Mastering Spanish Verb Aspects and Moods: A Comprehensive Overview

Understanding Spanish Verb Aspects and Modalities

Verb Aspects

Spanish verbs exhibit various aspects that describe the progression or completion of an action. These can be categorized as follows:

Ingressive Aspects (Beginning of Action)

• Ir + a + Infinitivo
• Estar + para + Infinitivo
• Pasar + a + Infinitivo
• Estar a punto de + Infinitivo

Inchoative Aspects (Beginning of Action)

• Ponerse + a + Infinitivo
• Echar(se) + a + Infinitivo
• Romper + a + Infinitivo
• Empezar + a + Infinitivo

Durative Aspects (Ongoing Action)

• Estar + Gerundio
• Seguir + Gerundio
• Continuar + Gerundio
• Ir + Gerundio
• Venir + Gerundio
• Llevar + Gerundio
• Andar + Gerundio

Terminative Aspects (Ending of Action)

• Dejar + de + Infinitivo
• Cesar + de + Infinitivo
• Acabar + de + Infinitivo
• Terminar + de + Infinitivo

Resultative Aspects (State Resulting from Action)

• Tener + Participio
• Dejar + Participio
• Llevar + Participio
• Quedar + Participio

Reiterative Aspects (Repetition of Action)

• Volver + a + Infinitivo
• Tornar + a + Infinitivo

Habitual Aspects (Habitual Action)

• Soler + Infinitivo
• Acostumbrar + a + Infinitivo

Verb Modalities

Modalities express the speaker's attitude towards the action or state described by the verb.

Obligation and Necessity

• Tener + que + Infinitivo
• Haber + de + Infinitivo
• Deber + Infinitivo

Possibility

• Poder + Infinitivo
• Puede que + Subjunctive
• Puede ser que + Subjunctive
• Deber + de + Infinitivo

Doubt

• Deber de + Infinitivo
• Venir a + Infinitivo

Sentence Types and Structures

Sentence Types (Enunciativas)

• Enunciativa (Declarative)
• Interrogativa (Interrogative)
• Exclamativa (Exclamatory)
• Desiderativa (Wish)
• Echortativa (Command)
• Dubitativas (Doubt)

Impersonal Sentences (Impersonales)

Sentences without a specific subject:

• Complete Impersonal (no subject)
• Grammaticalized Impersonal (using haber, ser, hacer)
• Eventual (3rd person plural)
• Reflexive Impersonal (se + 3rd person singular)

Predicative and Attributive Structures

• Predicative: Used with normal verbs.
• Attributive: Used with ser, estar, parecer.

Voice and Verb Forms

Voice

• Active Voice: The subject performs the action.
• Passive Voice: The subject receives the action.
• Transitive Verbs: Have a direct object (C.D.).
• Intransitive Verbs: Do not have a direct object (sin C.D.).

Basic Verb Forms

• Infinitivo: Amar
• Gerundio: Amando
• Participio: Amado

Verb Tenses and Moods

Indicative Mood

• Presente: Yo amo
• Pretérito imperfecto: Yo amaba
• Pretérito indefinido: Yo amé
• Futuro imperfecto: Yo amaré
• Pretérito perfecto: Yo he amado
• Pretérito anterior: Yo hube amado
• Pretérito pluscuamperfecto: Yo había amado
• Futuro perfecto: Yo habré amado
• Condicional: Yo amaría
• Condicional compuesto: Yo habría amado

Subjunctive Mood

• Presente: Yo ame, ames
• Pretérito imperfecto: Yo amara o amase
• Futuro imperfecto: Yo amare, amares
• Pretérito perfecto: Yo haya amado
• Pretérito pluscuamperfecto: Yo hubiera o hubiese amado
• Futuro perfecto: Yo hubiere amado

Passive and Pronominal Structures

Passive Voice

• Ha sido + Participio
• Se + Verbo (passive meaning)
• Verbo en Pronominal (passive meaning)
• Active Voice: Normal structure.

Aspectual Distinction

• Imperfect Aspect: Simple forms (except PPS).
• Perfect Aspect: Compound forms and PPS (Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto).

The Pronoun 'SE'

• SE (Indirect Object): SE + LO/LA. Example: Se lo dijimos antes de ir a la fiesta.
• SE (Reflexive Pronoun - CI/CD): Refers to oneself. Example: El se peina.
• SE (Reciprocal Pronoun - CI/CD): Indicates mutual action. Example: Se ayudan mutuamente.
• SE (Pronominal): Integral part of the verb (pronominal verbs). Verbs ending in -se.
• SE (Ethical Dative): Adds emphasis or emotional involvement. Example: Se bebió 3 copas.
• SMIR: SE + 3rd Person + Direct Object
• SEMPR: SE + 3rd Person + Subject
• SE Causativo (CI): Another person performs the action.

Sentence Complements and Conjunctions

Complements

• Complemento de Régimen (C. Régimen): Preposition + Question (e.g., ¿De qué?).
• Complemento Agente (C. Agente): In passive voice, introduced by por. Example: El trabajo fue hecho por Juan.
• Atributo: Used with ser, estar, parecer; can be substituted by lo.
• Complemento Predicativo: An adjective following a verb, describing the subject or direct object.

Conjunctions

• Copulative: y, e, ni (and, nor)
• Disjunctive: o, u, o bien (or)
• Distributive: ya... ya, ora... ora, bien... bien, unos... otros, esto... aquello, aquí... allí (now... now, sometimes... sometimes, well... well, some... others, here... there)
• Adversative: mas, pero, sino (but, however)
• Explicative: es decir, o sea (that is, in other words)