Spanish Verbs

This page is just to briefly describe Spanish verbs and when to use them. There are several tenses in Spanish. For now we will cover the basics. later we'll cover more advanced forms.

Why are there so many different forms of verbs in Spanish?

Well, the simple answer is that each one is used to describe a different period of time. We'll go through each one to help you understand.

The time scale would look like this...
spanish verbs

Past Perfect- If you are talking about an event that happened in the past, use this tense to talk about an event that happened previous to it.

Here's an example:	Yo fui al mercado, pero ya se había cerrado.
	I went to the store, but it had already closed.

Simple Preterite/Complex Preterite- to describe a single event that happened in a past time frame, use simple preterite, or complex preterite.

Simple Preterite example:	Despues ella había llegado, comimos la torta.
	After she had arrived, we ate the cake.

Complex Preterite example:	Cuando todos estaban a la fiesta, nosotros hubimos comido.
	When everyone was at the party we ate.

Present Perfect- Don't use this one to converse with someone about chronological events in the past (events in reference to one another), only use it to mention or ask about past events without mention of a time frame.

Example:	¿Has comprado la comida?
	Did you buy the food?

Present- Use this tense to talk about what's going on now.

Example:	¿Qué haces?
	What are you doing?

Complex Future- Use this construction to talk about the near future.

Example:	Voy a comprarlo.
	I'm going to buy it.

Simple Future- Use this tense to talk about the distant future.

Example:	Lo compraré.
	I'll buy it.

Those are the basic Spanish verbs and their uses.

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