Rusty
July 19, 2013, 07:13 PM
There are thousands of verbs in Spanish and several of the most-used verbs are irregular.
Mastering verb conjugation is a good goal, but there's no reason to limit yourself to the top 100 verbs. I'd say you need to know at least two and a half to three times that amount in order to understand 80-90% of a day's worth of conversation.
You should focus on verb conjugation patterns and then learn which verbs follow which patterns.
Nouns will make up more of your conversation than verbs will. You'll need to learn over 2,600 nouns in order to understand 80-90% of the conversations during a week. You'll also need to know all the little words (articles, conjunctions and prepositions) and have a good amount of adjectives (1,000) and adverbs (100) under your belt.
All totaled, you should know how to use around 4,000 words before you can consider yourself conversant.
A native speaker without higher education knows about 5,000 words. It's doubled for someone who has a higher education.
Rusty
July 19, 2013, 09:38 PM
There are several lists, I'm sure, but you can start with the one below.
Some of the verbs are used reflexively, as well. It pays to know both forms.
Los Verbos Más Utilizados
Regular
aburrir, acabar, alegrar, amar, aprender, ayudar, bailar, bajar, bañar, beber, besar, buscar, cambiar, cantar, coger, comer, comparar, comprar, comprender, conectar, confirmar, congelar, contestar, copiar, correr, cortar, crear, creer, deber, decidir, dejar, descansar, dirigir, disculpar, duchar, dudar, durar, echar, educar, empujar, encantar, enseñar, entrar, escuchar, esperar, estudiar, explicar, faltar, fumar, ganar, gastar, girar, gustar, hablar, importar, intentar, invitar, lavar, leer, levantar, limpiar, llamar, llegar, llenar, llevar, llorar, localizar, marchar, matar, meter, mirar, molestar, necesitar, ocurrir, odiar, olvidar, pagar, parar, pasar, permitir, pintar, practicar, preguntar, pronunciar, quedar, responder, resultar, saltar, significar, subir, tardar, terminar, tirar, tocar, tomar, trabajar, unir, usar, vender, viajar, visitar, vivir
Irregular
abrir, acordar, acostar, andar, caer, cerrar, comenzar, conducir, confiar, conocer, conseguir, construir, contar, continuar, corregir, costar, crecer, dar, decir, divertir, dormir, elegir, empezar, encontrar, entender, escribir, estar, freír, haber, hacer, ir, jugar, llover, morir, mover, nacer, oír, oler, parecer, pedir, pensar, perder, poder, poner, preferir, probar, producir, prohibir, querer, recordar, reír, repetir, saber, salir, seguir, sentar, sentir, ser, servir, soltar, soñar, sugerir, suponer, tener, traducir, traer, valer, venir, ver, volver
vBulletin®, Copyright ©2000-2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.