Verb practise for new learners [Archive] - Notes from Spain and Spanish Forum

greytop

2nd June 2006, 02:17 PM

Seems like we all hate verbs! I put together the attached and find it useful to have a print of it on the desk when I´m trying to think in Spanish. It may help some of you. Feel free to throw corrections at me!
It is not protected in any way so feel free to get in and modify it to suit your own brain. I saved it from Open Office into MS .xls format so hope that has not caused any problems.
I would recommend either '501 Spanish verbs' or 'the Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs' as a more comprehensive aid. I like the latter, my wife the former so take your pick. Amazon stocks both.
Buena suerte

cubix

2nd June 2006, 09:02 PM

I would recommend either '501 Spanish verbsBuena suerte

I've only used 501, but I've found the exercises in the back of it to be very helpful. I also have a 333, which is the Red Pock Book of Spanish Verbs, it was given to me as a gift(what a awesome gift!) though it just has conjugations and no explanations, good for a quick reference but not for learning

richardksa

3rd June 2006, 06:21 AM

Gracias Greytop.

Printed and pinned to the wall already. I'm sure I will refer to it again and again.

Opacita

2nd July 2006, 03:16 PM

I have just found this:

http://www.spaleon.com/pres.php

and found it very useful.

I wanted to thank you for this site. I have always been challenged by Spanish verbs and have found this site an enormous help!;D

richardksa

2nd July 2006, 04:39 PM

De nada.

Brian

2nd July 2006, 08:04 PM

I've only used 501, but I've found the exercises in the back of it to be very helpful. I also have a 333, which is the Red Pock Book of Spanish Verbs, it was given to me as a gift(what a awesome gift!) though it just has conjugations and no explanations, good for a quick reference but not for learning

501 is awesome. I have a 20-year-old dogeared copy from my days in secondary school Spanish.

At least there's rhyme and reason to verb conjugations in Spanish. It seems that there ARE exceptions, but by and large, they're pretty easy to pick up.

Edith

2nd July 2006, 09:30 PM

Seems like we all hate verbs!

:blush: ;D ;D :blush:

Especially the past tenses, the futuro and the condicional. Studying verb conjugations is mind-boggling and so utterly boring! I've never been good at rote learning. Even after all these years, Spanish verbs are still a mystery to be and I've got to admit my motivation has almost been reduced to nil. I spend far more time on reading and listening. Understanding Spanish verb conjugations has become a distant dream, and I admit I'm simply too lazy to spend much time on this subject. I've got a dogeared copy of 'Spanish Verbs' , which is a good reference book, so it's entirely up to me to pull myself together and start studying Spanish verbs in earnest. Un día será... ;-)

Brian

2nd July 2006, 11:06 PM

:blush: ;D ;D :blush:

Especially the past tenses, the futuro and the condicional. Studying verb conjugations is mind-boggling and so utterly boring! I've never been good at rote learning. Even after all these years, Spanish verbs are still a mystery to be and I've got to admit my motivation has almost been reduced to nil. I spend far more time on reading and listening. Understanding Spanish verb conjugations has become a distant dream, and I admit I'm simply too lazy to spend much time on this subject. I've got a dogeared copy of 'Spanish Verbs' , which is a good reference book, so it's entirely up to me to pull myself together and start studying Spanish verbs in earnest. Un día será... ;-)

What I found terribly distressing was the correct use of case in my German studies. I never quite grasped the concept, unfortunately. Nor did I ever master whether a noun was masculine, feminine, or neutral. At least in Spanish, if it ends with an -o, it's most often masculine, or -a it's most often feminine, with some exceptions, of course.

Edith

3rd July 2006, 12:05 AM

What I found terribly distressing was the correct use of case in my German studies. I never quite grasped the concept, unfortunately. Nor did I ever master whether a noun was masculine, feminine, or neutral. At least in Spanish, if it ends with an -o, it's most often masculine, or -a it's most often feminine, with some exceptions, of course.

I can imagine why you feel that way! German is quite close to Dutch, but the concept of masculine vs. feminine or neuter isn't quite as clear in modern Dutch (it used to be different in the past). Even though I understand German perfectly I continue to make mistakes as far as nouns are concerned.

Some linguistical concepts are just way too compicated unless you are a native speaker. But I've been told Spanish and German are a piece of cake compared to Finnish, Hungarian, or most Native American languages. Very few outsiders have ever been able to master Navajo...

Brian

3rd July 2006, 12:15 AM

Very few outsiders have ever been able to master Navajo...

