Word forms in spanish

Table of Contents

1. Overview of Word Order in Spanish
2. Basic Word Order with Subject, Verb, and Object
3. Word Order in Negative Sentences
4. Word Order with Prepositional Phrases
5. Word Order with Modifiers
6. Changing a Sentence into a Yes-or-No Question
7. Translation Exercises
8. How to Master Spanish with SpanishPod101.com

1. Overview of Word Order in Spanish

Basic Spanish language word order refers to the usual order in which words are found in a sentence. Even though the sentences that we use day-to-day may have other elements in them, to learn this basic order, there are three basic elements that we use as a reference. These three elements are the subject, verb, and object.

Despite Spanish being more flexible than English in this sense, our basic word order is the same: 

subject + verb + object (SVO)

Yo + me comí + la tarta

I + ate + the cake

Sometimes, we might want to emphasize one element or another in a sentence. This leads us to moving these around the sentence, but they will keep the same (or very similar) meaning. In English, because the ability to move words in a sentence is quite limited, emphasizing an element is accomplished by intonation. 

Let’s look at two sentences. The first one has basic word order, and the other one has a different order. In the second sentence, the emphasized word is marked in bold:

Example: Yo me comí la tarta. 

Translation: “I ate the cake.”

Example: Me la comí yo, la tarta.

Translation: “I ate the cake.”

There’s a way of modifying the English sentence to emphasize this element even more: “It is I that ate the cake.” However, this wouldn’t be an accurate translation of our example in Spanish, because in English, we’re not just moving an element around: we’re changing the whole structure. 

Did you notice that we actually added an extra word in our second Spanish sentence? If you did, we just want to say: Nice job! The word that we added was a pronoun, and don’t worry, we’ll explain it a little bit later.

We could still modify our sample sentence a bit more:

Example: La tarta me la comí yo.

Translation: “The cake, I ate.”

In this case, we can translate this new structure pretty much literally, but in English, we feel like this sounds quite unnatural. In Spanish, this is completely normal.

2. Basic Word Order with Subject, Verb, and Object

Now, let’s go more into detail about the most basic Spanish word order rules.

1 – Subject

Subject is the person or thing performing the action of the verb. It’s usually a noun phrase, such as a noun or a pronoun: Juan come espaguetis. (“Juan eats spaghetti.”) / Él come espaguetis. (“He eats spaghetti.”). 

Sometimes, the subject might be a verb: Cantar es divertido. (“Singing is fun.”). However, as we’ve explained in previous articles, in Spanish, a subject isn’t always necessary and we often drop pronouns when we already know who the subject is: Como espaguetis. (“I eat spaghetti.”). 

As we saw in our previous article about verb conjugation in Spanish, the verb como is conjugated, and considering the verb is conjugated in the first person singular, we know it means “I eat,” so there’s no possible confusion.

2 – Verb

The second element in Spanish word order is verbs. You know what verbs are, don’t you? According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a verb is “a word or phrase that describes an action, condition, or experience.” 

To give you a few examples: cantar (“to sing”), comer (“to eat”), and hablar (“to talk”) are all verbs. Without them, language wouldn’t make much sense.

3 – Object

The third and last element in basic word order is something we call an object. It isn’t an indispensable element in a sentence, as some verbs don’t require objects, but it’s undoubtedly common and helps us define sentence structure. 

Cambridge defines an object as “a noun or noun phrase that is affected by the action of a verb or that follows a preposition.” In the sentence Juan come espaguetis. (“Juan eats spaghetti.”), spaghetti is the thing that is being eaten by Juan.

3. Word Order in Negative Sentences 

In some languages, negative sentences can completely change an affirmative sentence. Lucky for you, in this sense, Spanish happens to be quite simple. So, what is the Spanish word order for these negative sentences?

To form a regular negative sentence, all we need to do is add the word no, which in this context is equivalent to “not,” to an affirmative sentence. No is always found before the verb. To illustrate this, let’s use the same example we did before: Juan no come espaguetis. (“Juan does not eat spaghetti.”).

As you know, there are other ways of making a negative sentence. One example would be to add nunca (“never”): Juan nunca come espaguetis. (“Juan never eats spaghetti.”). As you can see, it follows exactly the same structure as the previous example. Simple, right? 

Well, there are many other negative words: nada (“nothing”), nadie (“nobody”), ninguno (“none”)… When we use these words, the structure is a bit different, because they can be used in different ways. They can act as subjects or as objects. 

For example: Nadie ha comido espaguetis. (“Nobody has eaten spaghetti.”). Here we find the word nadie before the verb, just as we saw in the previous negative sentences. However, that makes sense, because it acts as a subject. 

Since we’re mentioning this, we should explain that sometimes these words might be found after the verb, even if they’re a subject. Here are a few examples:

• No hay nadie. → “There isn’t anyone.”
• No hay nada. → “There isn’t anything.”
• No queda ninguno. → “There is none left.”

The negative word in bold in each of these examples is the subject of the sentence, even though it might not be as obvious as in the other examples we’ve seen. We could say that the word in bold is “the thing that isn’t.” 

As you might have noticed, the adverb no does appear at the beginning of the sentence, something that happens similarly in the English translation. As you’ll find out in our lesson “How to Be Negative?” in Spanish, it’s quite common to have more than one negative word in one sentence.

4. Word Order with Prepositional Phrases

Another element that needs to be taken into account when talking about word order is prepositional phrases. A prepositional phrase is a type of phrase that always begins with a preposition, such as en (“in,” “on,” “at”) or con (“with”). If you would like to find out more about prepositions, we have an article just for you! Check out our article about Spanish prepositions.

Prepositional phrases are usually found at the end of a sentence, but some of them can be placed at the beginning if you want to emphasize said phrase. Let’s look at some examples of Spanish word order that show this: 

Estudio español en casa. → “I study Spanish at home.”

