Preterite

The preterite is used to express actions or events that took place in the past, and which were instantaneous or are viewed as completed. For example:

• Ella se murió ayer (She died yesterday)
• Pablo apagó las luces (Pablo turned the lights off)
• Yo me comí el arroz (I ate the rice)
• Te cortaste el pelo (You had your hair cut, Lit. "You cut yourself the hair")

Note that (1) for -ar and -ir verbs (but not -er), the first-person plural form is the same as that of the present indicative; and (2) -er and -ir verbs share the same set of endings.

Imperfect or "copretérito"

The imperfect expresses actions or states that are viewed as ongoing in the past. For example:

• Yo era cómico en el pasado (I was/used to be funny in the past).
• Usted comía mucho (You ate a lot – literally, this sentence is saying "You used to eat a lot", saying that in the past, the person being referred to had a characteristic of "eating a lot").
• Ellos escuchaban la radio (They were listening to the radio).

All three of the sentences above describe "non-instantaneous" actions that are viewed as continuing in the past. The characteristic in the first sentence and the action in the second were continuous, not instantaneous occurrences. In the third sentence, the speaker focuses on the action in progress, not on its beginning or end.

Note that (1) for all verbs in the imperfect, the first- and third-person singular share the same form; and (2) -er and -ir verbs share the same set of endings.

Using preterite and imperfect together

The preterite and the imperfect can be combined in the same sentence to express the occurrence of an event in one clause during an action or state expressed in another clause. For example:

• Ellos escuchaban la radio cuando oyeron un ruido afuera. (They were listening to the radio when they heard a noise outside.)
• Yo estaba en mi cuarto cuando usted entró. (I was in my room when you came in.)
• Era un día muy tranquilo cuando eso pasó. (It was a very peaceful day when that happened.)

In all three cases, an event or completed action interrupts an ongoing state or action. For example, in the second sentence, the speaker states that he was in his room (expressed through the imperfect to reflect the ongoing or unfinished state of being there) when the other person "interrupted" that state by entering (expressed through the preterite to suggest a completed action).

Forming gerunds

To form the gerund of an -ar verb, replace the -ar of the infinitive with -ando; e.g. jugar, hablar, caminar → jugando, hablando, caminando. For -er or -ir verbs, replace the -er or -ir ending with -iendo; e.g. comer, escribir, dormir → comiendo, escribiendo, durmiendo (note that dormir undergoes the stem vowel change that is typical of -ir verbs). In -er verbs whose stem ends with a vowel, the i of the -iendo ending is replaced by y: e.g. leer, traer, creer → leyendo, trayendo, creyendo. In -ir verbs whose stem ends with e—such as reír and sonreír—the stem vowel e is raised to i (as is typical of -ir verbs), and this i merges with the i of the -iendo ending; e.g. reír, freír → riendo, friendo.

Present subjunctive

Normally, a verb would be conjugated in the present indicative to indicate an event in the present frame of time.

• Yo soy muy ambicioso. (I am very ambitious)
• Marta trae la comida. (Marta brings the food)

If the sentence expresses a desire, demand, or emotion, or something similar, in the present tense, the subjunctive is used.

• Quiero que seas muy ambicioso. (I want you to be very ambitious—literally, I want that you be very ambitious)
• Me alegro de que Marta traiga la comida. (I am happy that Marta brings the food)
• Es una lástima que llegues tarde. (It is a shame that you arrive late)

The subjunctive is also used to convey doubt, denial, or uncertainty.

• Busco un amigo que sea simpático. (I search for a friend who will be likable or I search for a likable friend)
• No hay ningún autor que lo escriba. (There are no authors who write that.)
• Es posible que ella sepa mucho. (It is possible that she knows a lot.)
• No parece que tengan mucho dinero. (It does not seem that they have much money.)

