Spanish grammar
119 explanations, ordered the way the course teaches them. Free to read, no account.
A1Beginner25 topics
- Noun gendermasculine and feminine nouns in Spanish
- Noun pluralHow to form the plural of Spanish nouns
- Noun-adjective agreementHow descriptive adjectives match the gender and number of the noun they modify
- Definite and indefinite articlesel/la/los/las and un/una/unos/unas, the contractions al and del, and when to omit the article
- Demonstrativeseste, ese, aquel — pointing to things near and far
- Possessive adjectives (short forms)mi, tu, su, nuestro, vuestro — expressing ownership before the noun
- Subject pronounsyo, tú, él/ella, usted, nosotros/as, vosotros/as, ellos/ellas, ustedes — and when to drop them
- Question wordsAsking questions in Spanish with interrogative words and intonation
- Present indicative (regular verbs)How to conjugate regular -ar, -er, and -ir verbs in the present tensefree conjugation drill
- Present indicative of ser, estar, haber, and irFour high-frequency verbs with irregular present-tense forms every beginner must learn
- Present irregular yo-forms (-go, -zco)Verbs whose only irregular present form is the first person singularfree conjugation drill
- Ser and estar (basic contrast)Two verbs for "to be" — choosing the right one
- Hay vs. estarExpressing existence and location in Spanish
- Gustar-type verbsExpressing likes and dislikes with gustar
- Querer and poder with the infinitiveExpressing wants and abilities by chaining a modal verb directly to an infinitive
- Cardinal and ordinal numbersCounting and ordering: gender agreement, compound forms, and shortened ordinals
- Quantifiers and muy vs. muchomucho, poco, bastante, and the muy/mucho contrast
- Negation with no, sí/no answers, and también/tampocoHow to negate a sentence, give yes/no answers, and agree with affirmative or negative statements
- Relative clauses with que (restrictive)Using que to identify which person or thing you mean
- Noun modifiers with de and conLinking nouns to describe type, possession, and features
- Basic coordinators: y, o, pero, ni, unos...otrosLinking and contrasting words and clauses with y, o, pero, ni, and unos...otros
- Porque, para + infinitive, and por quéExpressing cause, purpose, and asking why
- Prepositions a vs. enLocation, movement, and telling the time
- Locative prepositional phrasesExpressing static location with compound prepositions
- Telling the timeAsking and stating clock times in Spanish
A2Elementary33 topics
- Present indicative — irregular stem changesBoot changes, irregular yo-forms, spelling shifts, and written accents in the present tensefree conjugation drill
- Preterite — regular verbsNarrating completed past actions with -ar, -er, and -ir verbsfree conjugation drill
- Preterite — irregular verbsIrregular stems, shared forms, and accent-free monosyllables in the Spanish preteritefree conjugation drill
- Preterite — strong stemsThe irregular stems of pude, puse, dije and their familyfree conjugation drill
- Preterite — third-person vowel and y changesStem-vowel shifts and y spelling in the él/ella and ellos/ellas preteritefree conjugation drill
- Preterite — yo-form spelling changes-qué, -gué, and -cé endings that preserve the stem soundfree conjugation drill
- The Imperfect TenseDescriptions, habitual past actions, and background statesfree conjugation drill
- Pretérito perfectohaber + past participle for actions connected to the present
- Affirmative imperativeGiving instructions, directions, and commands in Spanish
- Estar + gerundioExpressing actions in progress with the present and past continuous
- Ir a + infinitiveExpressing the immediate or planned future in everyday Spanish
- Obligation and aspect periphrasestener que, hay que, acabar de, empezar a, volver a, soler — and where to place clitics
- Saber vs. poder for abilityChoosing the right verb when English says "can"
- Direct object pronounslo, la, los, las — replacing the thing you act on
- Indirect object pronouns and sele/les, the le→se rule, clitic doubling, and the dative of possession
- Tonic pronouns after prepositionsmí, ti, conmigo, contigo, and the a mí / a ti emphasis pattern
- Personal aMarking a specific person or pet as a direct object
- Reflexive verbsUsing me/te/se/nos/os with daily-routine verbs
- Gustar-type verbs (extended)me/te/le/nos/os/les with encantar, doler, interesar — and how to clarify who is affected
- Article use and omissionWhen Spanish requires, changes, or drops the article
- Stressed possessives (mío, tuyo, suyo)Possessive forms that follow the noun, stand alone as pronouns, or appear after ser
