Tenses Flashcards
(19 cards)
Imperfect Tense
Used to talk about actions that happened in the past without a specific time duration (such as habitual actions—things that occurred regularly or over a prolonged period of time).
Key: Any time you’d say “used to” in English, you use the imperfect tense in Spanish.
E.G.
Solía ir a ese parque cuando era joven.
I used to go to that park when I was young.
Juana cocinaba cuando Pedro volvió.
Juana was cooking when Pedro came back.
Endings:
AR - aba, abas, aba, ábamos, abais, aban
ER/IR - ía, ías, ía, íamos, íais, ían
Preterite Tense
We use the Spanish preterite to talk about:
- Actions that both started and finished in the past
- Actions that took place during a specific time period
- Sequences of actions
For example:
Ayer comí lasaña.
I ate lasagna yesterday.
El mes pasado fui de compras dos veces.
I went shopping twice last month.
Me levanté, abrí la puerta y me fui.
I got up, opened the door and left.
Endings:
AR - é, aste, ó, amos, gastéis, aron
ER/IR - í, iste, ió, imos, isteis, ieron
Simple Future
The future simple is used exactly how it sounds: to describe actions that haven’t happened yet, but will.
For example:
Llegaré tarde.
I will be late.
Encontrarás al amor de tu vida muy pronto.
You will find the love of your life very soon.
You’ll hear it less frequently, but we also use this tense for solemn commands, such as:
No matarás.
Thou shall not kill.
No irás a la fiesta.
You won’t go to the party.
However, there’s one other use of the future simple in Spanish that drives some learners crazy—talking about possibilities.
¿Dónde estará Juan?
Where could Juan be?
Me pregunto qué hora será.
I wonder what time it is.
To use the future simple tense, you don’t conjugate, just add the ending to the infinitive form of a verb.
Endings:
ALL - é, ás, á, emos, éis, án
Simple Conditional Tense
We use the Spanish simple conditional to talk about hypothetical situations, give advice and make requests.
E.G.
¿Podrías pasarme la sal, por favor?
Could you pass me the salt, please?
Me gustaría ser millonario.
I would like to be a millionaire.
¿Por qué no vino Juan? No sé, estaría enfermo.
Why didn’t Juan come? I don’t know, maybe he was ill.
Si yo fuera tú, lo dejaría.
If I were you, I would leave him.
¿Por qué no estudiaría yo más?
Why didn’t I study harder?
Don’t conjugate the verb; just add the ending to the infinite.
ALL - ía, ías, ía, íamos, íais, ían
Present Perfect Tense
You’ll need to use the Spanish present perfect tense when talking about completed actions and actions that have already started but are still ongoing.
E.G.
He desayunado dos veces ya.
I have already had breakfast twice.
Juan ha vivido en Sevilla todo este tiempo.
Juan has lived in Seville all this time.
It’s also the perfect tense to use when talking about life experiences (or lack thereof).
Nunca he estado casado.
I have never been married.
Hemos concertado una reunión con él para mañana.
We have arranged a meeting with him for tomorrow.
You only have to conjugate one verb: haber (to have). Then, simply make the main verb you’re wanting to use into the past participle.
The formula is:
conjugated haber + past participle of the verb
Yo = He
Tú = Has
Él/Ella/Usted = Ha
Nosotros = Hemos
Vosotros = Habéis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes = Han
AR = Ado
ER/IR = Ido
Past Perfect Tense (Pluperfect Tense)
The Spanish past perfect is used for two situations: talking about an action that happened before another and life experiences that you’re having for the first time.
E.G.
La bomba ya había explotado cuando llegó la policía.
The bomb had already exploded when the police arrived.
Nunca antes había visto un tiburón.
I had never seen a shark before.
Conjugation for the past perfect is similar to the present perfect. The difference is that the conjugation of haber is in the imperfect form rather than the simple present.