But what if someone asked us: 

¿Dónde estudias español? → “Where do you study Spanish?”

In this case, a possible answer we could give them would be:

En casa, estudio español. → “At home, I learn Spanish.”

There are many other prepositional phrases we could add to the same sentence, even together, such as: 

Estudio español en casa con SpanishPod101.com. → “I study Spanish at home with SpanishPod101.com.”

5. Word Order with Modifiers

We’ve already seen a type of modifier, which were the ones that turned affirmative sentences into negative sentences. However, there are many more elements in sentences that we call modifiers. These include words such as articles, adjectives, and pronouns.

Determiners are easy, because they always go in front of a noun, just like in English. These are, among others, articles, numerals, and possessives. Let’s look at examples for these types of modifiers:

Articles: El hombre come espaguetis. → “The man eats spaghetti.”

Numerals: Dos hombres comen espaguetis. → “Two men eat spaghetti.”

Possessives: Mi padre come espaguetis. → “My father eats spaghetti.”

However, in Spanish word order, adjectives normally go after the noun, but there are exceptions. For example, in literature, especially poetry, it’s common to write the adjective before the noun. Check out our article on adjectives for more information!

El coche blanco es de mi padre. → “The white car is my dad’s.”

La hermosa princesa abrió los ojos. → “The beautiful princess opened her eyes.”

Pronouns can go either before or after the verb, depending on the kind of pronoun they are, or sometimes depending on what you feel like saying. As we learned in our previous article about pronouns, there are different kinds of pronouns in Spanish. Even though we also talked about the order they follow in that article, we’ll look at them again, one by one:

1 – Personal Pronouns

If you read the article we just mentioned, you might remember that there are many kinds of personal pronouns. 

a) Subject Pronouns

Subject pronouns, which are the ones we use for the subject of a sentence, are always found before the verb. This is because, as we saw, in Spanish, the subject is always the first element in a sentence. 

Ellos quieren una casa nueva. → “They want a new house.”

b) Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns and Reflexive Pronouns

You probably remember that basic word order in Spanish is subject + verb + object, don’t you? Well, when a direct or indirect object is substituted by a pronoun, the pronoun is actually found before the verb. We’ll illustrate this with a few examples:

Direct object: 

Quieren una casa nueva. → La quieren.

“They want a new house.” → “They want it.”

Both direct and indirect objects: 

Traigo un regalo para mi madre. → Le traigo un regalo. → Se lo traigo.

“I bring a present for my mom.” → “I bring her a present.” → “I bring it to her.”

Reflexive pronouns work in a very similar way and they’re always found before the verb:

Mis padres se van de vacaciones. → “My parents are going on vacation.”  

c) Prepositional Pronouns

Prepositional pronouns follow the same rules that prepositional phrases do, so they can be in different locations inside a sentence depending on what you would like to emphasize.

Sin ti todo es diferente. → “Without you, everything is different.”

Todo es diferente sin ti. → “Everything is different without you.”

d) Possessive Pronouns

A possessive pronoun can be a subject or an object, so its order will depend on the function it does in the sentence:

El nuestro es ese. → “Ours is that one.”

La casa es nuestra. → “The house is ours.” 

2 – Demonstrative Pronouns

Just like what happened with possessive pronouns, demonstrative pronouns can be in different places in the same sentence, depending on their function.

Este es mi hermano. → “This is my brother.”

Nunca he estado ahí. → “I have never been there.”

3 – Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are pronouns that help us ask questions, and they’re always the first word in a question:

¿Qué quieres? → “What do you want?”

4 – Indefinite Pronouns

Once again, indefinite pronouns don’t have a specific position in a sentence, because that depends on their function.

Todos quieren dinero. → “Everyone wants money.”

Puedes preguntárselo a cualquiera. → “You can ask anyone.”

5 – Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns are never found in simple sentences. Rather, we find them in complex sentences. These pronouns always start the second part of the sentence, so they’ll always be in the middle. This might sound odd if you’re not sure what a relative pronoun is, but you’ll understand once you look at an example:

Esta es mi prima que vive en la ciudad. → “This is my cousin who lives in the city.”

6. Changing a Sentence into a Yes-or-No Question

In many languages, to transform a normal sentence into a yes-or-no question you must change it a fair bit, or change the order. In Spanish, this is way simpler. So, what is the Spanish word order in questions? Look at these examples:

Estudias español todos los días. → “You study Spanish every day.” 

¿Estudias español todos los días? → “Do you study Spanish every day?” 

As you probably noticed, it’s exactly the same structure. This doesn’t only happen with specific structures: it happens every time you turn a sentence, either affirmative or negative, into a yes-or-no question. 

We’re sure you enjoyed learning this, but you probably know that there are other kinds of questions. If you feel a bit lost when it comes to this topic, you might enjoy our lesson on 15 Questions You Should Know. 

7. Translation Exercises

We thought it would be useful to you to see how we transform a simple sentence into more complex sentences, and translate them to English. Below, you can see exactly what changes we make.

1. Bebiste agua. → “You drank water.”

2. Bebiste agua hace cinco minutos. → “You drank water five minutes ago.”

In this second sentence, the only thing we added was the time the action happened, hace cinco minutos, which means “five minutes ago.”

3. Bebiste dos botellas de agua hace cinco minutos. → “You drank two bottles of water five minutes ago.” 

In this third sentence, we made a bigger change. This time, what we’re drinking isn’t just water, but something slightly more specific: two bottles of water. The new object is dos botellas de agua instead of just agua.

4. ¿Bebiste dos botellas de agua hace cinco minutos? → “Did you drink two bottles of water five minutes ago?”