- Todo, otro, demasiado, nada/nadieFour quantifiers with rules that differ sharply from English
- Cada and mismoDistributive cada and agreeing mismo for sameness and emphasis
- Temporal clauses: cuando, antes de, después de, desde, hastaExpressing time relations with five key connectors
- Hace + time period = «ago»How to place a past event a set time back from now
- Open conditions with si + presentHow to express realistic "if" sentences using si and the present indicative
- Exclamatives with qué and impersonal weather expressionsHow to exclaim with ¡qué…! and talk about the weather in Spanish
- Connectors: e/u substitution, por eso, entoncesAdjusting y and o for sound, and linking cause to result
- Indefinite/negative pairs and double negationalgo/nada, alguien/nadie, alguno/ninguno, siempre/nunca — and how Spanish handles two negatives at once
- Por vs. paraTwo prepositions with distinct jobs: cause, exchange, and movement vs. recipient and deadline
- Adverbs in -menteForming and using Spanish adverbs ending in -mente
- Adjective apocopationbuen, gran, algún…
- Diacritic accent pairstú/tu, sé/se, and other look-alike words distinguished by a written accent
B1Intermediate28 topics
- Comparatives and superlativesmás/menos ... que, tan ... como, the absolute superlative -ísimo, and irregular forms (mejor, peor, mayor, menor)
- Present subjunctivePresent subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion, and impersonal opinion (querer que, espero que, dudar que, es importante que).free conjugation drill
- Conditional simpleConditional tense for hypothetical situations, polite requests, and reported speech ("dijo que vendría").free conjugation drill
- Time expressions with llevar and hace ... queExpressing how long an action has been ongoing
- Relative clausesLinking clauses with que, quien(es), donde, and lo que; restrictive vs. non-restrictive uses.
- Nominalizers el de / el queExpressing "the one…" without repeating the noun
- Passive and impersonal "se"The "se" construction for passive ("se venden libros") and impersonal generalisations ("se vive bien aquí").
- Impersonal third-person pluraldicen que…, me robaron la cartera, llaman a la puerta
- Reciprocal se (each other)Using nos, os, and se to express mutual actions between two or more people
- Futuro simpleEl futuro imperfecto: predicciones, decisiones firmes y probabilidad en el presentefree conjugation drill
- Pluperfect (past perfect)había + past participle for an event completed before another past reference point
- Past narration: imperfecto/indefinido interplayBackground vs. foreground, interrupted intentions, and al + infinitivo
- Meaning-changing preterite vs. imperfectState verbs that shift meaning depending on which past tense you use
- Negative imperative and clitic pronoun placementNo te vayas, díselo — how pronouns move depending on whether the imperative is negative or affirmative
- Subjunctive in adverbial clausesTemporal, purpose, and antes de que / después de que constructions
- Dejar, permitir, hacer + infinitiveExpressing influence and causation with a dative clitic and an infinitive
- Reported speech (present-to-past)Shifting tenses and moods when relaying what someone said or ordered
- Deber + infinitivo vs. deber de + infinitivoExpressing obligation, probability, and softened advice with deber
- Aspectual periphrases: dejar de, ponerse a, estar a punto de, seguir + gerundioExpress how an action starts, stops, continues, or is on the verge of happening
- Verb + preposition regimeFixed prepositions after common verbs: hablar de, pensar en, soñar con, invitar a
- Discourse connectorssin embargo, o sea que, causal como, por + infinitivo, aunque + indicative
- Superlatives and comparisonsel más/menos…de, -ísimo, igual de…que, más/menos de
- Qué vs. cuál/cuálesChoosing the right interrogative word in Spanish questions
- Ser/estar special usesImpersonal time, estar de + occupation, estar a + price/date
- Ser for the location of eventsWhy a party «es» somewhere while a building «está» somewhere
- Indirect questions: si, qué, cuándo, dóndeEmbedding yes/no and wh-questions inside a main clause using si, qué, cuándo, dónde + a finite clause or infinitive
- Number agreement with collective nounsSingular verb after collective nouns, and when plural agreement applies
- Fácil/difícil de + infinitiveTwo patterns for expressing ease or difficulty — one with de, one without
B2Upper intermediate33 topics
- Past (imperfect) subjunctiveImperfect subjunctive (-ara/-iera) after past-tense triggers, polite requests, and counterfactual "si" clauses.
