Conjugation is a pillar of language learning. It can take a long time to learn when learning Spanish. And when clicked, Spanish conjugation comes naturally.
One of the difficulties when tackling conjugation is to remember the different verbs. How to assimilate them all? At all tenses? Not to mention the irregular, who are not the same in the present and the past, or the future…! Here are some practical tips for learning conjugation effectively!
Read all the tips and appropriate the ones that suit you best, according to your personality and your way of working.
What does it mean to learn a verb?
Organizing information is an essential point when learning a foreign language. Schools like expanish.com offer dynamic ways to understand and start thinking in Spanish. Verbs are not just learnt, but mastered. Indeed, to learn a verb is to memorize:
- Meaning: This is the first thing we think of. Attention, to learn the meaning, you do not have to go through English or another language. You can also associate it with an image, a sensation, an odor, a gesture, a memory.
- Spelling: same process as mother tongue. Knowing how to pronounce a sentence but write it full of mistakes… It’s not great. However, if you have to learn the language quickly, this aspect can be – temporarily – secondary.
- Pronunciation: this is an important aspect that will allow many of you to devour lists of verbs. Some people need to see a written word to learn it (visual memory), others retain it more easily by listening to it (auditory memory). For these, focus on this strength to learn faster. For others, remember that pronunciation is essential, do not neglect it.
- Different forms: the difficult point when learning a verb. Indeed, the same verb can be regular at one tense and irregular at another. It is therefore interesting to make cards by tense but also by verb for the most complex.
- Use: for this point, it is necessary to distinguish the verbs which have a particular use. To overcome this difficulty, it is good to gather the verbs on a sheet. By isolating them and putting their conjugation flat, we assimilate them better!
Here are a few tips for learning Spanish verbs without forgetting them!
We learn step by step
Irregulars are numerous and differ from one tense to another. It is therefore advisable to go slowly, step by step and time to time. Do not start the past and the future at the same time, hoping to go faster. It is very important to partition the verbs.
Create your own lists
There are many books of verbs, which are ultimately just lists of verbs without explanation. They can be helpful for building lists as you deepen your knowledge of one language, but at first they are not needed.
Create your own verb lists as you study the tenses. It is also important to personalize them. For example, you can give a title to “Travel to Seville” to a list and put all the verbs you have learned during your stay, combining them with the past. Or “Stay in Buenos Aires”, with the actions you plan to do, combining them with the future tense.
Learn verbs in situation
It’s so effective to learn a story to learn endless lists of action. We love stories, so our brains like verbs in situation. So do not hesitate to learn phrases to learn those who can not get in. For example, if “despertarse” does not return to the past, learn “Ayer me desperté muy tarde”
Redo the decor of your apartment
Put on fridge, on the table of the bathroom, next to the entry… post-its with the verbs on! Seeing them and reading them from time to time will help you remember them in the long run. And too bad for the deco …
Practice
Finally, the most important advice remains the practice. One learns verbs by seeing them in situation and by applying them. For that, do not forget that the reading or the listening, but also the fact of speaking Spanish will allow you to acquire the verbs more quickly.
Nina Smith