So here’s the thing: the AP® Spanish Language exam won’t be asking you grammar questions specifically, but graders will be watching your every grammatical move. But have no fear; we have all the tips you need to review the basics, and even the trickiest concepts. These aren’t all the topics in the Spanish language, but they are the most common on the exam; with these tools in hand, you’ll be well on your way to a 5 in May.

Let’s start with the basics: Verb Tenses

Present Tense 

Take the infinitive form of a verb, chop off the last two letters, and add a new ending. It’s that simple!

-AR verb endings	-ER / -IR verb endings
-o                     -amos	-o                     -emos
-as                    -áis	-es                    -éis
-a                     -an	-e                     -en

Here’s a simple example: the verb hablar.

yo hablo

tú hablas

él/ella/Ud. habla

nosotros hablamos

vosotros habláis

ellos/ellas/Uds. hablan

Now let’s go to the hard part:Stem Changes and Irregulars

Some verbs carry changes in their stems…

here are the major patterns and examples.

e to ie: querer (yo quiero)

o to ue: dormir (él duerme)

e to i: servir (tú sirves)

i to ie: adquirir (ellos adquieren)

u to ue: jugar (ella juega)

*Note: stem-changing verbs only carry these changes in the singular forms and the 3^rd person plural form (i.e., yo, tú, él/ella/Ud., ellos/ellas/Uds.). So, the stem remains the same in the nosotros and vosotros forms: nosotros queremos, vosotros jugáis, etc.

It is also important to remember the irregular verbs. Here are the most common:

Verbs with irregular ‘yo’ form:

1. Dar: doy, das, da, damos, dais*, dan

2. Traer: traigo, traes, trae, traemos, traéis, traen

3. Ver: veo, ves, ve, vemos, veis*, ven

4. Decir: digo, dices, dice, dicemos, dicéis, dicen

*note the accent change in vosotros form

Completely irregular verbs:

1. Ir: voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van

2. Ser: soy, eres, es, somos, sois, son

3. Estar: estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están

4. Tener: tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tenéis, tienen

5. Haber: he, has, ha, hemos, háis, han

The Present Participle

The present participle (gerundio) is used to convey a progressive action. Think of it as the -ING form of verbs in English. To form the gerundio, simply add -ando (for -AR verbs) or -iendo (for -ER and -IR verbs) to the stem.

We use a form of the verb estar + the gerundio to show progressive action.

For example:

My mother is talking on the phone: Mi madre está hablando por teléfono.

If an -ER or -IR verb has vowel before the ending, you must add a ‘y’ to the stem in the past participle. Some common examples:

Leer – leyendo

Traer – trayendo

Creer – creyendo

Construir – construyendo

Oír – oyendo

The Present Perfect

This tense is used to express that you have done something. To form the present perfect, use the following formula: haber + past participle.

Haber conjugation (present tense):

he        hemos

has       habéis

ha        han

To form the past participle, add -ado (for -AR verbs) or -ido (for -ER / -IR verbs) to the stem.

For example, to say “I have talked to my grandmother on the phone,” we would say:

He hablado por teléfono con mi abuela.

There are a few common irregulars that are useful to know on the exam:

ver: visto         poner: puesto               hacer: hecho                abrir: abierto

decir: dicho     volver: vuelto              romper: roto                ir: ido

 

Preterite Tense

The preterite is used to convey actions in the past, usually those that have already been completed. We’ll go into more detail in the Preterite vs. Imperfect section, but for now, let’s focus on the preterite itself.

-AR verb endings	-ER / -IR verb endings
-é                     -amos	-í                      -imos
-aste                 -asteis	-iste                 -isteis
-ó                     -aron	-ió                    -ieron

Spelling Changes

Verbs ending in -car,-gar, and -zar carry changes in the ‘yo’ form of the preterite.

-car ‘yo’ ending changes to -qué; practicar: yo practiqué

-gar ‘yo’ ending changes to -gué; llegar: yo llegué

-zar ‘yo’ ending changes to -cé; empezar: yo empecé

If a verb ends in -ER or -IR, and there is a vowel right before the stem, there will be a spelling change and changes in accents. The two most common verbs that follow this pattern are:

Leer:                           Creer:

leí        leímos              creí      creímos

leíste    leísteis             creíste  creísteis

leyó     leyeron            creyó   creyeron

Stem Changes

Stem changes will occur in -IR verbs only in the 3^rd person preterite; these will be the same stem-changers as the present tense, but the change itself may be different.

