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Words this system made up

The Timeline

Nine slots hold every form of a Spanish verb. Learn the map, then fill it in.

0 of 33 lessons done

Start: The whole map

Beginner

  1. The whole mapNine slots, one verb. Pick from 16 verbs and walk the line.
  2. Slot 4 · the presentCut the ending, add the who: -ar, -er and -ir.
  3. Slot 1 · two pasts1a the photo, 1b the video, and how to choose.
  4. Slot 6 · two futures6a going to, 6b will, and the short stems.
  5. The helper slots: 2, 3 and 5Había, he and estoy in front; the verb part never changes.
  6. Below the line: 7, 8 and 9Would, commands and wishes: a first look below the line.

Intermediate

  1. Slot 4 · verbs that changeOdd yo forms like tengo and hago, and the boot: quiero, puedo, pido.
  2. The four big verbs in slot 4Soy, estoy, voy and hay: ser or estar, and hay or está.
  3. Slot 1a · the strong pastsTuve, hice, fui, dije: the 1a verbs with their own stems.
  4. Slot 1b · only three irregularsEra, iba, veía, había, and describing the past in 1b.
  5. Slots 6b and 7 · the short stemsTen short stems that work in both 6b (will) and 7 (would).
  6. The -ado forms that break the rulehecho, dicho, visto and the other -ado forms to learn once for slots 2 and 3.
  7. 1a or 1b in a storyTell a story: 1b sets the scene, 1a moves the plot.
  8. Verbs that change meaning in the pastsupe, conocí, pude, quise, tuve: when 1a changes the English.
  9. Slot 3 or slot 1a?he trabajado or trabajé: does the time still touch now?
  10. Slot 2 · the past before the pasthabía + -ado for what had already happened before another past moment.
  11. Slot 4 or slot 5?English -ing is usually slot 4. Slot 5 is only for this very moment.
  12. Estar in other slotsMove estar to any slot and keep the -ando: estaba trabajando, estaré…
  13. Haber in other slotsMove haber and keep the -ado: habré terminado, habría venido.
  14. Slot 7 · wouldWould for being polite, giving advice and imagining. Plus the would that's 1b.
  15. Slot 8 · commands and the seedThe seed gives every command but one: hable, hablen, no hables, hablemos.
  16. Slot 9 · the present sideAfter a trigger with que: the seed plus endings. Six verbs have their own.
  17. What opens slot 9The trigger families, and why slot 4 reports while slot 9 reacts.
  18. Si · three patternsIf sentences: the plan, the daydream, and a first look at the regret.

Advanced

  1. Slot 9 · the past sideBuild trabajara from 1a, and use it after past triggers and como si.
  2. Regrets: hubiera and habríaIf I had known, I would have come: hubiera + -ado and habría + -ado.
  3. Connectors that open slot 9Para que and friends, cuando and friends, and the two sides of aunque.
  4. Reported speech: moving back one slotDijo que… moves each verb one slot back toward the past.
  5. Where the map bendsSlots doing a second job: guessing, stories, plans and politeness.
  6. Verb phrases on the mapAcabo de, llevo, sigo, suelo and more: engines that sound fluent.
  7. Commands with pronounsDímelo, no me lo digas: where pronouns go in commands.
  8. Se sentencesSe habla español, se me olvidó: when the thing is the subject.
  9. How people soundVos, vosotros, usted, and the little words on top of the map.

Speaking in Pieces

Memorize small chunks, snap them together, and say thousands of things without translating.

0 of 26 lessons done

Start: Pieces, not words · the eight Engines

Beginner

  1. Pieces, not words · the eight EnginesEight ready-made verbs that let you use every other verb as it is.
  2. Ten ActionsTen everyday verbs to plug in after any Engine, exactly as the dictionary has them.
  3. Things with the little word attachedFourteen Things learned with their little word, so you never stop to choose it.
  4. The whole Core FrameOpener + Engine + Action + Thing: one frame, thousands of correct sentences.
  5. A second part: connectorsJoin two Core Frames with y, pero, porque and five more Connectors.
  6. Describe: es or estáThing + es or está + a Descriptor. The Descriptor tells you which one.
  7. Ask and reactTen one-piece reactions to fill the silence, and six questions you finish with a Thing.
  8. Talking about other peopleThe Who row: the Engine changes for who; the Action never does.
  9. Out and about: get around and shopTwo topic packs, same rows: get across town, then shop and pay.

Intermediate

  1. Your pieces meet the TimelineAdd a When row: the Engine moves along the line, nothing else does.
  2. Topic pack: at the restaurantA topic is just new pieces in the same rows: order a whole meal.
  3. Tell what happenedOpeners that point to 1a or 1b, and two-part sentences about the past.
  4. The little pronounsLo, la, los, las for it and them; le, les for a person. Before the Engine or on the end.
  5. Descriptors that agreeFrío or fría, listo or listos: the Thing decides the ending.
  6. Connectors that give Spanish its textureAunque, así que, ya que, además, por eso… and por vs para in chunks.
  7. Wishes: the trigger piecesA trigger row opens slot 9: espero que puedas ir, no creo que tengan que…
  8. What happened, and what's nextTwo packs: tell what happened with 1a and 1b, then make and change a plan.
  9. Travel, and sorting out problemsTwo packs: book and change a trip, then complain, return and get it fixed.
  10. Work, money and paperworkReports, emails, forms and bills in the same rows, plus le for a second object.
  11. Home, health and free timeChores, aches and weekends: three packs, the rows you know, and me gusta + a Thing.
  12. People, opinions and your phoneSmall talk, what you think (creo que, no creo que + slot 9) and messages and calls.

Advanced

  1. More EnginesAcabo de, vuelvo a, dejo de, hay que, suelo, estoy a punto de, sigo, llevo.
  2. Sound like you live herePues, o sea, es que, la verdad, ¿sabes?, tú or usted, and Colombian touches.
  3. Say almost anythingEvery row at once: 677,952 correct sentences from one phone screen.
  4. Work in depth, making your case, the newsLevel C Engines with work, arguing and news pieces: acabo de, se lo, a menos que.
  5. Stories, regrets and formal SpanishTell a story in 1a and 1b, regret with hubiera … habría, ask politely in usted.