To end these examples, we thought it would be a good idea to show you once again how to turn an affirmative sentence into a question, to convince you that we don’t have to make any changes to it, just in case you didn’t believe us before!

8. How to Master Spanish with SpanishPod101.com

As we mentioned previously, Spanish word order is more flexible than English word order, so in some cases, if you don’t use our basic order, it might just seem as if you’re trying to emphasize some word or phrase in particular. The way we see it, it means you would have to try pretty hard to get it wrong! When learning a foreign language, this is exactly the kind of motivation you need.

For more information on Spanish word order, SpanishPod101.com has another short lesson on this as well! If you want to get a better understanding of Spanish grammar in general, also check out our relevant page.

No matter what your level is, give us a try and learn Spanish! From beginner to advanced, here you’ll find everything you need.

Before you go, let us know in the comments if there’s anything that’s still not clear about Spanish word order. We’ll do our best to help you out!

In Spanish, all you need is a subject and a verb. The subject is the person or object that performs the action of the verb, which is generally an action word conjugated in the correct form to match up with the subject.

Like in English, a very common word order in Spanish is Subject + Verb + (rest of sentence), such as in the examples below:

• Structure: Subject + Verb + rest of sentence
• English: Pedro + works + in the library.
• Spanish: Pedro + trabaja + en la biblioteca.

However, Spanish is much more flexible in word order than English, in that the same sentence can be arranged numerous ways, even though their translation in English sounds awkward. Let’s continue with the example of Pedro’s beloved job in the library.

Pedrotrabajaen una biblioteca.	subject + verb + rest of sentence
Trabaja Pedroen una bibliotecaa.	verb + subject + rest of sentence
En una biblioteca trabajaPedro.	rest of sentence + verb + subject
Trabaja en una biblioteca Pedro.	verb + rest of sentence + subject

In English, saying «Works Pedro in a library» or «In a library works Pedro» sounds backwards and like something straight out of Yoda’s mouth. In Spanish, however, it’s grammatically perfectly correct! This flexibility is often viewed by English speakers as difficult — especially once we throw in adjectives, adverbs and other grammatical goodies — when what it really does is give you more creative freedom!

One of the most important parts of Spanish grammar for beginners is parts of speech!

You’ve probably heard your Spanish teacher talk about terms like sustantivo, verbo, and artículo in class, but what do they mean? Well, these are just a few of the parts of speech in Spanish!

Today, you’ll learn what these terms mean as I go over the 9 parts of speech in Spanish. Understanding how to use these terms can even help you learn Spanish faster! You can even test your new knowledge at the end of the post with a fun grammar quiz. 

¡Vamos!

What is a “Part of Speech”?

There are thousands of words in English and Spanish. Luckily, parts of speech exist to help categorize these words.

Parts of speech group words together based on their function in a sentence. In Spanish, the main parts of speech are: 

1. Noun
2. Pronoun
3. Adjective
4. Verb
5. Adverb
6. Preposition
7. Conjunction
8. Article
9. interjection 

The parts of speech are one of the most important Spanish grammar rules for beginners. There is lots of information packed into these 9 categories!

Knowing the Parts of Speech Makes Learning Spanish Easier

Understanding parts of speech is incredibly useful when learning a foreign language. Knowing a word’s part of speech tells you how to use it in a sentence. This knowledge makes it easier to properly construct sentences. 

Additionally, it’s important to know the parts of speech so that you’re not confused when your Spanish teacher talks about conjunctions, adverbs, and articles. Knowing some basic grammar terminology will help you better understand what’s going on in class. 

Discover the 9 Parts of Speech in Spanish

If you want to learn Spanish grammar for beginners, then knowing the parts of speech is a must. These categories are the building blocks for Spanish grammar. 

1. Articles (Los artículos)

Articles draw special attention to the noun that they precede. The type of article shows the way that the speaker is thinking about the noun. The speaker could be talking about the noun in a general sense or as a specific item. The two distinct types of articles are definite and indefinite. 

Definite Articles

Definite articles specify which object, person, or place the speaker is talking about.

“The” is the only definite article in English. In Spanish, however, there are 4 definitive articles: los, las, el, and la. 

Again, these artículos change depending on the noun that they precede.

• Masculine singular: el
• Masculine plural: los
• Feminine singular: la
• Feminine plural: las

Let’s look at some examples.

La maestra pone el lápiz en la mesa.
The teacher puts the pencil on the table.

El perro corre en el patio.
The dog runs in the yard.

Indefinite Articles

Indefinite articles are a nonspecific way to refer to a noun. “A” and “an” are the only two English indefinite articles that exist. However, in Spanish, there are four.

Again, these artículos change depending on the noun that they proceed.

• Masculine singular: un 
• Masculine plural: unos
• Feminine singular: una 
• Feminine plural: unas

Look how the sentences change with indefinite articles.

Una maestra pone un lápiz en una mesa.
A teacher puts a pencil on a table.

Un perro corre en un patio.
A dog runs in a yard.

2. Nouns (Los sustantivos)

You’ve probably heard that nouns in English are people, places, and things. Luckily, the same holds true in Spanish!

Nouns, or sustantivos, can be objects, feelings, and even concepts. They help you talk about the physical and imaginary world. Nouns are essentially names that identify objects. 

Many Spanish words have a specific ending that tells you that the word is a noun. 

Spanish Noun Endings

–ción/-ión

• canción – song
• transición – transition
• aprobación – approval

-idad

• unidad – unity
• profundidad – depth
• hermandad – brother/sisterhood

-ez

• sencillez – simplicity
• fluidez – fluidity
• diez – ten

Nouns can occur anywhere in a sentence, but they usually appear as the subject at the beginning of the sentence or as an object at the end. 

La maestra pone el lápiz en la mesa.
The teacher puts the pencil on the table.

