El Patio Spanish

Elementary 4 is the last of 4 Elementary levels.

Together, the Elementary levels form the A1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). Click here for more information about the CEFR.

And click here for an overview and detailed explanation of all our levels.

Regular verbs are the bread and butter of the Spanish language – or the bread and olive oil, or the arepas and cheese. Whatever the flavour, with regular verbs under your belt, you're prepared for adventure.

Now is the perfect time to learn the regular endings for the 3 types of verb: –AR / –ER / –IR

One of the very first verbs we learn in Spanish (LLAMARSE) is reflexive.

Reflexive verbs are particularly useful between 7 and 9am – me despierto, me levanto, me ducho.

Jokes aside, regular verbs are very handy, and are actually quite straightforward.

Take a moment now to revisit these and get familiar with the way they work. Memorise the reflexive pronouns and the common reflexive verbs.

A lot of the confusion around this verb comes from an inaccurate translation – GUSTAR is more 'to please' than 'to like'.

GUSTAR uses the indirect object pronouns (me / te / le / nos / os/ les). And many other verbs do too, including QUEDAR and PARECER.

These verbs have a curious logic to them, initially they might seem confusing but stick with it, at some point (if not already) you’ll have your A-HA! moment.

Not to be confused with their cousins the indirect object pronouns (see the verb GUSTAR above) the direct object pronouns (me / te / lo / la / nos / os / los / las) are neat little words that replace the direct object.

Have you got the keys?  (¿Tienes las llaves?)
Yes, I’ve got them (Sí, las tengo)

At this stage, if you can learn both the indirect object pronouns and the direct object pronouns and be aware of the fact that they function differently, that's a major achievement. Very soon (Lower Intermediate 1) you’ll have the chance to use them together.

The more accomplished you are in your knowledge of regular verbs (see above) the more irregular verbs will stand out as being different. Important irregular verbs we’ve seen so far include:

SER, ESTAR, TENER, PONER, IR, VENIR, SEGUIR, CERRAR, DAR, QUERER, PODER, HACER 

Pay particular attention to ESTAR, IR and TENER as these become building blocks for making other little structures (like estoy escribiendo, voy a hablar, tengo que comer) in future levels.

Also watch out for another irregular verb, the verb HABER, which we use when making el pretérito perfecto – the first of the past tenses. We learn this tense in Elementary 4.