Spanish verbs - Definition

Spanish verbs are one of the trickiest areas of Spanish grammar for foreign learners such as English speakers, given that Spanish is a relatively inflected language, with a two-gender system and about fifty conjugated forms per verb, but no noun declension and limited pronominal declension.

How Spanish verbs work

Spanish verbs are conjugated in four categories known as moods: indicative, subjunctive, conditional and imperative. Each verb also has three non-finite forms: an infinitive, a gerund, and a past participle (more exactly a passive and perfect participle). This participle can agree for number and gender, giving it four possible forms. There is also form traditionally known as the present participle, but this is generally considered to be an adjective derived from the verb rather than a form of the verb itself.

Verbs are divided into three classes, which differ with respect to their conjugation. The class of the verb can be be identified by looking at the infinitive ending: -ar, -er, or -ir, as shown in the dictionary form of the verb. The vowel in the ending (/a/, /e/, or /i/) is technically termed the thematic vowel.

The ar-verbs are the most numerous and the most regular; moreover, the -ar class is usually chosen for new verbs. The -er and -ir classes comprise far fewer verbs, which also tend to be more irregular. There are also subclasses of semi-regular verbs which show vowel alternation conditioned by stress (see below).

Mood, tense and aspect — forms of the verb

To illustrate the way a verb may conjugate, let us take a typical -ar verb: hablar, to talk or speak. Note that the English equivalents given are only approximate. First, here are its forms that do not conjugate:

Non-finite forms

• Infinitive: hablar = "to speak"
• Gerund: hablando = "speaking"
• Past participle: hablado (hablado, hablada, hablados, habladas) = "spoken"
• Present participle: hablante = "speaking, speaker"

The indicative

Next, there is the indicative mood, with its four simple tenses. Each one of these has a perfective form, a continuous form and a perfective continuous form, as in English. This makes for a total of fifteen simple and compound tenses (one is not used). However, in traditional descriptions of the Spanish verb, continuous forms are ignored, and only the simple tenses plus their perfective versions are counted as "tenses". Note that modern grammatical studies would count only the simple forms as "tenses", and the other forms as the product of a certain tense and a certain aspect.

Simple tenses

(i.e. each of the four basic tenses plus simple aspect)

• presente (present) – Hablo = "I speak, I am speaking"
• pretérito imperfecto (imperfect) – Hablaba = "I used to speak, I was speaking"
• pretérito indefinido (preterite/simple past) – Hablé = "I spoke"
• futuro (future) – Hablaré = "I shall/will speak"

Perfective tenses

(i.e. each of the four basic tenses plus perfective aspect)

• pretérito perfecto ([present] perfect) – He hablado = "I have spoken"
• pretérito pluscuamperfecto (pluperfect) – Había hablado = "I had spoken"
• pretérito anterior (past anterior) – Hube hablado = "I (had) spoken"
• futuro anterior (future perfect) – Habré hablado = "I shall/will have spoken"

Continuous tenses

(i.e. each of the four basic tenses plus continous aspect)

• presente continuo (present continuous) – Estoy hablando = "I am speaking"
• pretérito imperfecto continuo (imperfect continuous) – Estaba hablando = "I was speaking"
• pretérito indefinido continuo (preterite/simple past continuous) – Estuve hablando = "I spoke for a while"
• futuro continuo (future) – Estaré hablando = "I shall/will be speaking"

Perfective continuous tenses

(i.e. each of the four basic tenses plus continous and perfective aspect)

• pretérito perfecto continuo ([present] perfect continuous) – He estado hablando = "I have been speaking"
• pretérito pluscuamperfecto continuo (pluperfect continuous) – Había estado hablando = "I had been speaking"
• pretérito anterior continuo (past anterior continuous) – Not used
• futuro anterior continuo (future perfect continuous) – Habré estado hablando = "I must have been speaking"

Note again that only the first half of these forms are traditionally considered "tenses" when studying Romance languages.

The subjunctive

The subjunctive mood has a separate conjugation table with fewer tenses. It is used to express the speaker's opinion or judgement, such as doubts, possibilities, emotions, and events which may or may not occur.