El perro corre en el jardín.
The dog runs in the yard.

Los niños juegan con el gato en la sala.
The children play with the cat in the living room.

3. Adjectives (Los adjetivos)

Adjectives describe nouns. You use adjectives all the time! They add creativity, detail, and personality to your sentences. Adjectives help describe people, places, and the things around you. 

Common Adjectives

• grande – big/large
• hermoso –  beautiful
• azul – blue
• rápido – fast

Be careful with your adjective placement! In English, adjectives come before the noun that they describe. However, in Spanish, they come after the noun. 

Example Sentences

La maestra nueva pone el lápiz amarillo en la mesa sucia.
The new teacher puts the yellow pencil on the dirty table.

El perro feo corre en el patio grande.
The ugly dog runs in the big yard.

Los niños traviesos juegan con el gato gris en la sala desorganizada.
The mischievous children play with the gray cat in the messy living room.

4.  Verbs (Los verbos)

Los verbos describe an action or a state of being. Verbs make up an important part of Spanish grammar for beginners. Every sentence has a verb! 

Common Verbs

• pensar – to think
• vivir – to live
• ser – to be

The above verbs are in their neutral state, which is called the infinitive form. You can tell when a verb is in its infinitive form because it will end in -ar, -er, or -ir. 

However, most sentences won’t use verbs in their infinitive form. Instead, verbs are usually conjugated in the present, past, future, or other tenses. Spanish verbs require a lot of conjugating! Learn more about Spanish verb conjugation with this guide.

See if you can identify the verbs in each of the following sentences. 

La maestra pone el lápiz en la mesa. (poner)
The teacher puts the pencil on the table.

El perro corre en el patio. (correr)
The dog runs in the yard.

5.  Adverbs (Los adverbios)

Just like how adjectives describe nouns, adverbs add a description to verbs. Adverb even has the word “verb” inside of it!

For example, instead of saying “he runs,” you can say “he runs fast.” “Fast” describes how the action is done. 

Common Spanish Adverbs

Los adverbios in Spanish have many different forms, but the most common ending is –mente. In English, they end in -ly. 

• lentamente – slowly
• felizmente – happily
• cuidadosamente – carefully

Take a look at how adverbs affect these sentences.

La maestra pone el lápiz cuidadosamente en la mesa.
The teacher carefully puts the pencil on the table.

El perro corre rápidamente en el patio.
The dog runs quickly in the yard.

Los niños juegan silenciosamente con el gato en la sala.
The children play quietly with the cat in the living room.

6. Pronouns (Los pronombres)

A pronoun is essentially a word that substitutes a noun. You don’t want to keep using the same noun over and over again when telling a story. This repetition would sound boring and cluttered. Instead, you use a pronoun to replace the noun that you are talking about. 

Take a look at this paragraph without pronouns:

The teacher walked into class. Then the teacher told us that the teacher had a surprise. The teacher brought cupcakes to class!

Now take a look at the same paragraph using pronouns:

The teacher walked into class. Then she told us that she had a surprise. She brought cupcakes to class!

See how important pronouns are? They make the paragraph much more clear and concise!

Spanish Subject Pronouns

Spanish subject pronouns are the most common type of pronoun. They are broken down by the gender and number of the noun they replace. 

Spanish Singular	English Singular
Yo	I
Tú (informal)	You
Usted (formal)	You
Él	He
Ella	She
Él/ella	It

Spanish Plural	English Singular
Nosotros/Nosotras	We
Vosotros/Vosotras	You (all)
Ustedes	You (all)
Ellos	They
Ellas	They

Try to identify the subject pronouns in these sentences. 

Ella pone el lápiz en la mesa.
She puts the pencil on the table.

Él corre en el patio.
He runs in the yard.

7. Prepositions (Las preposiciones)

Prepositions explain the relationships between nouns. They tell you how two nouns are related, often referring to a location. 

Common Spanish Prepositions

• en – in, on
• por – by, because of
• debajo – below
• adentro – inside

These words are normally sandwiched by two nouns, as you can see in the following examples.

La maestra pone el lápiz en la mesa.
The teacher puts the pencil on the table.

El perro corre alrededor del patio.
The dog runs around the yard.

Los niños juegan con el gato en la sala.
The children play with the cat in the living room.

8. Conjunctions (Las conjunciones)

Conjunctions are words that connect nouns, verbs, phrases, and sentences. They help you piece together different ideas. 

There are two main types of conjunctions: simple and complex. The simple conjunctions are the ones that you use all the time. In English, they are “and”, “but”, and “or”. Complex conjunctions, on the other hand, have a little more depth. 

Simple Spanish Conjunctions

• y – and
• o – or
• pero – but

Complex Spanish Conjunctions

• sin embargo – however 
• por lo tanto – therefore 
• así que – so
• aunque – even though

Take a look at how these conjunctions act in a sentence. 

La maestra pone el lápiz en la mesa pero se cae.
The teacher puts the pencil on the table but it falls off.

Aunque el perro y el niño corrieron en el patio, todavía tienen energía.
Even though the dog and the boy ran in the yard, they still have energy.

Los niños juegan con el gato en la sala. Así que, no nos van a molestar.
The children play with the cat in the living room. So, they will not bother us.

9. Interjections (Las interjecciones)

Interjections are abrupt remarks that help you to express different emotions. They also help to improve your Spanish by making it sound more natural! 

Interjections are a fun part of Spanish grammar for beginners. They are short words or phrases so they are easy to remember. Plus, native speakers will love hearing you use these natural Spanish sounds. 

Common Interjections in English

• ahh
• alas
• alrighty
• shucks

Common Interjections in Spanish

• ¡Vale!
• ¡Dios mío!
• ¡Venga!
• ¡Ay!