Yo = Había
Tú = Habías
Él/Ella/Usted = Había
Nosotros = Habíamos
Vosotros = Habíais
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes = Habían
AR = Ado
ER/IR = Ido
Past Anterior Tense (Preterite Perfect Tense)
This tense is rare in Spanish nowadays, as it usually only appears in literature and extremely formal language.
The past perfect tense almost entirely replaces it now, as it’s also used to talk about a past action that took place right before another past action.
E.G.
Cuando hubo comido, lavó los platos.
When/After he had eaten, he washed the dishes.
No dije nada después de que hube oído la noticia.
I didn’t say anything after hearing/having heard/I had heard the news.
The past anterior follows the same pattern as the present perfect and the past perfect, but this time haber will be in its preterite form.
Yo = Hube
Tú = Hubiste
Él/Ella/Usted = Hubo
Nosotros = Hubimos
Vosotros = Hubisteis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes = Hubieron
AR = Ado
ER/IR = Ido
Future Perfect Tense
We use the future perfect to talk about actions that will have been completed in the future and to make conjectures and hypotheses about the past (much like the simple future is used to make conjectures about the present).
E.G.
En septiembre habré terminado mis estudios.
I will have finished my studies in September.
Ella se habrá quedado dormida para el final de la película.
She will have fallen asleep by the end of the movie.
Once again, we use haber + the past participle, but this time haber will be in its future form.
Yo = Habré
Tú = Habrás
Él/Ella/Usted = Habrá
Nosotros = Habremos
Vosotros = Habréis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes = Habrán
AR = Ado
ER/IR = Ido
Conditional Perfect Tense
We use the Spanish conditional perfect to talk about things that would or could have happened in the past (or not).
E.G.
Habríamos ido si Ana no hubiera estado enferma.
We would have gone if Ana hadn’t been sick.
Habría preferido quedarme en casa.
I would have preferred to stay home.
Creí que no habrías querido venir.
I thought you wouldn’t have wanted to come.
Yo = Habría
Tú = Habrías
Él/Ella/Usted = Habría
Nosotros = Habríamos
Vosotros = Habríais
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes = Habrían
AR = Ado
ER/IR = Ido
Subjunctive Mood
The subjunctive in Spanish is the opposite of the indicative. Instead of expressing facts, it’s used to communicate things like wishes and doubts.
Any time you’re unsure which one to use, think of the popular acronym “WEIRDO”:
- Wishes
- Emotions
- Interpersonal expressions
- Recommendations
- Doubt/Denial
- Ojalá (I wish, hope, etc.)
Present Subjunctive
You already know why and when to use the subjunctive (think “WEIRDO”). So it makes sense then that the present subjunctive tense simply expresses those characteristics (such as wishes and doubts) in the present tense.
E.G.
Necesito que venga pronto.
I need him to come soon.
¡Ojalá llueva!
I hope it rains!
How to conjugate?:
Step 1: Start with the verb stem used for the first person present tense
Step 2: Change the ending according to the subject (using the conjugation tables below)
AR - e, es, e, emos, éis, en
ER/IR - a, as, a, amos, áis, an
Imperfect Subjunctive
We use the imperfect subjunctive tense to talk about past feelings, but also to reflect on past events (as the first example sentence shows).
E.G.
No creo que el examen fuera difícil.
I don’t think the exam was difficult.
Ojalá no lloviera.
I wish it hadn’t rained.
Quisiera saber su nombre, por favor.
I would like to know your name, please.
There are three steps to conjugating Spanish verbs in the imperfect subjunctive tense:
Step 1: Find the third person plural of the verb in its preterite form (for example, hablaron — they talked)
Step 2: Remove the –ron at the end (for example, hablaron → habla)
Step 3: Conjugate the stem
AR - ra, ras, ra, áramos, arais, ran
ER/IR - ra, ras, ra, iéramos, rais, ran
Future Subjunctive
Like the anterior preterite, you’ll rarely encounter the future subjunctive “in the wild.”