- Compound tenses with haberPerfect tenses formed with haber + past participle: present perfect, pluperfect, future perfect, conditional perfect.
- Conditional perfect"Habría + participle" for hypothetical past actions and reported future-in-the-past, often paired with si + pluperfect subjunctive.
- Conditional for conjecture about the pastUsing the conditional simple to express probability or guesses about past situations
- Reported speech — full backshiftHow tenses, moods, and deictic expressions shift when reporting past speech in Spanish
- Complex conditional sentencesCounterfactual past conditionals: "si + pluperfect subjunctive, conditional perfect" (Si hubiera sabido, habría venido).
- Remote conditional sentencesHypothetical conditions with si + imperfect subjunctive and the conditional
- Nuanced ser vs. estarAdjectives that change meaning with ser vs. estar and resultant-state estar with past participles
- Advanced relative clausesExplicativas, prepositional relatives, quien, donde, lo que, and the indicative/subjunctive contrast
- Relative possessive cuyoExpressing "whose" in relative clauses
- Nosotros imperative (¡Empecemos!)First-person-plural commands with the present subjunctive
- Compound subjunctive: perfect and pluperfectExpressing completed actions with doubt, emotion, and past hypotheses
- Subjunctive after negated opinion and assertionHow negation flips the mood from indicative to subjunctive in opinion and assertion clauses
- Subjunctive in temporal and concessive connectorsWhen to use the subjunctive — and when not to — after en cuanto, aunque, por mucho que, and related connectors
- Conditional connectors beyond siPor si, siempre que, con tal de que, salvo si, a no ser que, and related connectors
- Passive voice: ser vs estar + participleExpressing actions and resulting states with ser and estar
- Verbs of becomingponerse, quedarse, hacerse, volverse, convertirse en, llegar a ser
- Middle se and accidental se (dative of interest)Expressing spontaneous events and unintentional mishaps with se
- Advanced clitics: neuter lo, fronted-object doubling, leísmo de personaThree clitic behaviours that go beyond the basics: echoing a predicate with neuter lo, doubling a fronted direct object, and the accepted use of le for masculine human referents.
- Adverbial gerund, nada más + infinitive, and predicative participle clausesThree non-finite constructions for expressing simultaneous action, immediate sequence, and resulting state
- Ir/venir + gerundio (gradual action)Expressing gradual development and accumulated process with a motion verb and the gerund
- Ver/oír + infinitive or gerundPerception verbs with non-finite complements
- Consecutive clauses of intensity: tan/tanto…que, de manera que, por lo tantoExpressing result and consequence with intensity constructions
- Pero vs. sinoCorrection versus contrast
- Formal causal connectors: ya que, puesto que, debido a que, enunciative porqueHow to express cause and justification with register-appropriate connectors
- Lo as nominalizerlo + adjective, lo de, lo que, lo + adj + que
- Advanced comparativesde lo que, superior/inferior a, el doble de, igual que
- Correlative and progressive comparisonCuanto más/menos…, más/menos… and cada vez más/menos
- Advanced quantifiers: cualquier(a), partitives, multiplicatives, algo + adjectiveCualquier(a), la mitad de, el doble de, and algo + adjective
- Cleft sentences: ser-focus with relator agreementHighlighting one element with ser + the right relator word
- Adjective position and meaningHow placing an adjective before or after the noun changes what it means
- Appreciative suffixesDiminutive -ito, augmentative -ón/-azo, pejorative -ucho
- Aspectual se (comerse, beberse, saberse)How a reflexive pronoun marks complete or remarkable consumption, perception, or knowledge