50 Essential Verbs

Question 1

Conjugate ANDAR in the present, active, indicative

I go or walk We go or walk
You go or walk
He/She/It goes or walks They go or walk

Answer 1

Andar is a REGULAR “-AR” Verb

Yo ando Nosotros andamos
Tu andas
El/Ella anda Ellos/Ellas andan

Question 2

Conjugate ANDAR in the past (preterite; completed action) tense

I walked We walked
You walked
He/She/It walked They walked

Answer 2

Andar is a REGULAR “-AR” verb. ( -e / -aste / -o / -amos / -aron). Note that the accents are important. “Ando” (accent is on the “A”) means, “I walk”; “Andó” means, “He/She walked”)

Yo andé Nosotros andamos
Tu andaste
El/Ella andó Ellos/Ellas andaron

Question 2

What is the present participle of ANDAR?

What is the past participle of ANDAR?

Answer 2

Andando (Root + ando). Used to describe action in motion; not super common in Spanish. Estoy andando–I am walking at this exact moment; in the middle of the action RIGHT NOW.

Andado (Root + ado). Used as an adjective, such as the (and I invented this saying), “The walked dog doesn’t complain; El perro andado no queja.”

Question 3

Andar

Answer 3

To go or walk

Special Use: “Anda” is very flexible. It can mean actual movement (Los Muertos ANDANDO, The Walking Dead), or it can be used to ask about status: Como anda? means “How is it going?”

Question 4

Aprender

Answer 4

To learn

Useful: Lentamente, por favor. Todavia aprendo español. (“Slowly, please. I am still learning Spanish”; literally, Still I learn Spanish).

Question 5

Conjugate APRENDER in the present, active, indicative.

Answer 5

Aprender is REGULAR “-ER” verb.

Yo aprendo Nosotros aprendemos
Tu aprendes
El/Ella aprende Ellos/Ellas aprenden

Question 6

Conjugate APRENDER in the past (preterite) tense.

Answer 6

APRENDER is a REGULAR “-ER” verb (-i / -iste / -io / -imos / -ieron)

Yo aprení Nosotros aprendimos
Tu apreniste
El/Ella aprendio Ellos/Ellas aprendieron

Question 7

What is the present participle of APRENDER?

What is the past participle of APRENDER?

Answer 7

Aprendiendo (Root + “-iendo”). Remember, this is current action.

Aprendido (Root + “-ido”). When used as an adjective, the “o” may become an “a” if it modifies a feminine noun. For an example: “These are lessons learned from experience” (“learned” modifies “lessons”) would be, “Estos son lecciones aprendidas por experienia.”

Question 8

Caer/Caerse

Answer 8

To fall / to fall down

(“me / se / te” are reflexive and mean the action is precipitated by the actor)

This verb is pretty darn irregular. The key forms I use are:
La caida, the fall (as in, the market crash, for instance)
Me cai, I fell down; or cai enfermo, I fell ill, got sick
Se cayo, he fell down; or se cayo enfermo, he got sick

One use for fun: ROLF in Spanish is, Me caigo de risa (I fall down from laughter)

Question 9

Cantar

Answer 9

To sing

Related:
Una cancion, a song
Encantado, delighted or enchanted (nice to meet you; encantado)
Cantador, a singer
Eso es otra cancion, that’s another story

Question 10

Comenzar

Answer 10

To start, commence

Special use: When you’re telling a story, you can say something started by pairing it with this verb followed by “a”: Yo comenze a cantar: I began singing.

Comienza: Begin! (a command)

Question 11

Comer

Answer 11

To eat (right? Super important)

Special uses:
When you eat, a great word is RICO. Officially, it’s “rich”, but in Chile, it is a great word to describe good food and a polite way to say you liked what they cooked for you.

Remember that Comer means, to eat, but that’s not, to feed (as in, I have to feed Ruth). To feed is, Alimentar (think, alimentation in English).

Phrases:
Cuando comemos? When do we eat?
Que hay para comer? What is there for eating?

Question 12

Comprar

Answer 12

To buy

Related words:
Compra, the purchase
Ir de compras, to go shopping
Efectivo, cash
Tarjeta (de credito), credit
Cuotas, payments (always select “sin cuotas” on the credit card machine)
Vender, to sell (Ustedes venden _____?, Do y’all sell _____?)

Question 13

Conducir o Manejar

Answer 13

To drive

Quien va a manejar? Who is going to drive?
Puede manejar? Can you drive?
No puedo conducir hoy; no tengo auto. I can’t drive today; I don’t have a car.

Question 14

Conocer

Answer 14

To be acquainted with, to know.

NOTE: This is to “know” things you can never know completely: people, places, or certain skills. Saber is for facts.

Conoce a (person's name)?  Do you know (so and so)?
Conozco Corea, pero no conozco Japon.  I have visited/know Korea, but not Japan.
Conoci a (person's name).  I met (so and so).

By the way, Adam conoce Eve is exactly the same sense of “know” in English.

Question 15

Construir

Answer 15

To build

Why you care? -UIR verbs are weird. They ALL conjugate like construir–with surprise and sudden “y” additions.

Construyo, yes, ye, uimos, yen (1st person present indicative)

Question 16

Contar

Answer 16

To count (numbers) or relate (as in the English, recount), or tell

Related words:
Un cuento, a story or tale
Contar con, count on
Chilean:  Cuenta conmigo; count on me!
La cuenta, the bill or account

Question 17

Creer

Answer 17

To believe

Uses:
Creo en dios (I believe in God)
Creo que no / Creo que si (I don't think so; I think so)
No me lo creo (I don't believe it)
Root for:
Credulo:  gullible
Inredulidad:  incredulity, unbelief
Incredible:  unbelievable, incredible

Question 18

Dar

Answer 18

To give

Special Uses:
No me di cuenta: I didn’t give an account, realize. Lose the NO for, I realized.
Command: Da me lo! Give it to me!
Dar para conocer. To give to be know, to official announce

Question 19

Acabar

Answer 19

To finish.

Unique uses: Acabar de + (infinitive) means “To have just finished doing”

Example: Acabo de escribir esta cartilla (I just finished writing this card)