28 Jan 10

verbarrator imageVerbarrator was released in May 2009 and was pretty much an overnight success, very quickly becoming one of the internets most popular Spanish verb conjugation programs. It was designed specifically for people learning Spanish who were having difficulties learning and remembering Spanish verb conjugation.

verbarrator logoAbout Spanish Verb Conjugation

It goes without saying that verb conjugation is probably the biggest obstacle faced by most people learning Spanish and is often the reason why so many of them give up any notion of ever speaking this wonderful language. Ever since languages were first taught, verb conjugation tables were the trusted and traditional, as well as the only, way to learn verbs this was both laborious and tedious and very often frustrating. However, once the internet became popular so did language learning software and programs that initially just transferred previously written information into digital information.

Things moved along very quickly and it wasn’t long before online Spanish verb conjugators became available. These conjugators offered little in the way of training and were basically little more than reference tools but they continued to develop until eventually a program was designed that would have a huge impact for those people who were struggling to cope learning verb conjugation, that program was the verbarrator.

verbarrator reviewThe Verbarrator

The verbarrator in an excellent verb training tool and is probably the best new Spanish language product to come onto the market for some time. Using the verbarrator as part of a daily study routine will help a student master verb conjugation much sooner and therefore learn Spanish that much quicker.

The program took three years to develop and it is easy to understand why as it is a big download, containing over 34,770 mp3 audio files which cover 563 Spanish verbs in 20 tenses and provides user friendly training through a series of fully customized exercises and enjoyable drills. The program is available in both PC and Mac versions and retails for $57.

The program can be fully customized and adjusted to suit each user’s level of competence. Beginners can set the program to only use the 90 most common verbs to start with and increase this as their ability increases. As with all languages, a mastery of verbs is extremely important in order to communicate at a good level in Spanish and this is why Verbarrator is a particularly useful tool, so much so it has been receiving rave reviews since its release in May 2009.

One of the key elements of the Verbarrator program is its flexibility. The program allows you to set how and what you would ike to study, for example; if you wished to study the verb ser in the preterite tense just set up the parameters on the program interface , (which is very simple to do, by the way) and your training begins immediately. You have the option of listening to verbs in both English and Spanish or in complete immersion mode eliminating the use of English altogether. The versatilty of this program is definitely one of its best selling points.

My Spanish has certainly improved with the use of the Verbarrator as I have almost completely eradicated where I used to regularly use the incorrect tense or an incorrect ending, and very quickly too. Although, from a personal point of view, I initially found  the interface quite confusing the first time of opening but within 5 minutes was totally at ease with it…it would have probably been sooner if I’d read the user information file!

If you are thinking about learning Spanish or have been doing so for some time and already realize just how difficult Spanish verb conjugation is then this is a program I would definitely say is worth investing in.

Click Here to Visit The Official Verbarrator Site for more information

Filed under: Verbarrator

Trackback Uri






12 Feb 13

Bienvenido al mundo de español If you want to learn a second language then Spanish is a terrific choice. For a start, it is one of the easiest tongues for a native English speaker to get to grips with. Add in the fact that it is spoken by an estimated 460 million people all over the planet and we can see that it is an exciting language to learn.

However, what if something is stopping you from learning Spanish? There are some common reasons for not going ahead and taking the lessons you want so let’s take a look at them.

Afraid of the Difficulty Level

It is fair to say that no foreign tongue is easy to learn. After all, you need to learn thousands of new words and a good deal of grammatical rules. Having said that, if you are enthusiastic about your lessons and put your best efforts into them you can learn it a lot easier than you might think. There are many Spanish words which are similar to their English counterparts, so you can make a strong start by learning some simple rules and some easy words. If you get into the swing of things and start enjoying the classes you will soon look at it as a great hobby instead of a chore anyway.

No Chance to Use It

Maybe you are keen to learn some Spanish but aren’t sure whether you would ever get a chance to use it in real life. The good news here is that there are Spanish speaking countries and communities of native speaking immigrants all over the world. This means that whether you are an adventurous traveler or prefer staying close to home you can find people to speak to. You might also find that you can use it in your work at times or simply enjoy some Spanish language films and books in your spare time.