Simple tenses

• presente del subjuntivo (present subjunctive) – "Hable" = "I speak, I am speaking, I will speak"
• imperfecto del subjuntivo (imperfect subjunctive) – "Hablara" or "Hablase" = "I used to speak, I was speaking, I spoke, I would speak"

Perfective tenses

• perfecto del subjuntivo ([present] perfect subjunctive) – "Haya hablado" = "I have spoken, I spoke"
• pluscuamperfecto del subjuntivo (pluperfect subjunctive) – "Hubiera hablado" or "Hubiese hablado" = "I had spoken, I spoke"

Continuous tenses

• presente del subjuntivo continuo (present subjunctive continuous) – "Esté hablando" = "I am speaking"
• imperfecto del subjuntivo continuo (imperfect subjunctive continuous) – "Estuviera hablando" or "Estuviese hablando" = "I was speaking, I would be speaking"

Perfective continuous tenses

• perfecto del subjuntivo continuo ([present] perfect subjunctive continuous) – "Haya estado hablando" = "I have been speaking"
• pluscuamperfecto del subjuntivo continuo (pluperfect subjunctive continuous) – "Hubiera estado hablando" or "Hubiese estado hablando" = "I had been speaking"

The present subjunctive is formed from the stem of the first person present indicative of a verb. So for an irregular verb like salir with the first person salgo, the present subjunctive would be salga, not sala. The use of the imperfect subjunctive is determined by tense of the main verb of a sentence, not necessarily the tense of the subjunctive verb itself. The "-ra" form is always correct, whereas the "-se" form is only correct in certain types of clauses.

The conditional

Simple tenses

• condicional (conditional) – "Hablaría" = "I would speak"

Perfective tenses

• condicional anterior (conditional perfect) – "Habría hablado" = "I would have spoken"

Continuous tenses

• condicional continuo (conditional continuous) – "Estaría hablando" = "I would be speaking"

Perfective continuous tenses

• condicional anterior continuo (conditional perfect continuous) – "Estaría estado hablando" = "I would have been speaking"

The imperative

The imperative mood only has two forms: the second person singular and plural, and these are only used in the positive. The subjunctive supplements the imperative in all other cases.

For comer, to eat

The singular imperative coincides with the third-person singular of the indicative for all but a few irregular verbs. The plural is always the same as the infinitive but with a -d instead of an -r. These actual imperative forms are in bold to distinguish them from those which are really just subjunctive forms.

• ¡come! (tú) – Eat! (informal singular)
• ¡coma! (usted) – Eat! (formal singular)
• ¡comed! (vosotros) – Eat! (informal plural)
• ¡coman! (ustedes) – Eat! (formal plural)

• ¡no comas! (tú) – Don't eat! (informal singular)
• ¡no coma! (usted) – Don't eat! (formal singular)
• ¡no comáis! (vosotros) – Don't eat! (informal plural)
• ¡no coman! (ustedes) – Don't eat! (formal plural)

The first person plural imperative, i.e. "Let's..." is expressed in any of three possible ways:

• The present indicative: comemos (for action verbs only)
• The present subjunctive: comamos
• Vamos + infinitive: vamos a comer

Examples of verbs conjugated

Here we include only simple tenses. Perfective and continuous forms are easily put together by using the appropriate tense of estar + gerund or haber + past participle.

We use the pronouns yo, tú, él, nosotros, vosotros and ellos to symbolise the three persons and two numbers. Note however, that it is the norm in Spanish to omit an explicit subject. Note also that the subject, if specified, can easily be something other than these pronouns. For example, instead of él, we can have ella, usted, impersonal se, or a noun phrase. Instead of nosotros, we can have nosotras, tú y yo, él y yo etc., or a noun phrase that includes the speaker. The same comments hold for vosotros and ellos.

Regular -ar verbs (amar, to love)

Regular -er verbs (vender, to sell)

Regular -ir verbs (partir, to split/depart)

ser, to be

estar, to be

† Estar is usually made reflexive in the imperative.

haber, to have

• † ha in perfective tenses and in haber de; hay in the impersonal expressions hay que and hay meaning "there is/are".
• †† habemos in the rare expression nos las habemos con meaning "the matter in question is"; dialectally or archaically for hemos, all senses; dialectally for hay in the plural, meaning "there are".
• ††† Dialectally, haiga, etc.

tener, to have

ir, to go

• † Dialectally, ves.
• †† The second-person plural imperative of irse is idos, i.e. it does not lose its d as other verbs do.

yacer, to lie

• † also yazgo or yago
• †† also yazga etc or yaga etc

Vowel-alternating verbs

A considerable number of verbs show a predictable change in the vowel of the root when conjugated in certain categories. The vowel /e/ changes to /je/, and the vowel /o/ changes to /we/, and the change happens when the root vowel receives the stress (note that the dictionary form always has the vowel, not the diphthong, since in the infinitive form the stress is on the last syllable, i. e. on the thematic vowel).