It’s mainly seen in literature and legal documents now, and where it was routinely used in conversations in the past, the present subjunctive and present indicative are typically used instead.
Its main use is when the main verb requires the subjunctive and it refers to the future:
Adonde fueres, haz lo que vieres.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
El que rompiere la regla, será castigado.
He who breaks the rule will be punished.
The conjugation for the future subjunctive uses the same stem as the imperfect subjunctive but uses these endings for all verb types instead:
ALL - re, res, re, remos, reis, ren
Present Perfect Subjunctive
The present perfect subjunctive expresses the same things as the present subjunctive. The difference is that the verb has already happened or will in the near future.
E.G.
Espero que hayas dormido bien.
I hope you slept well.
Te llamaré cuando haya comido.
I’ll call you when I finish eating.
To conjugate this tense, take the present subjunctive form of haber and add the past participle.
Yo = Haya
Tú = Hayas
Él/Ella/Usted = Haya
Nosotros = Hayamos
Vosotros = Hayáis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes = Hayan
AR = Ado
ER/IR = Ido
Pluperfect Subjunctive
We use the Spanish pluperfect subjunctive to reflect on actions in the past that were followed by another. Most commonly, to wish something had or hadn’t happened.
E.G.
Si hubieras estudiado más, habrías aprobado el examen.
If you had studied harder, you would have passed the exam.
Ojalá no hubiera llovido tanto.
I wish it hadn’t rained so much.
For this one, put haber into the imperfect subjunctive form and add the past participle.
Yo = Hubiera
Tú = Hubieras
Él/Ella/Usted = Hubiera
Nosotros = Hubiéramos
Vosotros = Hubierais
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes = Hubieran
AR = Ado
ER/IR = Ido
Future Perfect Subjunctive
The Spanish future perfect subjunctive is basically obsolete.
It’s only used in formal literature, poetry and legal texts to refer to a future completed event that would only be true if the condition of an earlier event is fulfilled.
Its complicated even for native Spanish speakers!
It simply means that something can be completed in the future if and only if a prior condition is met.
Something has to happen first, and then a second event will take place and be completed.
Quien hubiere ultrajado la bandera, será castigado.
He who has vilified the flag will be punished.
Si no hubiere vuelto en dos horas, llamad a la policía.
If I haven’t returned in two hours, call the police.
For the future perfect subjunctive, put haber into its future form and add the past participle.
Yo = Hubiere
Tú = Hubieres
Él/Ella/Usted = Hubiere
Nosotros = Hubiéremos
Vosotros = Hubiereis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes = Hubieren
AR = Ado
ER/IR = Ido
Spanish Imperative Mood
The imperative in Spanish is used to tell somebody what to do (i.e., make a demand).
There’s both an affirmative imperative and a negative imperative tense.
Unlike the other Spanish verb tenses, both imperatives only conjugate in the tú, nosotros, usted, and ustedes forms.
Affirmative Imperative
E.G.
¡Ven rápido!
Come quick!
Déjame ir a la fiesta, por favor.
Let me go to the party, please.
Perdóname, mi amor.
Forgive me, my love.
AR:
Tú = a
Usted = e
Nosotros = emos
Vosotros = ad
Ustedes = en
ER:
Tú = e
Usted = a
Nosotros = amos
Vosotros = ed
Ustedes = an
IR:
Tú = e
Usted = a
Nosotros = amos
Vosotros = id
Ustedes = an
Negative Imperative
The negative imperative is used to tell people what not to do—the opposite of the affirmative imperative.
E.G.
¡No vengas!
Don’t come!
No vayas a la fiesta.
Don’t go to the party.
No me pidas perdón.
Don’t apologise.
AR:
Tú = es
Usted = e
Nosotros = emos
Vosotros = éis
Ustedes = en
ER/IR:
Tú = as
Usted = a
Nosotros = amos
Vosotros = áis
Ustedes = an
