Spanish Grammar, Latin & Spain Culture

Imperfect vs Preterite

Many students have trouble knowing when to use the preterit past or the imperfect past since they both refer to actions in the past. There are several general rules to follow as well as phrases to look out for. Many phrases use only one tense or the other, so memorizing them is very helpful in figuring out whether the following verb will be in the preterit or imperfect.READ MORE

Ser vs Estar

Ser vs Estar both mean “to be.” How
do you know which verb to use? Here’s how:

Saber vs Conocer

Saber vs Conocer both mean “to
know.” Both saber and conocer have
irregular “Yo” forms in the present
tense. How do you form the present
tense of saber and conocer and use
them correctly?

Here’s how:

Por vs Para

In many cases both por and para can
mean “for” in English and cause quite a
bit of confusion for non-native Spanish
speakers. … In Spanish, both por and
para take on the responsibilities of not
only “for,” but also by, on, through, be
cause of, in exchange for, in order to,
and several other prepositions.

Here’s how:

Don Quixote Miguel Cervantes

The son of a deaf surgeon, Miguel de Cervantes was born near Madrid in 1547. He became a soldier in 1570 and was badly wounded in the Battle of Lepanto. Captured by the Turks in 1575, de Cervantes spent five years in prison. He was freed in 1580 and returned home. De Cervantes finally achieved literary success in his later years, publishing the first part of Don Quixote in 1605. He died in 1616.