Which is why the US Army used Navajos speaking their native language to send messages during WWII. The Japanese never "cracked" the code, amazingly.

Edith

3rd July 2006, 12:24 AM

Which is why the US Army used Navajos speaking their native language to send messages during WWII. The Japanese never "cracked" the code, amazingly.

Oh yes, the Navajo Code Talkers! The movie Windtalkers honored the Navajos, but there were other code talkers as well, e.g. the Choctaws and the Comanches.

BTW, how are we ever going to master those past tenses in Spanish? :rolleyes:

Brian

3rd July 2006, 01:58 AM

BTW, how are we ever going to master those past tenses in Spanish? :rolleyes:

Con mucha práctica...

yo hubiera practicado
tú hubieras practicado
ud. hubiera practicado
nosotros hubiéramos practicado
vosotros hubiérais practicado
uds. hubieran practicado

;D

Edith

3rd July 2006, 09:44 AM

Con mucha práctica...

yo hubiera practicado
tú hubieras practicado
ud. hubiera practicado
nosotros hubiéramos practicado
vosotros hubiérais practicado
uds. hubieran practicado

;D

;D

richardksa

3rd July 2006, 12:18 PM

Don't you just hate show-offs?;)

Ally

17th July 2006, 01:42 PM

greytop

17th July 2006, 02:17 PM

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0764124854/026-6726275-3838003?v=glance&n=266239

Is a plastic coated guide to Spanish verbs on 6 A4 sheets so quite easy to carry around. It has English meanings of tenses & sample conjugations.

It is by the authors of "501 Spanish Verbs" .

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0764124285/026-6726275-3838003?v=glance&n=266239

I also use "The Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs" which is along similar lines

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0658014870/qid=1153141630/sr=1-6/ref=sr_1_2_6/026-6726275-3838003

There are many more of similar type - search Amazon "Spanish Verbs"
As to how you remember them all.....Buena suerte.

Ben

17th July 2006, 02:38 PM

Hola! :)

It's my first post but I just wanted to quickly reply to this before I get really stuck in reading the posts!

I think my problem with verbs is that I don't actually know what they mean in English! Conditional, past participle, preterit blah blah blah... Maybe I should study the meanings in English before I start in Spanish ;) Does anyone else have this problem?
Hi Ally and welcome!
I had no idea what any of the tenses were in English until I became an English teacher! Past simple, past continuous... it was all a mystery to me until I actually had to teach it to Spanish people!

Ally

17th July 2006, 02:55 PM

Thanks for the welcome :)

I do have the Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs, and you're right, it does have the meanings in the front. Maybe I should pencil some notes onto the actual verb pages as I'm using them to help me understand the context in which they should be used.

As it is I've only done present and future so far; I'm dreading the past tenses :confused:

richardksa

17th July 2006, 04:55 PM

I had no idea what any of the tenses were in English until I became an English teacher! Past simple, past continuous... it was all a mystery to me until I actually had to teach it to Spanish people!

But the Spanish, at least the ones I meet, do know. So do the French - horrifyingly so. But then when you have so many ways to use just one verb, then I suppose you have to in order to understand it all. We used to teach English grammar, but that seems to have disappeared. It probably occured with the decline of teaching Latin. Not that I am in any way suggesting it should be brought back.

timg

17th July 2006, 06:16 PM

Hola! :)
I think my problem with verbs is that I don't actually know what they mean in English! Conditional, past participle, preterit blah blah blah... Maybe I should study the meanings in English before I start in Spanish ;) Does anyone else have this problem?
There's a really good book called "English Grammar for Students of Spanish"

greytop

17th July 2006, 07:06 PM

Thanks for the welcome :)

I do have the Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs, and you're right, it does have the meanings in the front. .........................
As it is I've only done present and future so far; I'm dreading the past tenses :confused:

There is a list of the top 50 Verbs just before the 1st entry in my edition of the Big Red. I used that and an exercise book to write out all the different tenses. Boring but it helped.

As to past tenses, if you read just about any thread you'll find we all have the same problem. Reading helps - stop every now and then and LOOK at the verbs in a paragraph to see what tense they are & how they get used.

Try starting with one or two until you get a feel for them before adding some more.

Round the cafes etc. you can often tell foreigners by their lack of verbs in a sentence so you are not alone.

Señora

20th August 2006, 08:07 PM

I`m pleased to know that it is just not me who cannot get the verbs to stick in my head.
I find this very frustrating when I have conducted several sentences in my head, but the lack of the correct verb lets the whole scenario down.