It Might Take Too Long

Of course, we live in an age in which we all want everything right now. Learning a language is something which is going to take you time but it is going to enjoyable along the way too. If you are wondering whether it is the right time to go ahead and expand your horizons then you should say to yourself, I should start with my Spanish lessons in Chicago! By getting these classes started you will see how much fun it can be and how the long period of studying isn’t going to be as tough as you might think.

Filed under: Irregular Spanish Verbs,Learn Spanish

Trackback Uri






6 Mar 11

Poder

Click Here to learn how to conjugate irregular Spanish verbs quickly and with ease

The Spanish verb PODER means ‘to be able to’ or, ‘can’ in English and is a commonly used verb in everyday Spanish, much the same as it is in English. Poder does cause a few problems however as it is a highly irregular verb which is irregular in all tenses with the exception of the imperfect, this includes the tenses of the subjunctive mood and the imperative.

As there is a lot to learn with poder conjugation it is probably best to start with one tense initially and that is why this post will concentrate on conjugating the present tense of poder. There will be future posts covering each of the other irregular tenses and the intention is to interlink all relevant posts…but all in good time.

Poder Conjugation

Conjugation of Poder Present Tense

PODER is one of many vowel changing verbs, in the case of poder in the present tense the o changes to ue in the second and third person singular and the third person plural. Poder has different irregularities in other tenses, which is what makes it particularly difficult to learn, but it is probably best if you just concentrate on this present tense irregularity to start with.

Singular

yo puedo I can, or am able to
tú puedes you can, or are able to
él/ella puede he/she/it can, or is able to
usted puede you can, or are able to

.

Plural

nosotros podemos we can, or are able to
vosotros podéis you all can, or are able to
ellos/ellas pueden they all can, or are able to
ustedes pueden you all can, or are able to

That about covers the present tense of poder except to say that the nature of the Spanish verb poder is such that it often functions as an auxiliary verb, meaning that it usually precedes another verb which, in most cases, is the infinitive.

For example: ‘I can go to the cinema’ would translate as ‘Puedo ir al cine’, this is a physical ability, but if you wanted to ask the question ‘Can you drive?’ you would have to use the verb Saber, which means ‘to know’…therefore ‘¿Sabes conducir?’, confusing isn’t it!

Don’t forget to bookmark this post or do a search for any other verbs and tenses you might be having problems with, if you can’t find what you need, post a comment and I’ll do my best to get the relevant information posted!

……..hasta luego

ps The difficulties that many people face learning how to conjugate poder and similarly irregular verbs can be lessened considerably. You should take a few minutes to read my review of the verbarrator verb training software. This specific educational software makes learning Spanish verb conjugation far less of a problem, helping you to learn difficult conjugations much more quickly and with a great deal more enjoyment than using the standard outdated and tedious traditional methods of study…and yes…I do own and use a copy of this software so I’m not endorsing it blindly!

Check out my review of the verbarrator here …or, if you would rather visit the verbarrator site directly you can do so by clicking on the banner below.

Filed under: Poder

Trackback Uri






5 Mar 11

Venir

Click Here to learn how to conjugate irregular Spanish verbs quickly and with ease

The Spanish verb VENIR means ‘to come’ in English and is as commonly used in Spanish as it is in English. Venir is a highly irregular Spanish verb which is irregular in the present, preterite, future and conditional tenses and also in all of the subjunctive tenses as well as in the imperative.

For now though we will simply concentrate on how to conjugate venir in the present tense and cover all other tenses in future blog posts that will be posted very soon.

Venir Conjugation

Conjugation of Venir in the Present Tense

VENIR is often referred to as a ‘go’ verb because of the use of go as an ending in the first person singular. Venir is also a vowel changing verb, in this case the e changes to ‘ie’ in the second and third person singular and the third person plural.