Present:           e to ie              e to i

Preterite:          e to I                e to i

This is hard to wrap your head around, but with a few examples it’s simple.

Let’s take preferir, which is an e to ie stem changer in the present.

Here’s the preterite conjugation:

preferí              preferimos

preferiste         preferisteis

prefirió            prefirieron

Here’s another example; servir maintains the same stem change, but only in the third person:

serví                 servimos

serviste            servisteis

sirvió               sirvieron

Irregulars

The hardest part of the preterite tense is the irregular verbs – there are a lot of them. These are common verbs that you’ll need to memorize in order to master the use of the past tense on the AP® Spanish exam.

In these verbs, the stem changes, and the accents are dropped.

Tener: tuv-                               Estar: estuv–                            Poder: pud-

tuve     tuvimos                       estuve              estuvimos        pude                pudimos

tuviste tuvisteis                       estuviste          estuvisteis        pudiste            pudisteis

tuvo     tuvieron                       estuvo              estuvieron        pudo                pudieron

Poner: pus-                              Venir: vin-                               Ver: vi-

puse     pusimos                       vine     vinimos                        vi         vimos

pusiste pusisteis                       viniste  vinisteis                       viste     visteis

puso     pusieron                       vino     vinieron                       vio       vieron

Hacer: hic-                               Dar: di-                                                Ir/Ser*

hice      hicimos                        di         dimos                          fui        fuimos

hiciste  hicisteis                       diste    disteis                          fuiste   fuisteis

hizo     hicieron                       dio       dieron                          fue       fueron

Decir: dij-                                Traer: traj-                               Producir: produj-

dije      dijimos                                    traje     trajimos                       produje            produjimos

dijiste  dijisteis                        trajiste trajisteis                       produjiste        produjisteis

dijo      dijeron                         trajo     trajeron                        produjo            produjeron

Querer: quis-                           Saber: sup-                              *ir and ser are the same verb

quise                quisimos          supe     supimos                       in the preterite.

quisiste            quisisteis          supiste supisteis

quiso                quisieron          supo     supieron

Once you find the patterns, these are easy! The key to the preterite is practice.

Imperfect Tense

The imperfect is another form of the past tense, used for habitual actions and descriptions in the past. This tense is much simpler than the preterite, but the tricky part is using them together (more on this in the Preterite vs. Imperfect section). Here’s the good news: there are only three irregular verbs in the imperfect!

-AR verb endings	-ER / -IR verb endings
-aba                 -ábamos	-ía                    -íamos
-abas                -abáis	-ías                   -íais
-aba                 -aban	-ía                    -ía

Irregulars
Ir                                             Ser                                          Ver

iba       íbamos                         era       éramos             veía      veíamos

ibas      íbais                             eras      erais                             veías    veíais

iba       iban                             era       eran                             veía      veían

Preterite vs. Imperfect

This is one of the trickiest concepts in Spanish, and one of the most important to grasp for the AP® exam. It can be tough to decide which form of the past tense to use, even after years of experience speaking Spanish. But there is good news: we have all the general rules you need to master the past tense. With these tools in your belt, you can tackle even the toughest narrative.

PRETERITE

1. One action that interrupts another (hint: ‘cuando’ often indicates this use)

Estaba lavando los platos cuando entró mi mamá.

2. Action during a specific time period / with a definite beginning and end, no matter how long (two hours, the month of September, sophomore year of high school, etc.)

Fuimos de vacaciones durante el mes de octubre.

3. Action that is completed or that happened only once (common examples that usually use preterite over imperfect: decir, entrar, salir, abrir, cerrar)

Roberta me dijo que no le gustaba la camisa.

4. To indicate a sudden change in mood or state

Me enojó la entrada de mi hermano.

5. An action that was repeated a specific number of times

Se cepilló los dientes dos veces por esa mañana.

 IMPERFECT

Any past action without a specific beginning or end

Cuando era niña, asistía a la escuela de mi barrio.

1. Habitual action

Siempre me levantaba a las seis por la mañana cada día.