Interjections can vary in their meaning. Context is extremely important to help decode them. Volume, pitch, and speed can also help show meaning. Interjections can also be filler words. They are a way to fill in a space or pause while the speaker thinks of the next thing they want to say. In this way, they are a means of not giving up airtime or preventing someone from interrupting.

Take a look at how interjections add emotion and feeling to these sentences. 

¡Venga! La maestra ya ha empezado la clase.
Come on! The teacher already started class.

¡Ay! El perro está fuera del patio.
Hey! The dog is outside of the yard.

Spanish Grammar Books

Here are some of the best Spanish grammar for beginners books. Whether you’re looking for grammar books for preschoolers, kids, or adults, there is a book for everyone!

Spanish Grammar for Beginners Quiz

Grammar exercises are a great way to reinforce what you’ve learned. This Spanish grammar test for beginners is an easy way to practice. Try to see if you can get all 10 questions right!

Learn Even More Spanish Grammar for Beginners with a Free Class

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Ready to learn more Spanish grammar and vocabulary? Check these out!

Which verb conjugations should you learn first? Which ones should you learn next? Do native speakers really use this form? These are common questions, so I used data from Netflix shows from both Spain and Latin America to create these color-coded conjugation tables. The stronger the color, the most common the verb form is. If a form has no color at all, it’s because it’s outside the list of the top 20,000 most common word forms in Spanish. In other words, it’s very rare, at least in the spoken language.

Please be aware that these are just raw word forms. Some forms here might be used with a different meaning, some even as nouns instead of verbs. I’m also not including compound forms, only simple forms.

Before anyone accuses me of my data being biased against Spain because of how rare the vosotros forms are, let me make this clear: Spain is actually overrepresented in this corpus because a lot of Netflix shows are from Spain.

Please excuse the kinda crude presentation. I was too excited and didn’t take the time to make these tables prettier. I just want to share it with you guys.

You’ll notice that I changed the usual presentation of conjugation tables a little bit. I gave the vos forms a full row, even though they seldom differ from the tú forms. I did this because it would have looked ugly to split the cell when the two forms differ. I also swapped the order of the vosotros and the ustedes form, because ustedes forms are much more common. I wanted the graphs to have the rarest forms at the bottom and at the right.

I also put the imperative at the left of the Subjunctive present forms, because in some cases they are the same. There is no «official» nosotros imperative form, but you can just use the subjunctive form.

Let’s begin with the verb ser. Right off the bat, you can see the whole future subjunctive column has no color, because all those forms fall outside the top 20,000 most common word forms in Spanish. This pattern will repeat in all verbs we’ll see in this post. Notice how, even though the second form of the subjunctive imperfect is less common than the first form, it’s not completely rare:

Now let’s continue with estar. The pattern is pretty much the same as ser. The biggest difference is that the second form of the imperfect subjuctive is a bit less common with this verb. Estuviese is the only form in this column that makes the cut:

Let’s continue with haber, the auxiliary verb. Here we see something very interesting: The preterite forms are very rare! The only commonly used one is «hubo». Similar to the verb ser, haber actually uses the second form of the imperfect subjunctive, but of course it’s a lot less common than the first form.

The patterns with the verb ir are very similar to the verb ser, mainly because both verbs share several forms, and thus share the same exact values:

Similar to the verb estar, the verb tener almost never uses the second form of the imperfect subjunctive. The only one that makes the cut is «tuviese», and it’s not even in the top 10,000 word list, so it’s definitely not something any student should worry about:

With the verb querer we notice that there is a bigger number of forms that fall into the «rare» category. Not a single one from the second imperfect subjunctive form makes the cut. Also, I kinda expected «queré» to make the cut. I expected Argentine people to tell their children «queré a tu abuela» or something like that. I was wrong. BTW, 16% of the shows and movies in the corpus are from Argentina, so Argentina is well represented.

EDIT: BIG thanks to fellow redditor Fizzact for pointing out the form «querás», which is a present subjunctive voseo form used in Mexico and Colombia. This also prompted me to try to find similar non-standard voseo forms. Querás and hagás are the only two that made the cut, so they’re the only two I’ve added.

The verb hacer had a surprise for me: The imperfect vosotros form is actually really rare and didn’t make the cut. I double-checked this. I guess Spaniards don’t ask «¿Qué hacíais?» but instead «¿Qué estabais haciendo?».

EDIT: Again, thanks to redditor Fizzact for prompting me to find non-standard voseo forms. I’ve just added «hagás», which does make the cut among the top 20,000 word forms.

The same form is missing from the table of the verb saber: I guess Spaniards don’t ask «¿Sabíais que Juan ha muerto?», but instead «¿Habéis sabido que Juan ha muerto?». Further research is needed, and if you’re from Spain please chime in. I was also surprised that sepáis didn’t make the cut. I double-checked this.

It took a long time to compile this data, so I hope you find this useful. There might be a part 2 with more common verbs, if I find the time. =).

EDIT: I changed the colors and re-uploaded the tables. Now the colors are more distinct.

EDIT: Someone asked me if the second form of the imperfect subjunctive is more common in written Spanish. I’ve just quickly checked the CREA frequency list made by the Royal Academy, which was compiled from written materials from the 70s to the early XXI century. I got similar results as my Netflix corpus for the 2nd imperfect subjunctive. Actually, some of the second forms of the imperfect subjunctive seem to be even rarer in written Spanish. On the other hand, I’ve been reading and listening to Cervantes novels lately, and I noticed that, at that time, the second form of the imperfect subjunctive was used a lot. I guess it’s just fallen out of favor in the last few centuries.

