Useful Spanish

Front 1

Ser is used for

Back 1

Characteristics, time, nationality, occupation, the material something is made of, the relationship between two people, location of an event

Front 2

Estar is used for

Back 2

Physical/geographical location, the state/condition something is in, progressive tenses

Front 3

Conocer is used when knowing

Back 3

Person, place, or to meet someone

Front 4

Saber is used when knowing

Back 4

Facts, languages, or information

Front 5

Para is used for

Back 5

Objective, purpose, deadline, destination, comparison

Front 6

Por is used for

Back 6

Before/during (period of time), motivation, cause, cost, means for carrying out an action

Front 7

Hacer in time

Back 7

Used to indicate the duration of an action: (c)hacer + time + que + (c)main verb OR (c)main verb + (c)hacer + time

Front 8

Tener que

Back 8

Used to express an obligation: tener que + infinitive

Front 9

Last week

Back 9

La semana pasada

Front 10

Its been one ___

Back 10

Hace un día, mes, año que

Front 11

Idiomatic expressions with tener

Back 11

Hungry: tener hambre

Scared: tener miedo

Sleepy: tener sueño

Careful: tener ciudado

Thirsty: tener sed

Cold: tener frío

Hot: tener calor

Front 12

Present progressive

Back 12

(c) estar + -ando

(c) estar + -iendo

(c) estar + -yendo

Front 13

Preterit form (ending in a vowel)

Back 13

Leer >> leí, leíste, leyó, leímos, leyeron

Oír >> oí, oíste, oyó, oímos, oyeron

Creer >> creí, creíste, creyó, creímos, creyeron

Front 14

Preterit of ser/ir

Back 14

Fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fueron

Front 15

A week ago

Back 15

Una semana atrás

Front 16

Preterit form

Back 16

-ar >> é, aste, ó, amos, aron (-car >> qué, -gar >> gué, -zar >> cé)

-er/ir >> í, iste, ió, imos, ieron

Front 17

Preterit -ir stem changing

Back 17

only occurs in 3rd person (él, ellos)

Servir >> sirvió, sirvieron

Pedir >> pidió, pidieron

Preferir >> prefirió, prefirieron

Repetir >> repitió, repitieron

Sentir >> sintió, sintieron

Dormir >> durmió, durmieron

Front 18

Imperfect endings

Back 18

-ar (aba, abas, aba, ábamos, aban)

-er/-ir (ía, ías, ía, íamos, ían)

Front 19

Irregular imperfect

Back 19

Ir (iba, ibas, iba, íbamos, iban)

Ser (era, eras, era, éramos, eran)

Front 20

Comparisons

Back 20

Verb + más/menos que

Más/menos + de + number

Más/menos + noun/adjective/adverb + que

Front 21

Irregular comparisons

Back 21

Better than = mejor que

Worse than = peor que

Younger than = menor que

Older than = mayor que

Front 22

Equal comparisons

Back 22

Tan + adjective/adverb + como

Verb + tanto como

Tanto(a/os/as) + noun + como

Front 23

Superlatives

Back 23

El/la/los/las + más/menos + adjective

Front 24

Irregular Superlatives

Back 24

Best = el/la/los/las mejor

Worst = el/la/los/las peor

Youngest = el/la/los/las menor

Oldest = el/la/los/las mayor

Front 25

Direct/indirect object pronouns

Back 25

DOP + verb

IOP + verb

IOP + DOP + verb

When both IOP and DOP are in the 3rd person, the IOP becomes se

Front 26

Past Participle

Back 26

-ar >> -ado

-er/-ir >> -ido

For -er/-ir verbs that end in a/e/o, -ído

Front 27

Irregular past participles

Back 27

Abrir (to open) >> abierto

Escribir >> escrito

Volver >> vuelto

Poner >> puesto

Ver >> visto

Decir >> dicho

Hacer >> hecho

Front 28

Present perfect

Back 28

(c)Haber + past participle

eg. he/has/ha/hemos/han corrido

Front 29

(c)Acabar de + infinitive

Back 29

Used to express "to have just done something"

Front 30

Informal commands

Back 30

Conjugated the same as 3rd person singular (-a/-e)

DOP/IOPs are attached to the end of the command and an accent is placed on the 3rd to last syllable (levántate)

Front 31

Irregular informal commands

Back 31

Decir >> di

Hacer >> haz

Ir >> ve

Poner >> pon

Ser >> sé

Tener >> ten

Front 32

Negative informal commands

Back 32

no + (DOP/IOP) + same conjugation as the 2nd person singular with switched (-a/-e)

Eg. No comas las hamburguesas

There are no irregular negaive informal commands

Front 33

Negatives

Back 33

Nunca >> nobody

Ni >> nor

Ninguno >> none

Front 34

Future tense

Back 34

Infinitive + é/ás/á/emos/án

Or

(c)Ir + a + infinitive

Front 35

Irregular future tense

Back 35

Poder, saber, querer, and haber use same endings, but drop the infinitive -e

Eg. Podré, sabremos

Poner, salir, tener, and venir use same ending, but replace infinitive -i/-e >> -d

Eg. Pondré, saldremos

Decir drops the -ec-

Eg. Dirán

Hacer drops the -ce-

Eg. Harás

Front 36

Present Subjunctive

Back 36

-ar >> -e, es, e, emos, en

-er/-ir >> -a, as, a, amos, an

If the yo form is irregular in the present indicative, all forms follow the yo form

If there is a stem change in the present indicitive form, all forms have that stem change (eg. Dormir >> duerma)

Front 37

Irregular present subjunctives

Back 37

Haber >> hay + -a,as,a,amos,an

Ir >> vay + -a,as,a,amos,an

Saber >> sep + -a,as,a,amos,an

Dar >> -é,es,é,emos,en

Estar >> -é,és,é,emos,én

Front 38

Possessive

Back 38

Mine = El mío, la mía, los míos, las mías

Yours = El tuyo, la tuya, los tuyos, las tuyas

Yours, his/hers, theirs = El suyo, la suya, los suyos, las suyas

Ours = nuestro, nuestra, nuestros, nuestras

Front 39

Indefinites and negatives

Back 39

Algo/nada = something, nothing

Alguien/nadie = somebody, nobody

Alguno/ninguno = any

- shortened to algún/ningún before masculine, singular nouns

Siempre/nunca = always, never

También/tampoco = also, neither

Front 40

Verbs of doubt/denial

Back 40

Dudar = to doubt

Negar = to deny

No creer = to not believe

No estar seguro = to not be sure

Front 41

Using subjunctive

Back 41

When expressing opinions (creo que), doubt (dudo que), hopes (ojalá/espero que), commands (te ordeno que)