2. Action in progress

Estaba caminando por la calle.

3. Ongoing action that is then interrupted

Estaba contando el dinero cuando abrió la puerta.

4. Simultaneous actions

Carlos conduciá y hablaba por teléfono.

5. Description

Mi vestido para el baile formal era azul.

6. To express the future in the past (I was going to do something)

Iba a comprar un traje nuevo antes de la entrevista.

7. Time, date, place, and weather (description of scene)

Eran las dos de la tarde y hacía mucho sol.

8. “would” or “used to” in English (not the conditional)

Cuando era niña, jugaba con mis vecinos.

As a general rule: the preterite is the norm for action verbs, with the imperfect as the exception; the imperfect is the norm for descriptive verbs, with the preterite as the exception.

In addition, there are certain verbs that have different meanings, depending on if you use them in the imperfect or the preterite. This is usually because the preterite often indicates that an action only happened one time, or that it is completed.

Here are some common examples that you should be able to recognize for the exam:

PRETERITE                                         IMPERFECT

saber                                        to find out                                           to know

tener                                        to receive                                             to have

conocer                                    to meet                                                to know

querer                                      to try to (and succeed)                        to want

no querer                                 to refuse                                              to not want

poder                                       to succeed                                           to be able to

These tenses (present, present perfect, preterite, and imperfect) are the most common indicative mood tenses  on the AP® Spanish Language exam. But you should be able to at least recognize the rest; let’s review them.

Future Tense

There are two ways to express the future in Spanish:

1. the informal future: ir + a + infinitive

This structure directly translates to “I am going to do something.”

2. The simple future

This structure carries its own verb endings to express both “something will happen” and “something might happen.”

The informal future is appropriate for most tasks. But the simple future could appear in sources on the AP® exam, so you should be able to recognize it quickly.

To form the simple future, simply add the following endings to any infinitive:

-é         -emos

-ás        -éis

-á         -án

Irregulars

There are only a handful of irregular verbs in the future. Instead of adding the endings on to the infinitive as is, we have to change the stem of the verb.

Verbs replacing the vowel before the ending with a ‘d’:

Tener (tendr-)

Poner (pondr-)

Valer (valdr-)

Salir (saldr-)

Venir (vendr-)

Verbs removing the last vowel of the infinitive:

Poder (podr-)

Querer (querr-)

Saber (sabr-)

Haber (habr-)

Verbs with completely irregular stems:

Decir (dir-)

Hacer (har-)

Conditional Tense

The conditional is used to convey hypothetical situations, or what “would” happen.

To form the conditional, simply add the appropriate ending onto the infinitive.

-AR, -ER, and –IR verb endings

-ía                    -íamos

-ías                   -íais

-ía                    -ían

Now that you have all the indicative tenses down, let’s move on to something tougher…

The Subjunctive Mood

Like the name of this section says, the subjunctive is not a tense, but a mood. What does that mean? Well, you can approach all the verb tenses from either the indicative mood, which conveys certaint or fact,, or the subjunctive mood, which conveys uncertainty or opinion.

Basically, any verb tense you can put in the indicative, you can also put in the subjunctive.

How do we form the subjunctive? It’s surprisingly simple.

1. Take the ‘yo’

2. Drop the ‘o’

3. Add the opposite ending

See? Three easy steps!

Let’s work through an example: the verb hablar.

First we take the ‘yo’ form of the verb in the present tense: hablo.

Next, we drop the ‘o’ off the verb to get the stem: habl.

Finally, we add the opposite present-tense ending: hable.

Since hablar is an -AR verb, the “opposite” ending is the –ER/-IR ending for the proper subject.

That’s for the first person singular; let’s try first person plural.

1. Hablo

2. Habl

3. Hablemos.

See? It’s that simple! There’s your present subjunctive.

Every subjunctive sentence has the same structure:

Subject + verb + que + 2^nd subject + 2^nd verb

The second subject must be different than the first, and the 2^nd verb will then be the one in the subjunctive. Some examples are soon to follow.

So when do we use this crazy subjunctive mood? There’s actually an easy trick you can use to remember: WEIRDO.

Wishes / wants

Emotions

Impersonal expressions

Recommendations

Doubt

Ojalá

That’s all well and good, but what does WEIRDO really mean? Let’s go through some examples to find out.