EDIT: For those asking about the origin of this data:

In mid 2020 (remember lockdown?) I downloaded subtitles from Netflix shows and movies en masse using the Netflix Subtitle Downloader script + Tampermonkey. I only included shows that had Spanish as the original language. AFAIK this has never been done before. Even the Spanish Subtlex project and the frequency lists used by Duolingo and Language Reactor are based on subtitles from shows and movies that were originally in English. This is the first time data has been gathered from Spanish language shows without mixing in Hollywood stuff.

I got around 5,000 .vtt files. I then used Subtitle Edit to convert the .vtt files to .srt and remove the formatting. I also used the subtitletools website to remove song lyrics (which typically appear in theme songs). I then converted the .srt files to .txt files with Subtitle Edit. Then, I merged the .txt files of each show into a single .txt file. The reasons are beyond what I can easily explain here, but it has to do with the concept of contextual diversity and why it’s a better measure than raw frequency. There have been studies of lexical decision times that validate why CD is a better predictor than frequency of how familiar native speakers are with certain words. I still retained frequency as a secondary ranking criteria. Let’s just say when I ranked by raw frequency «Betty» ended up among the top words because «Yo soy Betty, la fea» has more than 300 episodes. Ranking first by CD solved this problem of long telenovelas having an undue influence in the end result.

After that, I used AntConc to find out the most common (not most frequent) n-grams across the corpus. Single words are called monograms. I then used the results to create custom dictionary files for Notepad++ and used the spellcheck to highlight words outside each dictionary. I copied the results to a LibreOffice spreadsheet, which I then screenshot and here are the resulting images.

No, I can’t share this corpus with you, because subtitle/script sharing is illegal. But I’m happy to share the statistics I’m gathering from this corpus.

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WordReference English-Spanish Dictionary © 2023:

Principal Translations
Inglés		Español
form n	(document with blanks)	formulario nm
		impreso nm
	You’ll need to fill out this form to apply for your licence.
	Necesita completar este formulario para obtener el permiso.
form n	(thing: shape)	forma nf
	The chairs looked the same in form and colour.
	Las sillas parecían iguales en forma y color.
form n	(person: shape)	forma nf
		silueta nf
	He could make out her form behind the curtain.
	Podía divisar su forma detrás de la cortina.
	Podía divisar su silueta detrás de la cortina.
form n	(mode)	forma nf
		estado nm
	Ice is water in frozen form.
	El hielo es agua en forma congelada.
	El hielo es agua en estado congelado.
form of [sth] n	(type, kind)	forma de nf + prep
	Imitation is a form of flattery.
	La imitación es una forma de falsificación.
form n	(type)	forma nf
	What form will the training take?
	¿De qué forma vamos a entrenar?
form [sth]⇒ vtr	(make, create)	armar⇒ vtr
		hacer⇒ vtr
		construir⇒ vtr
	He formed a ladder out of bits of old wood.
	Armó una escalera con trozos de madera vieja.
form [sth] vtr	(construct)	formar⇒ vtr
		construir⇒ vtr
		hacer⇒ vtr
	You form the plural by adding an «s.»
	Formas el plural agregando una «s».
form [sth] vtr	(mold, shape)	formar⇒ vtr
		armar⇒ vtr
	Form a ball out of clay, then flatten it with the palm of your hand.
form⇒ vi	(be created, take shape)	formarse⇒ v prnl
	After underwater earthquakes, mountains formed.
	Después de los terremotos submarinos se formaron las montañas.

Additional Translations
Inglés		Español
form n	(convention)	forma nf
		convención nf
	She was an eccentric and didn’t want to adhere to the forms of her culture.
	Era un excéntrico que no quería adaptarse a las formas de su cultura.
form n	(area: configuration)	forma nf
	The artist did not care about colour, only about form.
	El artista no se preocupaba del color, sólo de la forma.
form n	(human body)	formas nfpl
		curvas nfpl
		figura nf
	She has such a beautiful form.
	Tiene unas formas estupendas.
	Tiene unas curvas estupendas.
	Tiene una figura estupenda.
form n	(dressmaking: dummy)	maniquí nm
	She put the dress on a form to check its proportions.
	Colocó el vestido en un maniquí para tomarle las medidas.
form n	(arts: arrangement)	forma nf
	I like the form of this poem, but it has no substance.
	Me gusta la forma del poema, pero no tiene fondo.
form n	(mold)	molde nm
	Next, pour the plaster into a form and let it set.
	Después pon la pasta en un molde y deja que se fije.
form n	(formal structure)	forma nf
	This sweater will lose its form if it gets wet.
	El jersey perderá su forma si se moja.
form n	uncountable (conventional behavior)	apariencias nfpl
		formas nfpl
	He only did it for the sake of form.
	Sólo lo hizo para salvar las apariencias.
	Sólo lo hizo para guardar las formas.
form n	(ceremony)	protocolo nm
	There is a form to follow on such occasions.
	Hay un protocolo a seguir para esas ocasiones.
form n	uncountable (social conduct)	modales nmpl
		maneras nfpl
	It’s bad form to back out at the last minute.
	Es de malos modales retirarse a último momento.
form n	uncountable (music: technique)	técnica nf
	This pianist is a master of form.
	Este pianista es un virtuoso de la técnica.
form n	(sports: physical condition)	forma nf
	He’s in good form for the match.
	Está en buena forma para el partido.
form n	(grammar)	forma nf
	I like to write in a colloquial form.
	Me gusta escribir de forma coloquial.
form n	(building: mold)	molde nm
	Forms are constructed into which concrete is poured.
	Se construyen moldes para verter el cemento.
form n	UK (grade, class)	grado nm
		curso nm
	I’ll be starting the sixth form in September.
	Empezaré sexto grado en septiembre.
	Empezaré sexto curso en septiembre.
form n	(printing: type in a chase)	tipo nm
	He set the form in the printing press.
	Introdujo el tipo en la prensa.
form vi	(be produced)	formarse⇒ v prnl
	A rainbow formed above their heads.
	Se formó un arco iris sobre sus cabezas.
form vi	(be arranged) (literario)	tomar forma loc verb
	They discussed it, and the plan formed.
	Lo discutieron, y el plan tomó forma.
form [sth]⇒ vtr	(organize)	formar⇒ vtr
		organizar⇒ vtr
	They formed a union.
	Formaron un sindicato.
form [sth] vtr	(constitute)	constituir⇒ vtr
	Sugar forms one of the main ingredients of soft drinks.
	El azúcar constituye uno de los ingredientes principales de los refrescos.
form [sth] vtr	(idea: develop)	formarse⇒ v prnl
	She formed the opinion that he was a liar.
	Se formó la idea de que era un mentiroso.
form [sth] vtr	(friendship)	hacer⇒ vtr
	(formal)	forjar⇒ vtr
	He formed many friendships during those years.
	Hizo muchas amistades en aquellos años.
	Forjó grandes amistades durante aquellos años.
form [sth] into [sth]⇒ vtr	(mold, shape)	dar forma loc verb
	She formed the clay into the shape of a bird.
	Dio forma de pájaro a la arcilla.
form [sb]⇒ vtr	usu passive (instruct)	formar a vtr + prep
		educar a vtr + prep
	She was formed in one of the best schools.
	Fue formada en una de los mejores colegios.
	Fue educada en uno de los mejores colegios.

