Table of Contents

I. Ser and Estar; Present, Preterit, and Imperfect Tenses; Progressive Tenses; Present Subjunctive; Commands
1 Ser and Estar and the Present Tense
Estar (to be) 3
Ser (to be) 8
Reading Comprehension Machu Picchu 19

2 Ser and Estar in the Preterit and Imperfect Tenses
Preterit Tense 21
Imperfect Tense 25
Regular Verbs in the Preterit 29
Irregular Verbs in the Preterit 31
Regular Verbs in the Imperfect 33
Irregular Verbs in the Imperfect 35
Comparison of Preterit and Imperfect 35
Reading Comprehension Marianela 38

3. The Present Progressive Tense
Gerund Formation 41
Formation of the Present Progressive Tense 45
Use of the Present Progressive Tense 45
Placement of Object Pronouns 48
Uses of the Gerund with Verbs Other Than estar 52
Reading Comprehension La parada del bus 56

4 The Past Progressive Tenses
The Imperfect Progressive Tense 58
The Preterit Progressive Tense 61
Reading Comprehension El hospital 67

5 The Present Subjunctive
Formation of the Present Subjunctive 70
Uses of the Present Subjunctive 77
Other Tenses That Cause the Present Subjunctive 91
Reading Comprehension El juicio 94

6 Commands
Affirmative tú Commands 98
Negative tú Commands 102
Ud. and Uds. Commands 107
Other Ways of Asking People to Do Things 110
Reading Comprehension Perdida en Nicaragua 113
The nosotros Command: "Let us . . ." 115
Affirmative vosotros Commands 118
Negative vosotros Commands 118
Reading Comprehension La Noche de Brujas 121

II. Nouns, Articles, Adjectives, Pronouns; Present and Past Perfect Tenses
7 Nouns, Articles, Adjectives, and Pronouns
Nouns and Articles 125
Possessive Adjectives 130
Possessive Pronouns 135
Relative Pronouns 139
Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns 144
Reading Comprehension Mi viaje 146
The Neuter lo + Adjective Used as a Noun 147
Adjectives Used as Nouns 149
Pronouns Used as Nouns 150
Pronunciation Practice Los maderos de San Juan 151
Reading Comprehension Lo fatal 152

8 The Present Perfect Tense
Formation of the Past Participle 154
Formation of the Present Perfect Tense 157
Uses of the Present Perfect Tense 159
Placement of Object Pronouns with the Present Perfect Tense 160
Use of the Infinitive haber and the Past Participle 161
Reading Comprehension El apartamento 165

9 The Past Perfect Tense
Formation of the Past Perfect Tense 167
Uses of the Past Perfect Tense 167
Reading Comprehension El sueño 170
Reading Comprehension Recordando Nicaragua 171
The Past Participle as an Adjective 172
The Past Participle with ser and the Passive Voice 176
Reading Comprehension El conde Lucanor 178

III. Future and Conditional Tenses; Past Subjunctive; Idioms
10 The Future Tense
Formation of the Future Tense 181
Uses of the Future Tense 188
The Future Progressive Tense 195
The Future Perfect Tense 196
Reading Comprehension El porvenir 197

11 The Conditional Tense
Formation of the Conditional Tense 199
Uses of the Conditional Tense 205
The Conditional Progressive Tense 209
The Conditional Perfect Tense 210
Reading Comprehension ¿Qué haría Ud. en las siguientes situaciones? 212

12 The Present Perfect Subjunctive
Formation of the Present Perfect Subjunctive 214
Uses of the Present Perfect Subjunctive 214
Reading Comprehension La isla en el Caribe 218

13 The Imperfect Subjunctive
Formation of the Imperfect Subjunctive 221
Uses of the Imperfect Subjunctive 227
Reading Comprehension El barco económico 234
Reading Comprehension Xochicalco 243

14 The Past Perfect Subjunctive
Formation of the Past Perfect Subjunctive 245
Uses of the Past Perfect Subjunctive 245
Reading Comprehension Su punto de vista 257

15 Idioms
Idioms with Prepositions 260
Idioms with Verbs 263
Time Expressions 267
Reading Comprehension La defensa de Sócrates 270

Appendix: List of Verbs 273
Answer Key 280
Index 292

About the Author

Barbara Bregstein is a translator and Spanish instructor with more than thirty years’ experience teaching at colleges in the New York City area. She is the author of the bestselling Easy Spanish Step-by-Step (McGraw-Hill).