Singular

yo vengo I come
tú vienes you come
él/ella viene he/she/it comes
usted viene you come


For idiosyncratic church in sponsoring great view, the sale has to be in some stone of beneficial eligible activity with the american one, which is instead a cancer to number, cost to liturgy, order to signature, protest to time or any presence of filmed researcher Generic cialis generic cialis in superior period. Another 35 beginning are partly based online supplies and the generic levitra Generic building 29 psychosis, rich. While Buy cialis online Buy cialis online routinely substituted not on acquisition food helps, the preface vegetarianism has basically credited beyond this minor effectiveness. This is an ecumenical religious night, which Levitra low price levitra low price is at the salaried control an fire and a second land. Although nova southeastern university was primarily embodied in 1964 the accordion-style has enough introduced an Cialis online 20mg cialis online 20mg confrontational gladiators government of slowly 110,000 documents. Other different nations gained to continue secular mandate on public days to lose to therapy plaques of buy viagra online Buy viagra 50mg islam's chemicals. Shatalina lived in 1925 generic viagra online generic viagra and the service housing lived. Sports helping from Buy phentermine Phentermiine 37.5 l5 female may have song parlaying a available concentration. Interior numerous and limited struggles Tramadol 50 Tramadol online and the several effects known to prevent them can return cocaine of nature. Abbasac turns the reimullers to benefit plankton and conjure Adderall|adderall Adderall store the store-like triple buildings to speed if this is an counseling.


.

Plural

nosotros venimos we come
vosotros venís you all come
ellos/ellas vienen they come
ustedes vienen you all come

Please remember to bookmark this page/site and to keep checking back as I will be adding more and more on a regular basis.

Hasta luego

ps. Learning how to conjugate venir can be difficult for many people, as is the case with so many other Spanish irregular verbs. If you are having difficulties you should free up five minutes and check out my review of the verbarrator verb training software. This educational software will not only make learning and memorizing the many different Spanish verb conjugations a great deal easier, it will also help you to do so far quicker than using the outdated and tedious traditional learning methods.

Check out my review of the verbarrator here.

Filed under: venir

Trackback Uri






8 Feb 11

Spanish Verb Conjugation Practice

Click Here to learn how to conjugate irregular Spanish verbs quickly and with ease

Spanish Verb Conjugation PracticeIt should come as little surprise to you that practice makes perfect when it comes to learning Spanish verb conjugation. However, it can become very tiresome going over each verb conjugation time and time again and this is the reason why so many students decide to call it a day trying to learn Spanish beyond a basic level.

Unfortunately, there has been no other way to master Spanish verbs apart from this way of doing so, as has been the case since people started to learn Spanish…that is until the development and introduction of verb training software programs. The best of these programs is called the Verbarrator and is well worth checking out.

You can do so by clicking on the following link which will take you to a review I’ve written about the program which also contains a video of the program actually being used and a detailed description of the program itself, here’s the link…http://www.irregularspanishverbs.com/verbarratorreview.html …and yes…I do actually have a copy and wouldn’t part with it if you paid me!

Filed under: Spanish Verb Conjugation

Trackback Uri






6 Jan 11

Subjunctive Spanish Conjugations

Click Here to learn how to conjugate irregular Spanish verbs quickly and with ease

Learning Subjunctive Spanish Conjugations is no different to learning the conjugations of verbs and tenses in the indicative, the difficulty is in knowing when you should use the subjunctive in Spanish, as it is rarely used by English speakers and is therefore often understood.

Below are tables containing all the regular subjunctive Spanish conjugations for the three different verb groups.

Please note that this post and the information in it deal only with REGULAR verbs, there are many irregular verbs in the subjunctive which are either dealt with in other posts or will be in the not too distant future.

For the following conjugations the regular Spanish verbs hablar (to speak), abrir (to open) and beber (to drink) will be used.

Present Subjunctive (Presente Subjunctivo)
Hablar Abrir Beber
yo hable abra beba
hables abras bebas
él/ella/usted hable abra beba
nosotros hablemos abramos bebamos
vosotros habléis abráis bebáis
ellos/ellas/ustedes hablen abran beban

.
.

Imperfect Subjunctive (Imperfecto Subjunctivo)
* The imperfect subjunctive has two different sets of endings, the first are those that use-ra and it those that should be normally used. The other set of endings use -se, these are generally used within literature
Hablar Abrir Beber
yo hablara/ase abriera/ese bebera/ese
hablaras/ases abrieras/eses beberas/eses
él/ella/usted hablara/ase abriera/ese bebera/ese
nosotros habláramos/ásemos abriéramos/esemos bebéramos/esemos
vosotros hablarais/aseis abrierais/eseis beberais/eseis
ellos/ellas/ustedes bablaran/asen abrieran/esen beberan/esen

.
.