For example (only some persons and tenses, for contrasting purposes):

• acertar → yo acierto, él acierta, nosotros acertamos; yo acerté, él acertó...
• soldar → yo sueldo, él suelda, nosotros soldamso; yo soldé, él soldó...
• perder → yo pierdo, él pierde, nosotros perdemos; yo perdí, él perdió...
• mentir → yo miento, él miente, nosotros mentimos; yo mentí, él mintió...
• apostar → yo apuesto, él apuesta, nosotros apostamos; yo aposté, él apostó...
• moler → yo muelo, él muele, nosotros molemos; yo molí, él molió...

To complicate matters further, a number of verbs in the second and third conjugations show a slightly different irregularity, whereby /e/ also changes to /i/ and /o/ also changes to /u/, also when stressed, and only in some persons and tenses:

• poder → yo puedo, él puede, nosotros podemos; yo pude, él pudo, nosotros pudimos...
• concebir → yo concibo, él concibe, nosotros concebimos; yo concebí, él concibió...
• morir → yo muero, él muere, nosotros morimos; yo morí, él murió...

A lot of verbs with /e/ or /o/ in the root do not alternate (e. g. meter, comer, etc.), and they are often a source of mistakes for children learning to speak, and also for some adults. It is common to find alternated forms like yo aprieto where the verb (apretar) in fact does not alternate, and unalternated (regularized) forms like yo colo where the verb alternates (colar → yo cuelo).

Use of verbs

Contrasting simple and continuous forms

There is not such a strict distinction between simple and continuous forms in Spanish as there is in English. In English, "I do" is one thing (a habit) and "I'm doing" is another (current activity). In Spanish, hago can be either of the two, and estoy haciendo stresses the latter.

Though not as strict as English, Spanish is more strict than French or German, which have no systematic distinction between the two concepts at all.

This optionally continuous meaning which can be underlined by using the continuous form is a feature of the present and imperfect tenses. The preterite never has this meaning even in the continuous form, and the future has it only when it is in the continous form.

Present

• ¿Qué haces? could be either "what do you do?" or "what are you doing?"
• ¿Qué estás haciendo? is definitely only "what are you doing?"

Imperfect

• ¿Qué hacías? could be either "what did you use to do?" or "what were you doing?"
• ¿Qué estabas haciendo? is definitely only "what were you doing?"

Preterite

• ¿Qué hiciste? is "what did you do?"
• ¿Qué estuviste haciendo? is "what did you do all that time?"

Note that since the preterite by nature refers to an event seen as having a beginning and an end, and not as a context, the use of the continuous form of the verb only adds a feeling for the length of time spent on the action.

Future

• ¿Qué harás? is "what will you do?"
• ¿Qué estarás haciendo? is "what will you be doing?"

Contrasting the present and the future

Both the present and the future can express future actions, the latter more explicitly so. There are also expressions that convey the future.

• Mi padre llega mañana = "My father is arriving tomorrow" (out of context, llega could mean he is arriving now or usually arrives)
• Mi padre llegará mañana = "My father will arrive tomorrow" (future tense)
• Mi padre va a llegar mañana = "My father is going to arrive tomorrow" (future with ir)
• Mi padre está a punto de llegar = "My father is about to arrive" (immediate future with estar a punto)
• Mi padre ya llega = "My father arrives soon" (future with ya)

The future tense can also simply express guesses about the present and immediate future:

• ¿Qué hora es? Serán las tres, = "What time is it?" "It's about three (but I haven't checked)."
• ¿Quién llama a la puerta? Será José = "Who's at the door? It must be José"

Studies have shown that this use of the future tense is learnt by Spanish-speaking children before they learn to use it to express future events (the English future with "will" can also sometimes be used with this meaning). The other constructions detailed above are used instead. Indeed, many adult dialect speakers hardly use the future tense to refer to the future.

The future tense of the subjunctive mood is also obsolete in practice. As of today, it is only found in legal documents and the like. In other contexts it is always replaced by the indicative form.

