenses are you ready for?
Fifteen quick questions, from the everyday tenses to the subjunctive, and the nemiria level to start at. About three minutes, and nothing you answer is saved.
Find your levelWhich Spanish word pairs are you ready for?
Fifteen quick questions on ser or estar, por or para, qué or cuál and more, and the Word Pairs level to start at. About three minutes, and nothing you answer is saved.
Find your levelVerbs and tenses
Spanish verb tenses, explained simply
Why the answer to "how many are there?" is 14 in one book and 16 in another, which 16 nemiria teaches and why, one example of each, and the order worth learning them in.
Read the guidePreterite or Imperfect? The past tense choice
Both translate into the same English. The difference is the job the sentence is doing, not how long ago it happened. With the sentence pairs that make it click.
Read the guideThe Present Perfect in Spanish: he hablado, and when to use it
How to build it with haber, the irregular past participles, and when Spanish switches to the Preterite instead.
Read the guideVoy a hablar or hablaré? Talking about the future in Spanish
Going to, or will: how to build ir + a + a verb, when to use each future, and iba a for plans that fell through.
Read the guideStem-changing verbs: why poder becomes puedo
The four patterns, why nosotros stays the same, which tenses change, and the extra change in -ir verbs.
Read the guideSpanish commands: habla, no hables, and why they change
Why nearly every command is the Present Subjunctive, the short irregular tú commands, and where the pronouns go.
Read the guideReflexive verbs: why it is me levanto, and where the pronoun goes
The five little pronouns, the two places they can go, and the free choice between voy a levantarme and me voy a levantar.
Read the guideWhy "I like coffee" is back to front in Spanish
Me gusta el café does not say what you think it says. Once you see which word is the subject, gustar stops being an exception and starts being a pattern.
Read the guideVosotros or ustedes? The two ways to say “you all”
Who uses which, the forms side by side, why ustedes adds no new verb forms, and which set to drill for where you are going.
Read the guideWord pairs and phrases
Ser or estar? Which “to be” to use
Two verbs for one English word. The permanent versus temporary rule is the wrong test, and the adjectives that change meaning are where the real difference shows.
Read the guideHay or estar? “There is” or “it is”
New, or already known: the little word in front settles most sentences. With why hay never changes.
Read the guidePor or para? Two words for “for”
Por looks back at the reason, the route or the exchange; para looks ahead to the goal. With the giveaways that settle most sentences, and the pairs where both words fit.
Read the guideQué or cuál? When “what” is cuál
Why Spanish asks ¿Cuál es tu nombre?, when qué goes straight before a noun, and a short checklist for every question in between.
Read the guideBueno or bien? “Good” or “well”
A good thing, or a thing done well. With buen, the greetings, and the difference between está bueno and está bien.
Read the guideMuy or mucho? “Very” or “a lot”
Describing or counting: one question settles it. With mucha hambre, mucho mejor and muchas gracias.
Read the guideWhy Spanish says “I have hunger”
Feelings you have, weather that makes, and why “very hungry” is mucha hambre, never muy hambre.
Read the guideWhy Spanish says “me voy”: ir and irse
Going somewhere, or leaving: what the little me changes, and the trap in se va a acostar.
Read the guideWhy Spanish says “no hay nada”: double negatives
Why two negatives do not cancel out, and when nunca needs a no and when it does not.
Read the guideWho writes these
nemiria is a Spanish verb and word pairs trainer for iPhone and iPad, built in New Zealand. Every example sentence in these guides is taken from the app itself, where it has already been checked against the tables and the grammar rather than written fresh for an article.
If something here is unclear, or you think we have got something wrong, we would rather know: [email protected].