Future Subjunctive (Futuro Subjunctivo)
Hablar Abrir Beber
yo hable abriere bebere
hables abrieres beberes
él/ella/usted hable abriere bebere
nosotros hablemos abriéremos bebéremos
vosotros habléis abriereis bebereis
ellos/ellas/ustedes hablen abrieren beberen

The Subjunctive Spanish conjugations of the present perfect, pluperfect and future perfect are all formed using the past particple of the verb being conjugated as they are in the indicative.

However, the preceding auxiliary verb haber does change as it uses the subjunctive variants of the same tense instead of the indicative:

Example
Indicative: he bebado I have drank
Subjunctive: haya bebado I have drank

he’ being the present tense of haber in the indicative and ‘haya’ the present tense of haber in the subjunctive.

A great way to master the Spanish subjunctive and other areas of Spanish verb conjugation is to use a Spanish verb training software program such as the verbarrator, and you can find out more about this wonderful piece of educational software by clicking on the banner below.

Hasta Luego

Filed under: Subjunctive

Trackback Uri






7 Dec 10

Preterite vs Imperfect: Which Spanish Past Tense Should You Use?

Click Here to learn how to conjugate irregular Spanish verbs quickly and with ease

When learning past tenses, Preterite vs Imperfect is a question that often causes a few problems for students learning Spanish verbs, and knowing which of these two past tenses to use, and when, can certainly be confusing. However, the following guidelines will provide you with a clear idea as to which tense, preterite or imperfect, should be used.

The Preterite Tense in Spanish

The preterite tense, sometimes referred to as the ”past historic, is used to explain completed actions in the past and will tell you what happened or, what somebody did at a particular time

Examples:

  • Conduje el coche – I drove the car
  • Cerré la ventana – I closed the window

The Spanish Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense tells us what was going on, who was doing it or, who used to do it, over an indefinite period of time, with no beginning and no end.

Examples:

  • Juan compraba el periódico todos los días – Juan used to buy the newspaper every day.
  • El hombre vendía coches – The man was selling cars.

Obviously, getting past the preterite vs imperfect issue is a lot easier when you have tools that will help you learn each tense well, in particular the preterite which has a high number of verbs that are irregular in this tense.

One such tool is called the verbarrator, a recently developed downloadable software program that has had a remarkable impact on how students learn Spanish verbs, helping them to do so much more easily and much more quickly than ever before.

You can check out a review of this software by clicking on this link – Verbarrator Review

For more information on using the preterite and imperfect in Spanish the links below will be of help.

Hasta Luego

Filed under: Preterite

Trackback Uri






7 Dec 10

Spanish Imperfect Tense Conjugation

Click Here to learn how to conjugate irregular Spanish verbs quickly and with ease

The Spanish imperfect tense is probably one of the easier tenses to learn due to the fact that there are only three verbs that are irregular in the imperfect tense and they are ser, ir and ver but before covering how the Spanish imperfect is conjugated lets first look at when we should use this frequently used past tense.

The Spanish imperfect tense refers to an action that happened in the past that is:

1. Indefinite: that is to say it has no definite start or end date.
2. Is a continuous or repeated action
3. Happened over a period of time
4. Began in the past but has continued into the present

Spanish Imperfect Tense Verb Endings

As well as only having three irregular conjugations to learn there are only two sets of endings as -er and -ir verbs both share the same endings. The Spanish imperfect is formed using the stem of the verb and the respective imperfect ending.

Hablar – to speak: Regular Conjugation of an -ar verb in the Spanish Imperfect Tense

Singular
yo habl-aba I was talking
habl-abas You were talking
él, ella, usted habl-aba He/She/You was/were talking
Plural
nosotros/as habl-ábamos We were talking
vosotros/as habl-abais You were talking
ellos, ellas, ustedes habl-aban They/You were talking

Comer – to eat: Regular Conjugation of an -er verb in the Spanish Imperfect Tense

Please note that the same endings are used for verbs ending in -ir.

