As you progress in your Spanish studies, it’s important to solidify your understanding of the present tense, modal verbs, and reflexive verbs. These three concepts are foundational for everyday communication in Spanish. This quick review will help you prepare for interleaved practice, where you’ll apply these concepts together.
The present tense in Spanish is used to describe actions that are currently happening, habitual actions, or general truths.
Yo | hablo tomo estudo | Nosotros | hablamos tomamos estudamos |
Tú (Juana, Juan) | hablas tomas estudas | Vosotros (informal Spain) | habláis tomáis estudáis |
Él/Ella/Ud. (Sra./Dr. García) | habla toma estuda | Ellos/Ellas/Uds. | hablan toman estudan |
Yo | como leo corro | Nosotros | comemos leemos corremos |
Tú (Juana, Juan) | comes lees corres | Vosotros (informal Spain) | coméis leéis corréis |
Él/Ella/Ud. (Sra./Dr. García) | come lee corre | Ellos/Ellas/Uds. | comen leen corren |
Yo | vivo escribo recibo | Nosotros | vivimos escribimos recibimos |
Tú (Juana, Juan) | vives escribes recibes | Vosotros (informal Spain) | vivís escribís recibís |
Él/Ella/Ud. (Sra./Dr. García) | vive escribe recibe | Ellos/Ellas/Uds. | viven escriben reciben |
Modal verbs in Spanish are auxiliary verbs that express necessity, desire, ability, or obligation. They are conjugated and are followed by an infinitive (unconjugated) verb to complete the expression.
Conjugated Modal Verb + Infinitive (unconjugated verb)
Some common modal verbs include:
Reflexive verbs indicate that the subject of the verb is also the receiver of the action. Reflexive verbs are always used with reflexive pronouns that match the subject of the sentence.
| Singular | Plural |
First Person | me (myself) | nos (ourselves) |
Second Person | tú (yourself - Juana/Pedro) | os (yourself informal – used mainly in Spain) |
Third Person | se (himself) se (herself) se (yourself Sra./Sr. García) | se (they masculine/mixed) se (they feminine) se (you all) |
Yo | me lavo I wash myself | Nosotros | nos lavamos we wash ourselves |
Tú (Juana, Juan) | te lavas you wash yourself | Vosotros (informal Spain) | os laváis (Spain) you all wash yourselves |
Él/Ella/Ud. (Sra./Dr. García) | se lava he/she/you wash yourself | Ellos/Ellas/Uds. | se lavan they/you all wash yourselves |
Yo | me pongo I put on | Nosotros | nos ponemos we put on |
Tú (Juana, Juan) | te pones you put on | Vosotros (informal Spain) | os ponéis you all put on |
Él/Ella/Ud. (Sra./Dr. García) | se pone he/she/you put on | Ellos/Ellas/Uds. | se ponen they/you all put on |
Yo | me visto I get dressed | Nosotros | nos vestimos we get dressed |
Tú (Juana, Juan) | te vistes you get dressed | Vosotros (informal Spain) | os vestís you all get dressed |
Él/Ella/Ud. (Sra./Dr. García) | se viste he/she/you get dressed | Ellos/Ellas/Uds. | se visten they/you all get dressed |
When combining a modal verb with a reflexive verb, the reflexive pronoun can either precede the conjugated modal verb or be attached to the infinitive of the reflexive verb.
Examples:
Mastering these three concepts is important to enhance your ability to communicate effectively in Spanish. Enjoy your journey of learning Spanish!