Contrasting the preterite and the imperfect

Fundamental meaning of the preterite and imperfect

Spanish has two fundamental past tenses. Strictly speaking, the difference between them is not tense but aspect. However, within Spanish grammar, they are considered tenses, with aspect controlled by auxiliary verbs.

The difference between the preterite (and in certain cases, the perfect) on one hand and the imperfect on the other is often hard to grasp for English speakers. English has just one past tense form, which can have aspect added to it by auxiliary verbs, but not in ways that reliably correspond to what occurs in Spanish.

The distinction between them does, however, correspond rather well to the distictions in other Romance languages, between for example the French imparfait and passé simple / passé composé, or between the Italian imperfetto and passato remoto / passato prossimo.

The imperfect fundamentally presents an action or state as being a context, and is thus essentially descriptive. It does not present actions or states as having ends, and often does not present their beginnings either.

The preterite (and perfect, when applicable) fundamentally presents an action or state as being an event, and is thus essentially narrative. It presents actions or states as having beginnings and ends.

Comparison with English usage

The English simple past can express either of these concepts. However, there are devices that allow us to be more specific. Consider, for example, the phrase "the sun shone" in the following contexts:

1. "The sun shone through his window. John knew it was going to be a fine day."
2. "The sun was shining through his window. John knew it was going to be a fine day."
3. "The sun shone through his window back in those days."
4. "The sun used to shine through his window back in those days."
5. "The sun shone through his window the moment John pulled back the curtain."

In the first two, it is clear that the shining refers to the background to the events that are about to unfold in the story. It is talking about "what was happening". We have a choice between making this explicit with the past continuous as in (2), or just using the simple past as in (1) and allowing the context to make it clear what we mean. In Spanish, these would be in the imperfect, optionally in the imperfect continuous.

In the third and fourth examples, it is clear that the shining refers to a regular, general, habitual type of event. It is talking about "what used to happen". We have a choice between making this explicit with the expression "used to" as in (4), or just using the simple past as in (3) and allowing the context to make it clear what we mean. In Spanish, these would be in the imperfect, optionally with the auxiliary verb soler.

In the fifth example, only the simple past is possible. It is talking about a single event presented as occurring at a specific point in time (the moment John pulled back the curtain). The action starts and ends with this sentence. In Spanish, this would be in the preterite (or alternatively in the perfect, if the event has only just happened).

Further examples

• Cuando tenía quince años, me atropelló un coche = "When I was fifteen, I got run over by a car"

Imperfect used for "was" in Spanish because it is the background to the specific event expressed by "got run over", in the preterite.

• Mientras cruzaba / estaba cruzando la calle, me atropelló un coche = "While I crossed / was crossing the road, I got run over by a car"

In both languages, the continous form for action in progress is optional, but Spanish requires the verb in either case to be in the imperfect, because it is the background to the specific event expressed by "got run over", in the preterite.

• Siempre tenía cuidado cuando cruzaba la calle = "I was always / always used to be careful when I crossed / used to cross the road"

Imperfect used for both verbs since they refer to habits in the past. Either verb could optionally use the expression "used to" in English.

• Me bañé = "I had a bath"

Preterite used if this refers to a single action or event, i.e. the person had or took a bath last night.

• Me bañaba = "I had a bath"

Imperfect used if this refers to any sort of habitual action, i.e. the person had or took a bath every morning. Optionally, solía bañarme can specifically express "I used to have a bath".

• Tuvo una hija = "she had a daughter"

Preterite used if this refers to an event, i.e. a birth.

• Tenía una hija = "she had a/one daughter"

Imperfect if this refers to the number of children by a certain point, i.e. in "She had one daughter when I met her ten years ago; she may have more now". A description.

Note that when describing the life of someone who is now dead, the distinction between the two tenses blurs. One might describe the person's life saying tenía una hija, but tuvo una hija is very common because the person's whole life is viewed as a whole, with a beginning and an end. The same goes for vivía/vivió en... "he lived in...".

Perhaps the verb that English speakers find most difficult to translate properly is "to be" in the past tense: "was". Apart from the choice between the verbs ser and estar (see below), it is often very hard for English speakers to distinguish between contextual and narrative uses.

• Alguien cogió mis CDs. ¿Quién fue? = "Someone took my CDs. Who was it?"

Here the preterite is used because it is an event. A good clue is the tense cogió is in.

• Había una persona que estaba mirando los CDs. ¿Quién era? = "There was a person who was looking at the CDs. Who was it?"

