The Present Progressive

The Present Progressive is the verb tense you use when you want to say what you are doing.

If the verb ends in  ING, it's a fair bet that it is in the Present Progressive Tense.

The Spanish Present Progressive Formula:

Estar ( correctly conjugated to agree with subject)

                                  +

 The Verb ( with an "ando" or "iendo" added to the end)

Example: Estoy comiendo ( I am eating)

To remember this rule think of two twins Andy and Ion  ( ando and iendo). These two boys are so ADD that they are always doing things.

Ion is saying: I am moving. We are running
Andy is saying: we are yelling. My knee is bleeding.

iendo ending is for IR verbs/ ando ending is for AR verbs.

The Verb SER

The verb ser means to be and it has a conjugation that defies logic as you can see below:

yo         soy                         nosotros    somos
tú         eres  
usted    es                            ustedes     son

Below are my doodles that help me remember this conjugation:

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Spanish Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns

 More than half of the Spanish Direct Object Pronouns  look like the Spanish Indirect Object Pronouns

As you can see here:

DO Pronouns: me  te   lo/la   nos   los/las

IO   Pronouns: me  te   le        nos   les

The DO pronouns have a male/female distinction in the third person singular and third person plural.

The IO  pronouns use the gender neutral Le and Les for the third person.

I can make you remember this without a disturbing drawing.

Because the Independent Object is so independent, it uses LESs pronouns

How cool is that?

Indirect Objects

The Indirect Object is the noun to whom the Direct Object is being given or told.

For example: I gave the pizza to the pirate. 

Pizza is the Direct object because it answers the question "Who or what did I give?"

The Pirate is the Indirect Object because it answers the question, " to whom did I give the Direct Object ( the pizza) ?"

The Indirect Object is also known as IO.

And if you look closely, IO looks like sideways pair of pirate boots and a pizza. And pirates ask questions like to whom or to what. At least the ones I personally know do!

I prove my point about pirates asking to whom and that IO looks like a pirate's boots next to a pizza with this illustration...

See, pirates do ask, "to whom". The IO is in the lower right hand corner.

To find the DO,  ask  "who or what "
to find the IO,  ask "to who"  or "for what"

Direct Objects

If you have to pass a first year Spanish class or a 7th grade English class, you will have to learn what a Direct Object is.

A Direct Object is the noun in the sentence that is getting verbed.

For example: The owl eats veggie burgers.

find the verb ( eats ) and ask, "who or what  is getting verbed ( or in this case eaten) ?

The answer  ( and the direct object ) is veggie burgers.

Sometimes a Direct Object is called a DO for short. The letters DO look like owl eyes and owls make noises that sound like "hoo hoo" which  sounds like  "who?  who?" which is what you ask yourself when you are trying to find the Direct Object. 

 To find the DO, ask yourself hoo or what is being verbed.

Acabar + De + Verb = Easy Past Tense

To talk about the past without knowing how to conjugate the Spanish past tense, you can use the verb ACABAR ( to have just)

This can be done in 3 simple steps:

(1) Acabar (in conjugated form)

+

(2) De

+

(3) Verb (in infinitive form)

Example: Acabo de vomitar ( I just threw up)

To make an unforgettable image, picture that you made an "ack" sound at a bar (acabar).

I think it might look something like this:

\

Ir + A + Infinitive = Packing For The Future

 In Spanish,you do not have to learn a whole new conjugation to talk about the future.

Instead you can talk about the future in three steps.

                                                                     1. Ir

                                                                     2 A

                                                                     3 Infinitive form of verb

Example: Voy a comer ( I am going to eat)

To remember these three steps,

think about packing for future trip and you only need to pack three things:

1. a to go (Ir) bag

2. the letter A

3. the verb

Imagine packing your bags for the future and these are the only 3 things that you need.

Introductions in Spanish

Sorry introverts.

Whether you are taking a Spanish class in a real school or you are taking a just- for- fun version, all Spanish teachers are the same in that you will have to introduce everyone in the class to each other. 

Just say this, "Quiero presentarte a (name of person you are introducing )" (informal version)

or

"Quiero presentarle a ( name of person you are introducing)" ( formal version)

It is a 5-step process

1 Quiero ( I want )

2 Presentar ( to present)

3 Te or Le ( to you)

4 A  (this is the personal A. It means nothing to English speakers)

5 Name of person that you are introducing

5 steps means that you can write each one on a finger

Easy to read when you are shaking hands

Preguntar Vs Pedir

Both Preguntar and Pedir mean to ask.

Preguntar is to ask a question.

Pedir is to ask for something.

As luck would have it, pedir sounds like pedicure (something you ask for)

and preguntar sounds like pregnant ( a condition you'd be wise to not ask questions about) 

Here is a visual to make my point:

Pedir

This question is asking FOR something

Preguntar

Use Preguntar when asking normal questions.

IR And IRregular Conjugation

The verb IR has an IRregular conjugation. Ir is so irregular that the conjugated version doesn't even resemble the word IR.

This is what it looks like:

IR = To Go

Voy     Vamos

                                            Vas

Va        Van

First off, what's up with the letter V? It is in every word! Not a  problem.The letter V looks like a bird. Birds make me think of the verb ir... bIRd.

So just imagine a flock of birds flying around and instead of saying "caw, caw,.." they are saying, "voy, vas , va, vamos, van." ...It's possible.

Have a better idea? Let me know in the comments below.