W stands for wishes or wants. Pretty straightforward.

Ex. I want my brother to visit me: Quiero que mi hermano me visite.

E stands for emotions. Another pretty straightforward one.

Ex. It makes me angry that my roommate doesn’t do the dishes: Me enoja que mi compañero no lave los platos.

Impersonal expressions are simple: they convey a feeling but with no direct subject. This takes the form of “It is good that…” or “It is frustrating that…” etc.

Ex. It is unfortunate that the restaurant is closed: Es desafortunado que el restaurante esté cerrado.

R stands for recommendations or requests.

Ex. My mother asks me to clean my room: Mi madre me dice que limpie mi cuarto.

D stands for doubt; if there is uncertainty, the verb must be in the indicative.

Ex. I doubt that it is going to rain: Dudo que vaya a llover.

O stands for ojalá; this is a set expression that shows extreme hope.

Ex. I hope that the storm passes without harm: Ojalá que pase la tormenta sin daño.

Irregulars

If there is an irregular stem in the ‘yo’ form in the present, that change will carry through all present subjunctive forms. Ex. Hacer in the present takes the form yo hago, so hacer in the subjunctive will be haga, hagas, haga, hagamos, hagáis, hagan.

There are only six true irregulars in the present subjunctive; be familiar with them for the AP® exam.

Dar                                          Estar                                        Haber

dé        demos                          esté      estemos                       haya     hayamos

des       deis                              estés    estéis                           hayas   hayáis

dé        den                              esté      estén                            haya     hayan

Ir                                             Ser                                           Saber

vaya     vayamos                      sea       seamos             sepa     sepamos

vayas   vayáis                          seas      seáis                             sepas    sepáis

vaya     vayan                           sea       sean                             sepa     sepan

Spelling Changes

There are some spelling changes, in order to preserve the sound of verbs; these happen in verbs ending in -ger, -gir, -car, -gar, and -zar. That may seem like a lot, but if you say the verbs in your head, you can hear how they should sound and adjust accordingly!

Here are some examples:

1. -ger: g to j

2. escoger: escoja, escojas, escoja, escojamos, escojáis, escojan

3. -car: c to qu

4. explicar: explique, expliques, explique, expliquemos, expliquéis, expliquen

5, -gar: g to gu

6. llegar: llegue, llegues, llegue, lleguemos, lleguéis, lleguen

7. -zar: z to c

8. empezar: empiece, empieces, empiece, empecemos, empecéis, empiecen*

*Note that stem-changing verbs still keep the pattern in which nosotros and vosotros have the regular stem.

Some helpful hints for the AP® Spanish exam:

1. Creer que, pensar que, and saber que do NOT use the subjunctive; they express certainty.

2. No creer que and no pensar que DO use the subjunctive; they express uncertainty/doubt.

3. Decir que uses the subjunctive when used in the “command” context (i.e., my mom tells me to do the dishes), but uses the indicative in the “reporting” context (she told me there was an earthquake. Note that the former use is a recommendation, while the latter indicates certainty.

The subjunctive is definitely challenging, but you have all the tools you need to use it. Plus, the more you can throw in (correctly) on the AP® exam, the better the graders will score your proficiency!

Object Pronouns

Object pronouns are another little tactic you can use to amp up your proficiency score. So what are they? Object pronouns indicate who and what receives an action. You can use them to avoid repetition across sentences. There are two types: direct and indirect.

Direct Object Pronouns

DOPs indicate what receives the action of the verb. They answer the question “whom?” or “what?”

For example: Juan bought a book.

What did he buy? The book. Since the book is the thing being bought, it is the direct object.

Direct object pronouns are ways to replace this direct object in a sentence. Usually you do this to avoid repeating a phrase like “the book” several times.

For example: Juan compró el libro. Ahora Julia tiene el libro.

Instead, we can say: Juan compró el libro. Ahora Julia lo tiene.

The direct object pronouns are: lo, la, los, and las.

They agree in number and gender with the direct object. (So in our example, “lo” agrees with “el libro” because there is one book and libro is a masculine noun).

Where do we place DOPs? There are a couple of rules:

1. Place the DOP before a conjugated verb.

Juan lo compró.