Here the imperfect is used because it is a description (the start and end of the action is not presented; it is just something that was in progress at a certain time). A good clue is the tense of the other verbs.

Contrasting the present and the future subjunctive

The future tense of the subjunctive is found mostly in old literature or legalese and is even misused in conversation by confusing it with the past tense (often due to the similarity of its characteristic suffix, "-ere", as opposed to the suffixes of the past tense, -era and -ese). Many Spanish speakers live their lives without ever knowing about or realizing the existence of the future subjunctive.

It survives in the common expression sea lo que fuere and the proverb allá donde fueres, haz lo que vieres (allá donde can be replaced by a la tierra donde or si a Roma).

The proverb illustrates how it used to be used:

• With si referring to the future, as in si a Roma fueres.... This is now expressed with the present indicative: si vas a Roma....
• With cuando, donde etc, referring to the future, as in allá donde fueres.... This is now expressed with the present subjunctive: vayas adonde vayas...

Contrasting the preterite and the past anterior

The past anterior is rare nowadays and restricted to formal use.

It expresses a very fine nuance: the fact that an action occurs just after another [had] occurred, with words such as cuando, nada más and en cuanto ("when", "no sooner", "as soon as"). In English, we are forced to use either the simple past or the past perfect; Spanish has something specific between the two.

• En cuanto el delincuente hubo salido del cuarto, la víctima se echó a llorar = "As soon as the criminal [had] left the room, the victim burst into tears"

The use of hubo salido shows that the second action happened immediately after. Salió might imply it happened at the same time, and había salido might imply it happened some time after.

However, colloquial Spanish has lost this tense and this nuance, and the preterite must be used instead in all but the most formal of writing.

Contrasting ser and estar

Ser expresses nature and estar expresses state. See Romance copula for further information.

Negation

Verbs are negated by putting no before the verb. Other negative words can either replace this no or occur after the verb:

• Hablo español = "I speak Spanish"
• No hablo español = "I don't speak Spanish"
• Nunca hablo español = "I never speak Spanish"
• No hablo nunca español = "I don't ever speak Spanish"

Expressing movement

Spanish verbs describing motion tend to emphasize direction instead of manner of motion. According to the pertinent classification, this makes Spanish a verb-framed language. This contrasts with English, where verbs tend to emphasize manner, and leave the direction of motion to helper particles, prepositions, or adverbs.

• "We drove away" = Nos fuimos en coche (literally, "We left by car").
• "He swam to Ibiza" = Fue a Ibiza a nado (literally, "He went to Ibiza swimming").
• "They ran off" = Huyeron corriendo (literally, "They fled running").
• "She crawled in" = Entró a gatas (literally, "She entered on all fours").

Quite often, the important thing is the direction, not the manner. So, although "we drove away" translates into Spanish as nos fuimos en coche, it is often better to translate it as just nos fuimos. For example:

• "I drove her to the airport, but she'd forgotten her ticket, so we drove home to get it, then drove back towards the airport, but then had to drive back home for her passport, by which time there was zero chance of checking in..."
• La llevé al aeropuerto en coche, pero se le había olvidado el billete, así que fuimos a casa [en coche] a por él, luego volvimos [en coche] hacia el aeropuerto, pero luego tuvimos que volver a casa [en coche] a por el pasaporte, y ya era imposible que consiguiésemos facturar el equipaje...

Glossary of basic Spanish verbs in the infinitive

What follows is a list of basic verbs in the Spanish language. If the English equivalent is a cognate, it is put in [square brackets]. Cognates which are not good translations of the Spanish term are given in ([parentheses and square brackets]). Reflexive verbs with meanings different from their non-reflexive counterparts are listed separately.

A

• abrir — to open ([aperture])
• aburrir — [to bore]
• apagar — to turn off
• aparecer — [to appear] (in the sense of coming into view)
• apoyar — to support
• apoyarse — to lean on/against
• aprender — to learn; ([to apprehend])
• arreglar — to clean up ([regulate])
• ayudar — to help [aid]

B

• bailar — to dance
• bajar — to lower; to put down; to get off (a bus, for example) ([bass])
• beber — to drink
• bucear — to skin-dive
• buscar — to look for

