Verb Tenses - Complete Guide for Spanish Speakers

🎯 Why This Matters

Language system mastery.

Learning Outcome

Complete language mastery.

🇪🇸 The Challenge

Overview confusion. English has 12 active tenses (3 times × 4 aspects). Most languages have fewer tenses or use aspects differently.

🇲🇽🇨🇴🇦🇷 More aspects than Spanish

Problem: Spanish has fewer tense/aspect distinctions

Watch out: Using Present Simple when English needs Continuous, or vice versa

✅ Fix: Learn the specific use of each tense. Signal words help you choose!

🧠 Mental Note: Spanish 'estoy trabajando' = I am working. But Spanish 'trabajo' = I work OR I am working. English distinguishes!

❌ 'I work now' → ✅ 'I am working now' (action in progress)

🇪🇸 Present Perfect differences

Problem: Spanish Perfect is used differently than English Perfect

Watch out: Using Perfect with specific past time: 'I have seen him yesterday'

✅ Fix: English: yesterday/last week = Past Simple ONLY. No Perfect with specific past time!

❌ 'I have arrived yesterday' → ✅ 'I arrived yesterday'

🧠 Visual Explanation (The Mental Fix)

The Tense Grid

English tenses form a 3×4 GRID: 📊 THE TENSE MATRIX: | SIMPLE | CONTINUOUS | PERFECT | PERFECT CONT. -------|------------|-------------|--------------|--------------- PAST | worked | was working | had worked | had been working PRESENT| work(s) | am working | have worked | have been working FUTURE | will work | will be | will have | will have been | | working | worked | working WHEN TO USE: - SIMPLE = facts, habits, completed actions - CONTINUOUS = in progress, temporary - PERFECT = connection to another time - PERFECT CONT. = duration + in progress Spanish has fewer tenses! English distinguishes aspects more precisely.

3 times (past/present/future) × 4 aspects (simple/continuous/perfect/perfect continuous) = 12 tenses.

🗣️ Pronunciation Guide

How Spanish speakers should pronounce this structure:

Have/Has reduction

Spanish Habit: Saying 'have' clearly

English Reality: In Perfect tenses, have/has is often reduced

Examples:

I have seen → I've seen /aɪv siːn/
She has gone → She's gone /ʃiːz gɒn/
They have been → They've been

Practice: Always contract have/has in speech: I've, you've, he's, she's, we've, they've

📖 How It Works

Summary table of tenses with time markers and usage contexts.

Learning Strategy

Teacher Recommendation: Teacher strongly recommended

Time Investment: 3 hours

🔑 Signal Words (Memory Anchors)

These words/phrases appear with this structure:

English	Spanish	Example
yesterday/last...	ayer/el... pasado	I SAW him yesterday (Past Simple)
now/at the moment	ahora/en este momento	I AM WORKING now (Present Continuous)
already/yet/ever	ya/todavía/alguna vez	I HAVE ALREADY FINISHED (Present Perfect)
for/since	durante/desde	I HAVE BEEN WAITING for 2 hours (Perfect Continuous)
tomorrow/next...	mañana/el próximo...	I WILL GO tomorrow (Future)

💬 Real Examples

Let's see this structure in action with correct vs incorrect usage:

Example 1: Simple vs Continuous

✅ CORRECT: "I work here. (simple) / I am working here. (continuous)"

🇪🇸 Translation: "Trabajo aquí. / Estoy trabajando aquí."

❌ COMMON MISTAKE: "I am work here."

Why wrong? Simple = fact/habit. Continuous = happening now/temporary.

🇲🇽 LatAm Trap: Spanish 'trabajo' can mean both. English distinguishes them!

I WORK here = permanent job. I AM WORKING here = right now/temporarily.

Example 2: Past Simple vs Present Perfect

✅ CORRECT: "I saw that movie. (past) / I have seen that movie. (perfect)"

🇪🇸 Translation: "Vi esa película. / He visto esa película."

❌ COMMON MISTAKE: "I have seen that movie yesterday."

Why wrong? With specific past time (yesterday), use PAST SIMPLE, not Perfect

🇲🇽 LatAm Trap: Spanish 'he visto' can be used with 'ayer' in some regions. English can't!

Yesterday/last week/in 2020 = Past Simple. Today/this week/ever = Perfect possible.

Example 3: Future forms

✅ CORRECT: "I will go. / I am going. / I am going to go."

🇪🇸 Translation: "Iré. / Voy. / Voy a ir."

❌ COMMON MISTAKE: "I will going to go."

Why wrong? Don't mix forms. Each future structure is complete on its own.

🇲🇽 LatAm Trap: Spanish has fewer future options. English has 4-5 ways to talk about future!

Will = prediction. Going to = plan. Present Cont. = arrangement.

✏️ Practice Exercises

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🚀 What to Study Next

More in "Verb Tenses"

Present Continuous

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Present Simple

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For and Since

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Future Continuous

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Future Simple

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