2. When a conjugated verb is followed by an infinitive or the present participle, either place the DOP before the conjugated verb or attach it to the end of the infinitive/present participle.

Juan lo está comprando.

Juan está comprándolo.*

*Note: when adding a DOP to the end of an infinitive or present participle, you need to add an accent mark. Start at the last vowel and count two vowels backward.

Indirect Object Pronouns

IOPs indicate the indirect recipient of an action. They answer the question “to whom?” or “for whom?”

For example: The professor teaches Spanish to the students.

The students are taught, so they are the indirect object. (Can you tell what the direct object is? Spanish is the direct thing being taught).

The indirect object pronouns are the following:

me       nos
te         os
le         les

IOPs agree with the subject; so the students would be replaced with “les.”

Example: Pablo regaló flores a Maria.

Pablo le regaló flores.

The same placement rules apply as those of direct object pronouns.

When DOPs and IOPs are in the same sentence

There are a couple of things to remember when using a DOP and an IOP in the same sentence.

1. Indirect object pronouns ALWAYS come before direct object pronouns. (Hint: I.D. card)

2. When both objects are in the third person, the IOP (le/les) is replaced by “se.”

For example: She gave the dress to Carla.

Ella dio el vestido a Carla.

Ella se lo dio.

Commands

Commands are most likely to appear on the interpersonal writing and speaking portions of the exam – that is, the email reply and the conversation. There are two types of commands: affirmative and negative. Each of these has both formal and informal structures.

Commands can be broken down into four* main types: tú affirmative, tú negative, Usted, and Ustedes.

*There are also vosotros commands, but these will not be necessary on the AP® exam.

Tú +

The affirmative tú command tells someone to do something. It’s easy to form; just use the third person singular (él/ella/Ud.) form of the verb in the present indicative.

For example, if your dad tells you to take out the trash, he might yell, “¡Saca la basura ahorrita!”

If your teacher tells you to speak Spanish on the AP® exam, she might say, “Habla español en el exámen de AP.”

Easy, right? The tricky part comes in with the irregulars (there are quite a few). These are the irregulars that you should memorize for the AP® exam:

Hacer: haz

Poner: pon

Ser: sé

Decir: di

Salir: sal

Venir: ven

Ir: ve

Tener: ten

Remember: these are only the informal commands, so if you are speaking to Ud. or Uds., the commands will be formed differently.

Tú -, Ud. +-, Uds. +-

To form the tú negative (telling someone NOT to do something), and the positive OR negative Ud./Uds. Commands, we use the subjunctive.

Reminder: this means we

1. Take the ‘yo’

2. Drop the ‘o’

3. Add the opposite ending.

For the tú negative, for example, my mom might tell me not to go to bed late:

“Hijita, no te acuestes muy tarde por favor.”

Acostarse is an -AR verb, so the opposite 2^nd person ending is -es.

To form the Ud. and Uds. commands, whether positive OR negative, we do the same thing, except we add the 3^rd person endings.

I might ask my teacher to repeat what he said:

“Profesor, repita, por favor.”

Or your boss might ask you and your coworkers not to send personal emails at work:

“Por favor no manden los correos personales durante las horas del trabajo.”

If a verb is irregular in the subjunctive, that change will stay in the commands. For example:

ir – no vayas, vaya, no vaya, vayan, no vayan

Reflexive/Object Pronouns

If reflexive, direct, or indirect object pronouns are necessary, they have specific placement with commands.

1. Pronouns are added to the end of affirmative commands:

Profesor, por favor mándeme* un correo electrónico.

Hijo, acuéstate* pronto.

2. Pronouns are added to the beginning of negative commands, but after the ‘no’:

¿Dónde debo poner los platos sucios?

No los ponga en la mesa.

*Note: when adding pronouns to the end of commands, the same accent rules apply. Start at the last vowel, and count back two.

Here’s a chart of a few commands for example.

	Tú +	Tú –	Ud.	Uds.
hablar	habla	no hables	hable	hablen
comer	come	no comas	coma	coman
servir	sirve	no sirvas	sirva	sirvan
despertarse	despiértate	no te despiertes	despiértese	despiértense
vivir	vive	no vivas	viva	vivan

Tricky Differences

There are a couple of concepts in Spanish that always trip students up, even after years of classroom experience. It is important to learn the differences between when to use ser and estar, as well as por and para. Once you master these distinctions, writing and speaking effectively will be a piece of cake!