C

• cantar — to sing ([chant])
• cerrar — to close
• cocinar — to cook
• comer — to eat
• comprar — to buy
• conocer — to know ([cognition])
• conseguir — to get; to achieve; to acquire
• conservar — [to conserve]; to save
• cortar — to cut; to mow ([curt])
• costar — [to cost]; to be difficult
• creer — to think; to believe ([creed])

D

• dar — to give ([donate])
• deber — to ought; should; to owe
• decir — to say; to tell
• decorar — [to decorate]
• dejar — to allow; to leave (something behind)
• depositar — [to deposit]
• descansar — to rest
• desear — to [desire]
• destacar — to stick out
• devolver — to return (something) ([devolve])
• dibujar — to draw
• dificultar — [to make difficult]
• distinguir — [to distinguish]
• doler — to hurt; to ache
• dormir — to sleep ([dormant])
• durar — to last ([duration])

E

• educar — to bring up; to rear ([educate])
• empezar — to begin; to start
• empujar — to push
• encantar — to be loved; [to enchant]
• encontrar — to find; [to encounter]
• enseñar — to teach; to show (something)
• enviar — to send; to post; to mail
• escoger — to choose
• esconder — to hide; ([ensconce])
• escribir — to write; ([inscribe]_
• escuchar — to listen to
• esquiar — [to ski]
• estar — to be (in the sense of having a [status])
• estudiar — [to study]
• explorar — [to explore]

F

• faltar — to be lacking; to be missing
• fascinar — [to fascinate]
• fijarse — to pay attention

G

• ganar — to win; [to gain]; to earn
• girar — to turn ([girate])
• gustar — to be pleasing, to be liked

H

• hablar — to talk
• hacer — to do; to make

I

• importar — to matter; [to be important]
• interesar — [to interest]
• invitar — [to invite]
• ir — to go
• irse — to leave

J

• jugar — to play

L

• lastimar — to hurt
• lavar — to wash
• leer — to read
• limpiar — to clean
• lograr — to get, to attain, to achieve

LL

• llamar — to call
• llegar — to arrive
• llenar — to fill
• llevar — to wear
• llevarse — to get along (with someone)

N

• nadar — to swim
• necesitar — to need; ([necessitate])

P

• pagar — to pay for
• parar — to stop
• parecer — to appear; to seem
• parecerse — to resemble
• pasar — [to pass]; to happen
• patinar — to skate
• pedir — to order; to ask for
• pensar — to think
• poder — can; to be able to
• poner — to put; to place; to set
• practicar — [to practise]
• preferir — [to prefer]
• preparar — [to prepare]
• presentar — to introduce; [to present]
• prestar — to lend
• probar — to try; to taste; [to probe]
• proteger — [to protect]

Q

• quedar — to have remaining; to meet up (colloquial, Spain)
• quedarse — to be located; to be left; to remain
• querer — to want; to love (a person)

R

• recibir — [to receive]
• reciclar — [to recycle]
• recoger — to pick up
• reducir — [to reduce]
• regalar — to give (a gift)
• regresar — to come back; to return
• reír — to laugh
• robar — [to rob]; to steal
• rogar — to beg

S

• saber — to know
• sacar — to take out
• sacudir — to dust
• salir — to go out
• saltar — to jump; to skip over
• salvar — [to save]
• separar — [to separate]
• ser — to be (in an intrinsic or [essential] sense)
• servir — [to serve]
• soler — to be in the habit of
• sostener — to hold; [to sustain]
• subir — to climb; to raise
• sujetar — to hold up
• soportar — to tolerate

T

• tener — to have
• terminar — to end; [to terminate]
• tirar — to pull; to throw out
• tocar — to play; [to touch]
• tomar — to have (a drink, for example)
• trabajar — to work
• traer — to bring

U

• usar — [to use]

V

• vaciar — to empty
• vender — to sell; [to vend]
• vestir — to dress (someone)
• vestirse — to get dressed; to dress (habitually)
• ver — to see
• verse — to be
• visitar — [to visit]
• vivir — to live
• volar — to fly

External links

• Spanish Wikibook (http://wikibooks.org/wiki/Spanish)
• Basic Spanish Words + Translator (http://members.aol.com/alvareze/spanish/frame.html)
• PDF: A history of the Spanish language (http://assets.cambridge.org/0521805872/sample/0521805872WS.pdf)
• Usage of Tenses (http://www.econ.jhu.edu/people/tchaidze/SPANGRAM/tenses.html#correspondence)
• Ethnologue report for Spanish (http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=SPN)