G Verbs

Spanish go verbsThere are a number of Spanish verbs which are regular in all but the first person singular. These are known as “g verbs” or “yo go verbs” because the first person singular requires an unexpected g.

   

   

Hard and Soft Vowels

Spanish hard and soft vowelsSpanish vowels are divided into two categories: hard and soft. Hard vowels (A, O, U) cause the consonant that precedes them to be pronounced with a hard sound, while soft vowels (E, I) are preceded by a soft sound.

   

Indirect Object Pronoun Verbs

Spanish indirect object verbsThere are about a dozen Spanish verbs which must be conjugated with an indirect object pronoun, such as gustar and importar. This grammatical construction does not exist in English, but it’s not difficult once you get used to it.

   

   

Por vs Para

Para vs porThe Spanish prepositions por and para tend to be difficult for Spanish students, because they can – but don’t always – both mean “for.” Por is considerably more common, so in theory, you might be able to get away with just memorizing the uses for para and then using por for everything else. In reality, it’s good to learn the rules, so here they are.

   

Pretérito vs Imperfecto

Pretérito vs imperfectoThe trickiest aspect of the two most important Spanish past tenses is that they often work together, juxtaposed not only throughout stories, but even within individual sentences. Understanding the contrasting relationship between the pretérrito and imperfecto is essential to communicating in Spanish.

   

Pronominal Verbs

Spanish pronominal verbsThe grammatical term “pronominal” means “relating to a pronoun,” so pronominal verbs require a reflexive pronoun. They’re often incorrectly referred to as reflexive verbs, when in fact the latter are just one type of pronominal verb. The defining characteristic of pronominal verbs is that their subjects are acting upon themselves. Pronominal verbs are much more common in Spanish than in English.

   

R

Spanish letter rThe Spanish letter R is pronounced by rolling or trilling the tip of the tongue against the roof of the mouth – learn more.