Ser vs. Estar

Both verbs mean “to be.” So why can’t we use them interchangeably? Well, they do have slightly different meanings, although choosing between them is by no means an exact science.

As a rule of thumb, ser is permanent and estar is temporary. There are a couple of exceptions to this general rule, but it is a good starting point.

Here are the differences betwee ser and estar:

SER	ESTAR
·         Establishes permanent identity/characteristics (Ella es profesora, él es alto, el vestido es azul)·         Expresses origin (Soy de España)·         Time, day, date (Hoy es viernes, Son las ocho de la mañana)·         Time or location of an event (El concierto es en el estadio)·         Passive voice (El libro fue escrito por Gabriel García Márquez)	·         Location of an object (El libro está en la mesa)·         Progressive tense (Yo estoy caminando a la escuela)·         Description, especially when the condition has resulted from a change (La ventana está abierta)·         Death, although this is permanent (Cervantes está muerto)

Some general distinctions to keep in mind:

1. ser is the norm with adjectives, while estar indicates change

2. ser indicates objective reality, while estar indicates subjective opinion

3. ser describes inherent characteristics, while estar describes a condition or state that can change

Here’s an expert tip for the AP® exam: go with your gut!

When it doubt, just say the sentence in your head to see what sounds right. Deep down, your brain knows. Trust it! Obsessing over ser and estar while you’re proofreading will only lead to you changing your answer to the wrong one. Instead, look for obvious errors, and trust your instinct on the more ambiguous parts.

Por and Para

Por and para both mean “for,” so how do we know which one to use? Lucky for you, we’re here to help you master the differences between these tough prepositions.

As a general rule, use the acronym DIDO for para; for everything else, use por.

What does DIDO stand for?

Destination

In order to

Deadline

Opinion

Here are some more detailed distinctions, with examples:

POR

PARA

§  reason for an action (Trabaja duro por ser profesor = He works hard because he is a professor.)§  agent performing an action (Don Quijote fue escrito por Cervantes = Don Quijote was written by Cervantes)§  cause of an action (Ellos fueron a la biblioteca por un libro = They went to the library for a book)§  duration (Yo estudié en la universidad por cuatro años = I studied at the university for four years)§  movement through space and time (Pedro está caminando por la ciudad = Pedro is walking through the city)§  time of day in which an action occurs (Yo voy a clase por la mañana = I go to class in the morning)

§  objective or purpose of an action (Trabaja duro para ser profesor = He works hard in order to become a professor)§  effect of an action (Los niños juegan para no aburrirse = The kids play so they don’t get bored)§  person that receives an action (El libro es para Usted = The book is for you)§  deadline (Tengo que terminar un trabajo para mañana = I have to finish a paper by tomorrow)§  movement toward a concrete objective (Pedro está caminando para la ciudad = Pedro is walking toward the city)

Other specific uses for por and para:

POR

1. exhange: Yo pagué cien dólares por el vestido

2. “per”: Yo suelo conducir a 40 millas por hora

3. the way an action is carried out: El paquete llegó por barco

4. instead of: Mi amiga está enferma y voy a trabajar por ella.

5. on behalf of: PETA lucha por los derechos de los animales.

6. in search of: Fui a la tienda por pan.

PARA

1. comparison: Para ser actor, él es muy tímido.

2. opinion: Para mí, los amigos son más importantes que el dinero.

3. to arrive at the point of an action: Estoy para salir. (I’m getting ready to leave)

4. who you work for: Julio trabaja para el gobierno.

Well, there you have it: all the grammar tools and tricks you need to master for the AP® Spanish Language and Culture exam. Again, these are not the only concepts in Spanish – they’re more of a cheat sheet you can use to review. Make sure to focus on the concepts that give you the most trouble, like preterite vs. imperfect, conjugating the subjunctive, or deciding between ser and estar. Being able to recognize the more complex structures in readings and audio sources will really help your understanding on the exam. Plus, being able to use these structures will show AP® graders just how much you know about Spanish. Prepare early, focus on the problem spots, and the grammar on the exam will be a breeze. ¡Buena suerte!

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