Spanish grammar, rule by rule

The 33 grammar topics that unlock everyday Spanish — each one explained in plain English, with side-by-side tables, the mistakes English speakers actually make, and practice you can check in the browser.

33 topics Plain-English rules Self-check practice

Start here: the four that trip everyone up

ser vs estar the two “to be” por vs para the two “for” preterite vs imperfect the two pasts subjunctive the mood English hides

All 33 grammar topics

Common Spanish adjectives: agreement, position and meaning GRAMMAR Gender of nouns in Spanish: how to know if it’s el or la GRAMMAR Gustar and similar verbs: the backwards Spanish construction GRAMMAR Spanish adjective agreement: matching gender and number GRAMMAR Spanish adverbs: how to form them and the muy/mucho trap GRAMMAR Spanish articles: el, la, los, las, un, una GRAMMAR Spanish capitalization rules: what stays lowercase GRAMMAR Spanish comparatives and superlatives: how to say more, less and the most GRAMMAR Spanish conditional tense: how and when to use it GRAMMAR Spanish demonstrative adjectives: este, ese and aquel GRAMMAR Spanish direct object pronouns: lo, la, los, las and where they go GRAMMAR Spanish false cognates: words that look English but aren’t GRAMMAR Spanish future tense: the two forms and when to use each GRAMMAR Spanish gerund and present progressive: -ando, -iendo and estar GRAMMAR Spanish imperative: how to give commands in Spanish GRAMMAR Spanish indirect object pronouns: le, les and the se lo switch GRAMMAR Spanish negation: how double negatives work GRAMMAR Spanish past participle: how to form it and how to use it GRAMMAR Spanish plural nouns: how to form the plural in Spanish GRAMMAR Spanish possessive adjectives: mi, tu, su, nuestro GRAMMAR Spanish prepositions: the full list and the verbs that trip you up GRAMMAR Spanish present perfect: how to form it and when to use it GRAMMAR Spanish pronouns: the five sets and the order they go in GRAMMAR Spanish punctuation rules: ¿, ¡ and what’s different GRAMMAR Spanish question words: qué, cuál and the rest GRAMMAR Spanish reflexive pronouns: me, te, se and where they go GRAMMAR Spanish reflexive verbs: the pronouns and when you need them GRAMMAR Spanish word order: rules for adjectives and verbs GRAMMAR The silent H in Spanish: when to write it and how not to confuse it GRAMMAR