Memory tricks for Spanish

Hablar (to speak): hablo, hablas, habla, hablamos, habláis, hablan. Drop the -ar, add the ending. This pattern works for all regular -AR verbs — hundreds of them.

Nouns ending in -a → feminine (la). Nouns ending in -o → masculine (el). Not 100% (el día, la mano are exceptions) but correct 90%+ of the time. Memorize the exceptions separately.

Preterite: "I ate dinner" (done). Imperfect: "I used to eat dinner at 6" (habitual) or "I was eating" (ongoing background action). When two actions overlap in the past, background = imperfect.

"Hay" means both "there is" and "there are" (singular and plural). "Hay una mesa" = there is a table. "Hay mesas" = there are tables. It never changes form in the present tense.

SER — DOCTOR: Description, Occupation, Characteristics, Time/date, Origin, Relationships. ESTAR — PLACE: Position, Location, Action (progressive), Condition, Emotion. Exceptions: ser used for events' location ('La fiesta es en mi casa'), estar for dead ('está muerto'). When unsure: estar for states, ser for identity.

Preterite (completed): ayer (yesterday), anoche (last night), el año pasado, de repente (suddenly), en ese momento, una vez (once), dos veces. Imperfect (ongoing/habitual): siempre, todos los días, generalmente, cuando era niño, mientras, a veces, cada día.

Reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, os, se. Levantarse (to get up/raise oneself), ducharse (to shower), llamarse (to be called), casarse (to get married), sentirse (to feel). Some verbs change meaning when reflexive: ir = to go, irse = to leave. Dormir = to sleep, dormirse = to fall asleep.

Wishes: quiero que vengas. Emotion: me alegra que estés aquí. Impersonal expressions: es importante que estudies. Recommendations: te recomiendo que descanses. Doubt/Denial: dudo que sea verdad. Ojalá: ojalá que llueva (I hope it rains). Trigger: que + different subject.

Direct object pronouns: me, te, lo/la, nos, os, los/las. Indirect: me, te, le, nos, os, les. Both before conjugated verb: Te lo doy (I give it to you). With infinitive or gerund: can attach — Quiero dártelo or Te lo quiero dar. Double pronouns: indirect before direct, le/les → se before lo/la/los/las.

Por: cause (por eso = because of that), exchange (lo compré por $5), duration (estudié por dos horas), movement through (caminar por el parque). Para: purpose (para estudiar = in order to study), destination (salgo para Madrid), deadline (para el lunes), opinion (para mí = in my opinion).

Go-verbs add -go in yo form only: tener→tengo, venir→vengo, salir→salgo, hacer→hago, poner→pongo, traer→traigo, caer→caigo, decir→digo. Other irregulars: saber→sé, conocer→conozco, ver→veo. All other forms follow regular patterns. Memorize these yo forms — everything else is regular.

Me gusta (singular thing), me gustan (plural things). Indirect pronouns: me, te, le, nos, os, les. Me gusta la pizza. Me gustan los tacos. Le gusta = he/she/you(formal) likes. Add a + person for clarity: a María le gusta bailar. Similar verbs: encantar (to love), molestar (to bother), interesar (to interest), faltar (to lack/need), parecer (to seem), quedar (to have remaining). All follow the same reversed structure.

E→IE: querer (quiero, quieres, quiere, queremos, queréis, quieren). Also: poder is O→UE (puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, podéis, pueden). E→I (only -ir verbs): pedir (pido, pides, pide, pedimos, pedís, piden). Common E→IE: empezar, pensar, preferir, entender, querer, venir, tener. Common O→UE: poder, dormir, volver, costar, encontrar, jugar (U→UE exception). Common E→I: pedir, servir, seguir, repetir, vestirse.

Formula: conjugated ir + a + infinitive. Voy a comer (I am going to eat). Vas a hablar (You are going to speak). Va a llegar (He/she is going to arrive). Vamos a estudiar (We are going to study). Van a salir (They are going to leave). Simple future (estudiaré) is used for more distant or uncertain future events. Ir + a is preferred in speech for immediate or planned actions. Both are correct — context and register determine the choice.

Affirmative tú command: 3rd person singular present tense. hablar → habla. comer → come. escribir → escribe. Irregular tú affirmatives: ven (venir), di (decir), haz (hacer), ve (ir), pon (poner), sal (salir), sé (ser), ten (tener). Negative commands: all use present subjunctive. No hables, no comas. Usted commands: always present subjunctive — hable, coma, escriba. Pronoun placement: affirmative = attach to end (¡Dímelo!). Negative = place before (No me lo digas).

Formation: estar (conjugated) + gerund. -AR verbs: drop -ar, add -ando (hablar → hablando). -ER/-IR verbs: drop ending, add -iendo (comer → comiendo, vivir → viviendo). Irregular gerunds: ir → yendo, decir → diciendo, pedir → pidiendo (stem change in -ir). -ER/-IR verbs with vowel before ending: use -yendo (leer → leyendo, oír → oyendo). Key difference: English uses -ing for habitual and future (I am studying law = career). Spanish uses present simple for this. Estoy estudiando = I am studying right now at this moment.

Formation: infinitive + -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían. Hablar → hablaría, hablarías... Irregular stems (same as future): tener → tendr-, poder → podr-, querer → querr-, saber → sabr-, poner → pondr-, salir → saldr-, venir → vendr-, hacer → har-, decir → dir-. Uses: polite requests (¿Podrías ayudarme?), hypothetical (condicional), reported speech, advice (Deberías estudiar más). Si clause: si + imperfect subjunctive → conditional.