Warning! This site is a huge work in progress, so a lot of things may be misspelled, incorrect, or missing.
If you found a mistake or would like to contribute, feel free to open and issue or pull request at https://github.com/hparcells/spanish-cheat-sheet/.Click the header of any of the cheat sheets to expand/collapse it.
The present tense is used to say things like, "I run," "they eat," or "we drink."
There are three different sets of conjugations for each of the three types of verbs. Verbs that end in -ar, -er, or -ir.
| -ar Verbs | |
|---|---|
| -o | -amos |
| -as | -áis |
| -a | -an |
| -er Verbs | |
|---|---|
| -o | -emos |
| -es | -eis |
| -e | -en |
| -ir Verbs | |
|---|---|
| -o | -imos |
| -es | -ís |
| -e | -en |
To conjugate a verb to the present tense, remove the -ar, -er, or -ir ending, and replace it with the appropriate ending above.
The future tense is used to say things that you will do. There is only one set of conjugation endings for all verbs.
| All Verbs | |
|---|---|
| -é | -emos |
| -ás | -éis |
| -á | -án |
To conjugate a verb to the future tense, remove the -ar, -er, or -ir ending, and replace it with the appropriate ending above.
You may have to use a different stem if your verb is irregular.
Some verbs have an irregular stem that needs to be used instead of the infinitive's stem.
The present progressive is used to describe what you are doing right now. You can use this to say things like, "I am running," or "We are dancing."
There is only one conjugation ending per type of verb.
Before every verb conjugated verb in the present progressive, you must include a form of estar.
| -ar Verbs | |
|---|---|
| -ando |
| -er and -ir Verbs | |
|---|---|
| -iendo |
| Estar | |
|---|---|
| estoy | estamos |
| estás | estáis |
| está | están |
To conjugate a verb to the future tense, remove the -ar, -er, or -ir ending, and replace it with the appropriate ending above.
If the stem of an infinitive ends in a vowel, you add -yendo to the end of the stem, instead of -ando or -iendo.
When using pronouns, use accented -ándo or -iéndo endings.
The preterite is used to describe what you previously did like, "I sang," or "I listened,"" and is used when an action verb is conjugated, and does not match any of the use cases listed for the imperfect.
| -ar Verbs | |
|---|---|
| -é | -amos |
| -aste | -asteis |
| -ó | -aron |
| -er and -ir Verbs | |
|---|---|
| -í | -imos |
| -iste | -isteis |
| -ió | -ieron |
To conjugate a verb to the preterite, remove the -ar, -er, or -ir ending, and replace it with the appropriate ending above.
Some verbs in the preterite are irregular and are conjugated differently.
-ar and -er verbs do not stem change in the preterite. Only -ir verbs in the third person stem change.
The only two stem changes in the preterite are e -> i and o -> u.
Infinitives ending in -car will have their "c" changed to "qu" when conjugated in the first person singular form.
Infinitives ending in -gar will have their "g" changed to "gu" when conjugated in the first person singular form.
Infinitives ending in -zar will have their "z" changed to "c" when conjugated in the first person singular form.
Similar to the preterite, the imperfect is used to describe things that had happened. More specifically, things that you were doing (progressive), something you used to do, time/age in the past, description/scene setting, or physical and emotional state in the past.
| -ar Verbs | |
|---|---|
| -aba | -ábamos |
| -abas | -abais |
| -aba | -aban |
| -er and -ir Verbs | |
|---|---|
| -ía | -íamos |
| -ías | -íais |
| -ía | -ían |
To conjugate a verb to the future tense, remove the -ar, -er, or -ir ending, and replace it with the appropriate ending above.
You must include a clarifier for the first person singular and third person singular forms, because they share the same ending.
| ir | |
|---|---|
| iba | íbamos |
| ibas | ibais |
| iba | iban |
| ser | |
|---|---|
| era | éramos |
| eras | erais |
| era | eran |
| ver | |
|---|---|
| veía | veíamos |
| veías | veíais |
| veía | veían |
| ser | |
|---|---|
| fui | fuimos |
| fuiste | fuisteis |
| fue | fueron |
| ir | |
|---|---|
| fui | fuimos |
| fuiste | fuisteis |
| fue | fueron |
| ver | |
|---|---|
| vi | vimos |
| viste | visteis |
| vio | vieron |
The following verbs in the third person change their i to a y.
| leer | |
|---|---|
| leí | leímos |
| leíste | leísteis |
| leyó | leyeron |
| creer | |
|---|---|
| creí | creímos |
| creíste | creísteis |
| creyó | creyeron |
| caer | |
|---|---|
| caí | caímos |
| caíste | caísteis |
| cayó | cayeron |
| oír | |
|---|---|
| oí | oímos |
| oíste | oísteis |
| oyó | oyeron |
Some verbs, when conjugated to the preterite will have a different stem and a different set of endings. These verbs are:
| All (Above) Verbs | |
|---|---|
| -e | -imos |
| -iste | -isteis |
| -o | -ieron |
Some special stems end in a "v" and those verbs will have a similar, but different set of endings. The difference being that the "i" is dropped from the Uds. ending. These verbs are:
| All Verbs (j Ending Roots) | |
|---|---|
| -e | -imos |
| -iste | -isteis |
| -o | -eron |
Coming soon.
Coming soon.
Coming soon.
Coming soon.
Direct Objects is the object that receives the action of the verb. It is usually the answer to the question "who?" or "what?" with regard to what the subject of the sentence is doing.
Direct Object Pronouns take the place of the noun. We use them so we don't have to repeat ourselves. When there is one verb, the pronoun comes before the verb. If there are two verbs is can come before the conjugated verb or attached to the infinitive or participial.
| Direct Object Pronouns | |
|---|---|
| me | nos |
| te | os |
| lo / la | los / las |
The Indirect Object tells us where the direct object is going. The indirect object answers the question "to whom/for whom" the action of the verb is performed.
Indirect Object Pronouns take the place of the indirect object. The indirect object pronoun comes before the conjugated verb.
| Indirect Object Pronouns | |
|---|---|
| me | nos |
| te | os |
| le | les |
Double Object Pronouns are used when you use both a Direct Object Pronoun and a Indirect Object Pronoun in the same sentence.
When using Double Object Pronouns, you place the Indirect Object Pronoun before the Direct Object Pronoun.
Indirect Object Pronouns "le" or "les", cannot come before Direct Object Pronouns "lo", "la", "los", or "las". You must change the "le" or "les" to "se".
Tú commands are used when you are telling someone who you are familiar with to do something.
To form an affirmative tú command, simply conjugate a verb into its third person present form. Some verbs do not follow this pattern and are irregular. Those are:
Direct Object Pronouns get attached to the end of the conjugated verb.
Negative tú commands are used to tell someone you are familiar with to not do something.
To form a negative tú command, you first conjugate a verb into the first person present form then drop the -o and add -as for -er verbs OR add -es for -ar verbs. Finally you add "no" in front of the verb.
Any "c", "g", or "z" in -car, -gar, and -zar verbs change to "qu", "gu", and "c" respectively.
Pronouns with negative commands are always placed after the "no" and before the verb, with indirect object pronouns always coming before direct object pronouns.