I must keep trying and maybe the jigsaw will fall into place.:blush:

I feel as though I have reached a point where I have to conquer the verbs to progress any further.
Guess what I`ll be doing tonight.;)

Brian

20th August 2006, 08:45 PM

This book helped me! ;D

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0471768723.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_V54483063_.jpg

ValenciaSon

20th August 2006, 09:41 PM

This book helped me! ;D

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0471768723.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_V54483063_.jpg

Otherwise known as "Errant in Indiana"?:rolleyes:

Brian

20th August 2006, 11:13 PM

Otherwise known as "Errant in Indiana"?:rolleyes:

In those days, Errant in Kentucky. ;D

Edith

20th August 2006, 11:29 PM

ValenciaSon

21st August 2006, 12:43 AM

Is this for real? I just don't trust you guys any more since you are so good at using Photo Shop... ;D ;)

What is real anymore? Maybe this will help:

Brian

21st August 2006, 01:38 AM

Is this for real? I just don't trust you guys any more since you are so good at using Photo Shop... ;D ;)

It's for real. See this link (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471768723/sr=8-1/qid=1156120647/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-7525196-7526341?ie=UTF8).

Edith

21st August 2006, 05:24 AM

It's for real. See this link (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471768723/sr=8-1/qid=1156120647/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-7525196-7526341?ie=UTF8).

Ah! Sounds like the right kind of book for me. :)

Thanks for the tip!

Brian

21st August 2006, 05:34 AM

Ah! Sounds like the right kind of book for me. :)

Thanks for the tip!

You might laugh, but I have found the "For Dummies" series to be quite helpful for entry-level study on a variety of topics, much better than the "Complete Idiot's Guide to..." series.

Edith

21st August 2006, 08:00 AM

You might laugh, but I have found the "For Dummies" series to be quite helpful for entry-level study on a variety of topics, much better than the "Complete Idiot's Guide to..." series.

And it's amazing how many 'For Dummies' books there are!

Brian

21st August 2006, 12:37 PM

And it's amazing how many 'For Dummies' books there are!

They're very popular because they're able to reduce complex subjects down to a very simple nutshell, without being overly technical.

Edith

21st August 2006, 12:47 PM

They're very popular because they're able to reduce complex subjects down to a very simple nutshell, without being overly technical.

That's exactly why I like them too! :D

que

22nd August 2006, 12:00 AM

There's a really good book called "English Grammar for Students of Spanish"

as 'timg' said, its a very good book. some of my earliest problems were understanding what verbs, nouns, adjectives, pronouns, adverbs, etc were. when i saw these words, my difficulty was knowing what thay meant in English.

The book explains what all the gramatical points mean in English, along with an English example, and then explain their spanish counterpart along with examples.

the link is below, although amazon says it is out of stock, but a search on the ISBN number might find you something

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0340810947/202-8004641-1475812?v=glance&n=266239&s=gateway&v=glance

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0340810947.01._SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

gary

22nd August 2006, 01:27 PM

as 'timg' said, its a very good book. some of my earliest problems were understanding what verbs, nouns, adjectives, pronouns, adverbs, etc were. when i saw these words, my difficulty was knowing what thay meant in English.

blame the government for that one - some 17 years ago i was teaching and an inspector actually asked me why I was teaching children about nouns and adjectives when it wasnt in the National Curriculum, he had his nose put out of joint when I lectured him and gave my rant about 'how could two mechanics talk about a car without knowing the names of the component parts and their function?' - he repeated thet they werent in the National Curriculum and beat a hasty retreat when I suggested that it would be as soon as prats like him got their heads out of their arses and took a look around the real world... I have never had a problem with authority unless it insists on behaving like a twat...

que

22nd August 2006, 04:36 PM

gary

22nd August 2006, 05:37 PM

what can i say? shocking. My spanish house mate was shocked by how little i knew about my own language. My english is still poor, but i have learnt a lot more since learning spanish. Would almost say my spanish grammar is better than my english. thats saying a lot :o

Many people over 20 and under 35 have only learnt of the existance of grammar by studying a foreign language - luckily its quite easy to reverse engineer - except of course the subjunctive.....

richardksa

22nd August 2006, 06:39 PM

You might laugh, but I have found the "For Dummies" series to be quite helpful for entry-level study on a variety of topics, much better than the "Complete Idiot's Guide to..." series.

I agree - and I hate them for it!! You pay out all that money for a book, read it, and then you don't need it any more 'cos you're an expert. B*gger!!