The Preterite vs. Imperfect (El Pretérito Indefinido vs. El Pretérito Imperfecto) Spanish has two main past tenses—the preterite and the imperfect—and both are used to talk about actions that happened in the past. However, they highlight different perspectives on those actions. The preterite focuses on completed events with clear beginnings or endings, while the imperfect […]
The Present Progressive & the Gerund (El Presente Progresivo y el Gerundio) The present progressive is used to describe actions that are happening right now—what someone is doing at this very moment. This structure helps speakers emphasize that an action is currently in progress. At the center of this construction is the gerund (el gerundio),
Por vs. Para (Two Words That Mean “For” — But Not the Same!) Spanish uses two different words—por and para—that can both translate to “for” in English, but they express very different ideas. Choosing the correct one depends on the reason, purpose, or context of the action. A helpful way to think about them is:
Participles as Adjectives in Spanish (Los Participios como Adjetivos) In Spanish, the past participle (participio pasado) can be used not only to form compound tenses, but also to function as an adjective. When used this way, the participle describes a condition, result, or characteristic of a noun. Just like regular adjectives, participles must agree in
The Spanish alphabet has 27 letters, including Ñ (eñe). Letter Example English A amigo friend B bueno good C casa house Ñ niño boy J jardín garden R rosa rose Z zapato shoe Pronunciation highlights: Building Proficiency for World Language Learners: 100+ High-Interest ActivitiesDiscover over 100 dynamic activities to make world language learning interactive and
The “Super Seven” Verbs in Spanish The “Super Seven” verbs are a set of high-frequency verbs that appear constantly in everyday communication. These verbs give learners the power to express essential ideas: who they are, what they have, what they like, where they are, what they do, and what exists around them. Because they form