Which tenses to learn?

[HSMike2]

Hey, i'm new to learning Spanish and i was just wondering which verb tenses i should learn because when i was searching the internet and looking for them i saw that their was like fifteen of them which is way too tough for me at the moment. If anyone could help, i'd appreciate it alot. thanks.

[Rusty]

Welcome to the forums!

You'll use all of the verb tenses, eventually. Start with the present indicative tense. To tell a story, you'll need to use both of the past indicative tenses.

[Glen]

It's unfortunate, isn't it, that the easiest tense to learn - the future - is mostly literary, having been replaced in the spoken language by the "ir a + infinitive" construction. Just my opinion.

[pia]

its a fair trade isnt it? english is a hard language to pronounce. spanish has hard grammar.

while yes future is the easiest to learn its kinda cheating because it doesnt really give you a sense of what conjugation is all about.

i would start with present. then move to preterite, imperfect and then future. i would make sure i have a good book/site on grammar. for me though the whole grammar makes so much sense. it makes spanish so much precise than english. for instance when i am talking about my past by my verb you can make out if that action was completed or not or is it something i do regularly. did i actually do the action or was i speculating.

once you start practising and present tense becomes second nature to you - then start another set of verbs.

Good Luck!!!

learning a language is so much more than just learning a language. its the key to opening up a whole new world.

[Cheri]

I'm in the same spot. I picked about 100 useful verbs, and I'm going to learn them in each tense, starting with the present. Seemed like a good way to tackle the tenses w\o my head exploding. :)

[HSMike2]

Thanks for the help. I'm currently learning the present tense and then i'll learn preterite, imperfect and future. Does anyone know a good way to learn these?

I've been using a conjugation trainer where i type in a verb and it'll tell me to conjugate it into yo form etc. Just wondering if there is anything else that can help.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Try a conjugation manual which will show you the rules to conjugate each kind of verb; it offers models of conjugation and the verbs that are conjugated like the model.

Larousse published Conjugación Lengua Española, which can be bought through Amazon.

[ROBINDESBOIS]

From experience, I would learn them in a context.
E.g
Me levanto a las ocho
Todos Los Dias voy a la piscina
Little by little, with no rush.
And then repetition.

[pia]

well there is an easy answer and a difficult answer.

it isnt just about learning conjugations. its the easiest part of the deal. its just like math. apply the rules - the formula, watch out for exceptions and irregular verbs and voila you know your verbs.

however just conjugation is just a tiny part of learning the verbs. the main part is understanding context. the hard part for me has been when to use what. it may not appear so as you are learning the present tense which is kinda straight forward. but its when you get into past - when to use preterite or imperative is going to be a challenge.

also remember verbs are broken into groups. this is how i learnt the verbs in the following order initially
1. present - make sure you know conjugations of ser, tener and estar so well that you dont have to think. study ar verbs first and then move to er and ir. look at irregulars. and specific rules for present tense like the yo form, verbs ending in car, zar, stem changing (i hope you are following something that would guide u with all this info)
2. gustar +
3. Ir a +
3. unserstand when to use saber and conocer
4. and the same with estar and ser.

once you master the present the rest wont be that hard except with just grasping the concept.

what are you using to teach yourself? honestly though spanish is not about verbs. its got so much more - pronouns, sentence formation. i could not imagine teaching myself spanish and understanding all the nuances of grammar.

use the conjugation generator to check your work. but keep writing sentences to get the verb form ingrained in your head. not the conj. generator.

honestly i would learn the rules of conjugation and keep on writing sentences and then reading them back aloud to learn the verbs. as pp pointed out learning them in context will help you out immensely. and the more you practise it will become second nature to you where you dont even have to think. things will start sounding right to you and you'd get an intuitive feel for the language.

good luck.