WordReference English-Spanish Dictionary © 2023:

Compound Forms: form
Inglés		Español
application form n	(document: employment request, etc)	impreso de solicitud nm + loc adj
		formulario de solicitud nm + loc adj
		forma de solicitud nf + loc adj
		formulario de inscripción nm + loc adj
	All you need is a completed application form and a photo ID to get a library card.
	Para obtener una tarjeta de la biblioteca sólo necesitas un impreso de solicitud completo y una foto.
art form n	(type of art)	forma de arte grupo nom
	Ice sculptures are a modern art form.
	La escultura en hielo es una moderna forma de arte.
booking form n	(form for reserving [sth])	planilla de reserva nf + loc adj
booking form n	(police arrest document)	formulario de registro nm + loc adj
canonical form n	(standard way to show [sth])	manera convencional nf + adj mf
		como mandan los cánones expr
		forma ortodoxa nf + adj
	(matemáticas)	forma canónica nf + adj
	Obtenga a partir de la forma general la ecuación de la parábola en su forma canónica.
	(coloquial)	como Dios manda expr
claim form n	(request for compensation)	formulario de reclamo grupo nom
		hoja de reclamaciones grupo nom
	fui a presentar un reclamo y me hicieron llenar un formulario.
claim form n	UK (law: summons)	citatorio nm
	Me llegó un citatorio por una multa que me pusieron la semana pasada.
compound form n	(grammar: composite term) (Gramática)	forma compuesta nf + adj
	Las formas compuestas usan un auxiliar y un participio pasado.
compound form n	(chemistry: combined substance)	compuesto químico nm + adj
	Este compuesto químico es cáustico, manipúlelo con cuidado.
consent form n	(document: signed agreement)	formulario de consentimiento grupo nom
		autorización nf
		permiso nm
	You have to sign a consent form before having any type of surgery. I signed a consent form to allow the doctors to harvest my organs if I died during the operation.
	Debes firmar un formulario de consentimiento antes de someterte a cualquier tipo de cirugía.
dance form n	(style of dancing)	estilo de baile nm + loc adj
	Different types of music call for different dance forms.
entry form n	(document)	formulario de ingreso nm + loc adj
		formulario de inscripción nm + loc adj
first form n	UK, dated (lowest class, grade in a school)	primer año de secundaria nm + loc adj
form a part of [sth] v expr	(be a component)	formar parte de algo loc verb
	Our solar system forms part of a galaxy we call the Milky Way.
	Nuestro Sistema Solar forma parte de la galaxia que llamamos Vía Láctea.
form an opinion v expr	(decide what you think)	tener opinión formada loc verb
	I don’t think I have enough information to form an opinion yet.
	No creo tener suficiente información todavía como para tener una opinión formada.
form class n	(linguistics)	categoría morfosintáctica nf + adj
form eddies vi	(water: whirl)	arremolinarse⇒ v prnl
	That stone in the middle of the river forms eddies downstream.
form factor n	(mathematical factor)	factor de forma loc nom m
form into line v expr	(military: line up) (militar)	alinearse⇒ v prnl
		formar filas loc verb
form letter n	(standardized correspondence)	modelo de carta nm + loc adj
	Word-processing software is useful for producing form letters.
	Los procesadores de texto son útiles para producir modelos de cartas.
form of address n	(title in writing, speaking to [sb])	tratamiento nm
	In England, the correct form of address for a duke is «your Grace».
	En Inglaterra, el correcto tratamiento para un duque es «su Excelencia».
		apelativo nm
	En Inglaterra, el apelativo correcto para un duque es «su Excelencia».
form tutor n	UK (teacher assigned to a class)	tutor, tutora nm, nf
	If you have a problem, you should speak to your form tutor.
	Si tienes un problema, deberías hablar con tu tutor.
free form, freeform n	(improvised style)	estilo libre nm + adj mf
		estilo improvisado nm + adj
	Free form is a type of jazz introduced in the 1950s.
	El estilo libre es un tipo de jazz que se introdujo en 1950.
free-form, freeform n as adj	(improvised or unplanned)	espontáneo/a adj
		improvisado participio
free-form machine quilting n	(patchwork sewn by machine)	patchwork cosido a máquina grupo nom
function word, form word n	(linguistics: non-content word) (lingüística)	palabra funcional nf + adj
good form n	(fitness)	buena forma adj + nf
	The horse is in good form for the race.
	El caballo está en buena forma para la carrera.
	(estado físico)	forma nf
	El caballo está en forma para la carrera.
		estado nm
	El caballo está en estado para la carrera.
good form n	(appropriate behaviour)	buena educación adj `nf
	It is good form to offer your seat to a lady.
	Es buena educación ofrecer tu sitio a una dama.
		forma correcta nf + adj
	Ofrecerle tu sitio a una dama es la forma correcta.
		buenos modos, buenos modales adj + nmpl
	Ofrecerle tu sitio a una dama es tener buenos modales.
		buenas maneras adj + nfpl
	Ofrecerle tu sitio a una dama es tener buenas maneras.
