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what is the proper way to learn conjugation in spanish?
I have trouble grasping this topic. I understand to an extent but my question is why or how does the ending change when you conjugate a word? Do you just have to rely on memorization and assumptions on how it'll be conjugated?
Feb 28, 2019 8:34 PM
Answers · 4
3
In inflected languages , the trick is to learn the patterns and the exceptions. In the case of verbs, the ones that follow a standard pattern are called regular verbs. The ones that don't are called irregular verbs. Start by learning the patterns for regular verbs. In Spanish, there are three kinds of regular verb, depending on the ending of the infinitive. The three types are verbs than end in -ar, -er, and -ir. Pick one of each kind and learn its conjugation as a pattern for others. For example, the verb hablar in the present active indicative has the following conjugation:
yo hablo
tú hablas
él/ella/ Ud. habla
nosotros hablamos
vosotros habláis
ellos/ellas/Uds. hablan
All regular -ar verbs have those same endings: -o, -as, -a, -amos, aís, -an. That means that, if you take a different regular -ar verb, say "tomar" for example, you know it will have those same endings and its conjugation will be:
yo tomo
tú tomas
él/ella/ Ud. toma
nosotros tomamos
vosotros tomáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. toman
Learning the pattern for the regular verbs let's you conjugate all the regular verbs. Just pick one of each of the regular -ar, -er, and -ir verbs (say, ""hablar", "comer", and "subir"", for example). Learn the pattern for their conjugations (in each tense) and you will know how to conjugate any regular Spanish verb.
Then start learning the irregular verbs. Although they don't follow the standard pattern, many of them are irregular in the same way, so they kind of form their own patterns. Althogh you have to learn the irregular verbs individually, still look for the patterns that match other irregular verbs. Compare the conjugations of "querer" and "entender" in the present for example. You'll see they're irregular in the same way so you'll have found another pattern to remember. The trick is to learn the patterns.
February 28, 2019
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lunas
Language Skills
English, Spanish
Learning Language
Spanish
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