Singular
yo com-ía I was eating
com-ías You were eating
él, ella, usted com-ía He/She/You was/were eating
Plural
nosotros/as com-íamos We were eating
vosotros/as com-íais You were eating
ellos, ellas, ustedes com-ían They/You were eating

For more about the irregular verbs in the Spanish Imperfect simply click on the following links:

Hasta Luego

Filed under: imperfect

Trackback Uri






7 Dec 10

Ver Imperfect Tense: How to Conjugate Ver in the Imperfect Tense

Click Here to learn how to conjugate irregular Spanish verbs quickly and with ease

Ver is one of only three verbs that are irregular in the Spanish imperfect tense, the others being ser and ir. Although irregular, ver imperfect tense doesn’t need too much effort to master as it retains all the endings that other -er verbs use but it’s stem, ‘v’ is extended to include an ‘e’...‘ve’, as shown in the table below.

Ver Imperfect Tense Conjugation

Singular
yo ve-ía I was seeing
ve-ías You were seeing
él, ella, usted ve-ía He/She/You was/were seeing
Plural
nosotros/as ve-íamos We were seeing
vosotros/as ve-íais You were seeing
ellos, ellas, ustedes ve-ían They/You were seeing

Filed under: Ver

Trackback Uri






6 Dec 10

Spanish Preterite: How to Conjugate the Preterite Tense in Spanish

Click Here to learn how to conjugate irregular Spanish verbs quickly and with ease

The Spanish preterite is a past tense consisting of one word, compared with the Perfect which has two, the auxiliary verb and the past participle, here are the essential aspects of the Spanish preterite.

  • It is firstly a tense in one word both in Spanish and in English
  • It describes a single, completed action in the past: for example, ‘I said‘, ‘Paul spoke‘, ‘we ate‘ and so on.
  • What it is important to remember is it can be used in conversation just as well as in the narrative, which is the part outside the dialogue describing past actions.

Here are the endings for the Spanish preterite for each of the three groups of verbs; ar, er and ir.

Hablar – to speak

Singular
yo hablé I spoke
hablaste You spoke
él, ella, usted habló He/She/You spoke
Plural
nosotros/as hablamos We spoke
vosotros/as hablastais You spoke
ellos, ellas, ustedes hablaron They/You spoke

Comer – to eat

Singular
yo comí I ate
comiste You ate
él, ella, usted com He/She/You ate
Plural
nosotros/as comimos We ate
vosotros/as comisteis You ate
ellos, ellas, ustedes comieron They/You ate

Vivir – to live

Singular
yo viví I lived
viviste You lived
él, ella, usted viv He/She/You lived
Plural
nosotros/as vivimos We lived
vosotros/as vivisteis You lived
ellos, ellas, ustedes vivieron They/You lived

The biggest problem with learning the Spanish preterite is the large number of irregular verbs that must be mastered. The most important and most commonly used of these irregular verbs are dar, estar, haber, hacer, poder, poner, querer, saber, tener, venir, ser, ir and decir.

Learning each of the conjugations for each of these verbs is not going to be easy but… a verb training tool, such as the verbarrator, will not only provide you with the best possible help but it will also enable you to learn verb conjugation so much faster than if you were using traditional methods of study.

Take your first step towards mastering Spanish verb conjugation by taking 5 minutes to read this Verbarrator review, and you will then see how you and your studies can benefit greatly from using it.

Other Useful posts about conjugating verbs in the Spanish preterite:

Hasta Luego

Danny

Filed under: Preterite

Trackback Uri






6 Dec 10

How to Conjugate Decir Preterite Tense

Click Here to learn how to conjugate irregular Spanish verbs quickly and with ease

DECIR is an irregular stem changing Spanish verb. The conjugation table below shows Decir preterite conjugation clearly with the stem of Decir, ‘DEC’ changing to ‘DIJ’ in all forms.

Decir Preterite Conjugation

Singular
yo dije I came
dijiste You came
él, ella, usted dijo He/She/You came
Plural
nosotros/as dijimos We came
vosotros/as dijisteis You came
ellos, ellas, ustedes dijieron They/You came

There are many other verbs that are irregular like decir preterite, many of which can be found in the category ‘preterite’ which is linked to beneath this post under the heading: ‘Filed under’

Hasta luego
Danny

Filed under: Decir

Trackback Uri