human form n	(human body, figure)	forma humana nf +adj
	Many aspects of the human form clearly show the close relationship of our species with the great apes.
	Muchos aspectos de la forma humana muestran la relación cercana de nuestra especie con los simios.
		figura humana nf + adj
	Muchos aspectos de la figura humana muestran la relación cercana de nuestra especie con los simios.
human form n	(shape of a human being)	figura humana nf + adj
		forma humana nf + adj
	The door opened and a human form stood silhouetted against the light. In works of science fiction, it is not unusual for aliens to assume a human form.
	La puerta se abrió y una figura humana dibujó su silueta contra la luz.
in due form adv	(correctly, properly)	en debida forma loc adv
Note: Algo más coloquial con ‘de la» (de la debida forma)
be in fine form v expr	(be fit, healthy)	en buena forma loc adv
		en forma loc adv
	Even though I’m 50 years old, I’m still in fine form and can beat you at tennis any day!
	A pesar de que tengo ya 50 años, ¡estoy en buena forma y puedo ganarte al tenis cualquier día!
be in fine form v expr	(be in a good mood)	de buen ánimo loc adv
	Encontramos al paciente de buen ánimo y dijo que se sentía mejor.
in good form adv	(fit, healthy)	en forma loc adv
		en buena forma loc adv
	I go to the gym every week to keep in good form.
	Voy al gimnasio todas las semanas para mantenerme en forma.
in good form, on good form adv	(in a good mood)	de buen ánimo loc adv
		de buen humor loc adv
	(informal)	de buenas loc adv
	He’s in good form tonight because he just found out he got a promotion.
	Hoy está de buen ánimo porque se enteró de que le dieron un ascenso.
in the form of [sth] expr	(as)	en forma de loc adv
		como adv
	Her reply came in the form of a smile.
	Su repuesta vino en forma de sonrisa.
in written form adv	(in writing)	por escrito loc adv
matter of form n	(law: procedural issue)	cuestión de forma loc nom f
		cuestión formal loc nom f
		formalismo nm
medical form n	(document giving permission for healthcare)	autorización de prestación médica nf
order form n	(document requesting a purchase)	impreso de solicitud nm + loc adj
		formulario de pedido nm + loc adj
	I’ll need to fill out an order form for more printer cartridges.
	Tengo que rellenar un impreso de solicitud para pedir los cartuchos de la impresora.
poor form n	(weak performance)	desempeño pobre nm + adj
poor form n	(feeble or inferior condition)	baja forma adj + nf
	She must be in really poor form today; she’s limping and she looks pale.
	Debe estar en muy baja forma hoy, cojea y se ve pálida.
poor form n	(bad manners)	mala educación loc nom f
	It’s really poor form to put your feet on the coffee table.
	Es de mala educación poner los pies arriba de la mesa ratona.
	(coloquial)	ordinariez nf
	Es una ordinariez poner los pies arriba de la mesa ratona.
pre-form concrete n	(ready-cast cement mixture)	masa de cemento nf
racing form n	(about horse races) (carreras de caballo)	planilla de carreras grupo nom
racing form n	(race horse’s past performance) (carreras de caballo)	revista con el rendimiento de cada caballo grupo nom
reform, also UK: re-form vi	(improve your conduct)	enderezarse⇒ v prnl
		mejorar⇒ vi
	Joey has promised to reform, but I’m not hopeful.
	Juan prometió enderezarse, pero no tengo esperanzas.
release form n	(document: signed permission)	autorización nf
	Parents must sign a release form before their children’s work can be displayed.
	Los padres deben firmar una autorización para que los trabajos de sus hijos se puedan exponer.
sixth form n	UK, regional (secondary school: final 2 years) (literal)	últimos dos años de preparatoria adj + nm
		últimos dos años de la escuela secundaria adj + nm
	Lucy is in the sixth form, studying for her A-levels.
	Lucy está en sus últimos dos años de preparatoria, estudiando para sus exámenes.
sixth form college n	UK, regional (secondary school: 16-19) (literal)	últimos dos años de preparatoria adj + nm
		últimos dos años de escuela secundaria adj + nm
standard form n	(concise format for large numbers)	notación científica nf + adj
	En la notación científica, 100.000.000 es igual a 10^8 (diez elevado a la potencia ocho).
take form v expr	(be shaped)	tomar forma loc verb
	The sculpture began to take form only minutes after the artist began working.
	La escultura empezó a tomar forma pocos minutos después de que el artista se pusiese a trabajar.
true to form adj	(typical)	fiel a su costumbre loc adj
	Jennifer was true to form in being late for school.
	Fiel a su costumbre, Jennifer llegó tarde a la escuela.
true to form adv	(as usual)	como siempre loc adv
	True to form, he won’t tell me where he was last night.
	Como siempre, no va a decir dónde estuvo anoche.
waveform n	(physics: shape of a wave)	onda nf
	The waveform of a current refers to its shape on a graph of signal strength plotted against time.
word form n	(word: grammatical inflection)	desinencia nf