4 Shortcuts to Remember Spanish Grammar

4 Shortcuts to Remember Spanish Grammar Sign up successful 1. Ser vs. Estar Many English speakers struggle with the Spanish verb to be. In Spanish, different situations call for different versions of the verb. Check out this video for a quick overview of the difference between ser and estar. To remember when to use ser vs. estar,  you can also use the acronym TODO LOCO. TODO refers to ser, and will help you remember when to use this from of the verb: Traits: Ella es inteligente Occupation: soy doctora Date and time: Es la una y media Origin: El es de Perú LOCO helps you remember when to use estar: LOcation: Estoy en la tienda COndition: Ellos están felices 2. Verb Endings Verbs are essential in any language, but the different conjugations can be confusing when youre learning Spanish. This trick will help you learn to conjugate Spanish verbs in the present tense. Once you memorize the endings for any -ar verb, you can apply the same endings to any verbs ending in â€"er and -ir by substituting the a  for an e. Heres an example of the conjugations for the verb hablar: Yo hablo (ending: o) Tú hablas (ending: as) El/ella/Ud. habla (ending: a) Nosotros hablamos (ending: amos) Vosotros habláis (ending: áis) Ellos/Uds. hablan (ending: an) Once you know these endings, you can figure out the conjugation for any regular â€"er or â€"ir verb by substituting the a for an e or i. For example, heres how to conjugate comer: Yo como (ending: o) Tú comes (ending: es) El/ella/Ud. come (ending: e) Nosotros comemos (ending: emos) Vosotros coméis (ending: éis) Ellos/Uds. comen (ending: en) Finally, here’s how to conjugate vivir: Yo vivo (ending: o) Tú vives (ending: es El/ella/Ud. vive (ending: e) Nosotros vivimos (ending: imos) Vosotros vivís (ending: Ellos/Uds. viven Related Video: Spanish Pronouns Explained 3. Demonstratives English demonstratives are words like this, these, that, and those. Spanish demonstratives include este, estos, esta, estas, ese, esos, esa and esas. Since Spanish demonstratives only vary by a letter, it can be hard to remember which one to use. One way to differentiate between the various demonstrative adjectives and pronouns, is to simply remember that this and these (este, estos, and esta, estas) are the ones with a t! 4. Commands This shortcut will help you understand when to use pronouns with Spanish commands. Affirmative: attach pronoun escríbelo Negative: don’t attach pronoun No lo escribas! See Also: Using Spanish Direct Object Pronouns Language shortcuts can help you learn Spanish grammar. These four shortcuts will come in handy on a Spanish test or in a conversation with a Spanish speaker. Continue to challenge yourself to learn grammar, it will elevate your Spanish comprehension, fluency, and communication skills. Using proper grammar also conveys respect for the language and Spanish speakers. Joan B. lives in Carmichael, CA and has been teaching high school Spanish for more than 18 years. A lover of language, shes studied French, Arabic, and Italian and spent time living in Spain. Joan aims to help students improve on tests and increase their conversational ability when traveling to Spanish-speaking countries. Learn more about Joan here! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo by University of Denver