Grammar · A guide to return to
A time for every verb.
Choose a Spanish verb form. Add another to compare how it works, when to use it, and what changes.
16 tenses · Commands, non-finite forms & useful constructions
Latin American Spanish · Rioplatense vos
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Before the endings, the idea.
Tense, mood and construction: what’s the difference?
Tense locates an event relative to a reference point; mood expresses how it is presented. Indicative and subjunctive each have their own tense forms. Commands have their own uses and borrow subjunctive forms. Infinitives, gerunds and participles do not express person or tense on their own.
Compound tenses use haber + participle. Constructions such as estar + gerundio combine with different tenses: estoy hablando, estaba hablando, habré estado hablando. These are not extra tenses to memorize as an English-style grid.
Vos, tú and ustedes
The tables put Rioplatense vos and Latin American ustedes first. Tú alternatives and Spain’s vosotros appear separately. Usted takes third-person singular forms; ustedes takes third-person plural forms.
Use vos hablás and hablá, but vos hablaste, without a final s. Subjunctive and negative-command forms vary within voseo regions; this guide defaults to que hables and no hables, and labels accented alternatives.
Questions, negatives and object pronouns
Spanish does not add do/does/did to form questions. Use question marks and intonation: ¿Hablás español? Subjects are often omitted. Put no before a finite verb, with object pronouns between them: no te entiendo.
Attach pronouns to affirmative commands, infinitives and gerunds; place them before negative commands: decime / no me digas; verlo; viéndolo. With a compound tense, put them before haber: lo he visto.
What to learn first
Start with the present, preterite and imperfect; compare ir a + infinitivo with the future. Then explore the perfect forms, commands and subjunctive. The three rare tenses are included for completeness and recognition, not as everyday speaking targets.
Time words are clues, not mechanical rules. Compare the intended meaning, the surrounding clause and regional usage. In the Río de la Plata, hoy comí can be natural where another region prefers hoy he comido.
A note on this guide
Original explanations and examples, checked against RAE conjugation and usage references. Tables cover regular models; irregular notes illustrate common patterns rather than every verb. Rare examples are labeled for their register.