In the first two examples, the ideally likable friend has not yet been found and remains an uncertainty, and authors "who write that" are not known to exist. In the third, possibility is not certainty, but rather a conjecture, and the last expresses clear doubt. Thus, subjunctive is used. Some of the phrases and verbs that require sentences to have subjunctive formation include:

• Dudar, negar, esperar, alegrarse de, temer, sentir, pedir, aconsejar, exigir, desear, querer, mandar
• Es necesario que, conviene que, no parece que, es dudoso que, es probable que, no creo que, importa que, parece mentira que

Some phrases that require the indicative instead, because they express certainty, include:

• Es verdad que, es obvio que, es seguro que, parece que, es evidente que, creo que

To form the first-person singular subjunctive, first take the present indicative first-person singular (yo) form of a verb. For example, the verbs hablar, comer, and vivir (To talk, to eat, to live) → Yo hablo, yo como, yo vivo. Then, replace the ending o with the "opposite ending". This is done in the following way: if the verb is an -er or -ir verb such as comer, poder, vivir, or compartir, replace the ending o with an a i.e. : Yo como; yo puedo; yo vivo → Yo coma; yo pueda; yo viva. If the verb is an -ar verb such as hablar or caminar replace the ending o with an e: i.e., Yo hablo; yo camino → Yo hable, yo camine. This forms the first-person conjugation. The other conjugations work similarly, as follows:

• Yo → Yo hable; yo coma; yo viva
• Tú → Tú hables; tú comas; tú vivas
• Él/Ella/Usted → Él hable; él coma; él viva
• Nosotros → Nosotros hablemos; nosotros comamos; nosotros vivamos
• Vosotros → Vosotros habléis; vosotros comáis; vosotros viváis
• Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes → ellos hablen; ellos coman; ellos vivan

Since the vos forms are derived from vosotros, the following would be expected (and used in Central America):

• Vos → Vos hablés; vos comás; vos escribás

However, the Royal Spanish Academy, following Argentinian usage, recommends using the tú forms:

• Vos → Vos hables;^[2] vos comas;^[3] vos escribas^[4]

Imperfect subjunctive

Today, the two forms of the imperfect subjunctive – for example, "hubiese" and "hubiera", from "haber" – are largely interchangeable.* The -se form derives (as in most Romance languages) from the Latin pluperfect subjunctive, while the -ra form derives from the Latin pluperfect indicative. The use of one or the other is largely a matter of personal taste and dialect. Many only use the -ra forms in speech, but vary between the two in writing. Many may spontaneously use either, or even prefer the rarer -se forms. The imperfect subjunctive is formed for basically the same reasons as the present subjunctive, but is used for other tenses and time frames.

Historical approaches

The syntactic role of the clitic se and its forms in Spanish has undergone much debate within the research with no obvious conclusion. Part of the difficulty stems from the variable role se and its other forms play with regard to the contextual grammar. Some syntacticians have aptly termed the clitic se as "paradigmatic" in reference to the complexity and variance of se features and functions. It is utilized in a variety of Spanish grammar contexts, including the following forms: reflexive pronoun, reciprocal pronoun, replacive pronoun (direct and indirect object), intrinsic pronoun (without the pronoun, the structure is ungrammatical), "derivational" pronoun, and "stylistic" pronoun. Further, se is used in addition with certain intransitive verbs, in reflexive-passive constructions, and in impersonal constructions.

As a class, clitics have such a variety of grammatical functions that they are not always pronominal, anaphoric or related to verbal arguments. Syntactically, they are most often found in non-argument benefactive theta-roles, in formation of passive, in formation of middle voice, and with a completive meaning. They can take the form of either phrasal constituents or words with an independent syntactic structure.

Despite se being grammatically diverse in Spanish grammatical application, it does certain specific roles. Zagona, author of a comprehensive Spanish syntax textbook, has extensively outlined form and function in depth, stating that:

• [sic] the only true subject clitic in Spanish is "impersonal" se "one".^[6]

The impersonal form is clearly defined as it does not double and uses only the third person singular verb form as in the impersonal form example here:

• No             se                     puede             pisar    el         césped
• Neg.          CL                   can-I.               walk    the       grass
• "You cannot walk on the grass."^[7]

Zagona also notes that, generally, oblique phrases do not allow for a double clitic, yet some verbs of motion are formed with double clitics:

• María                      se                     fue
• María                      CL                   go away-3.sg
• "Maria went away."^[6]

Imperatives in Spanish do not require the use of clitics, but when they are used, a specific word order must be followed. With an affirmative verb, the clitic succeeds the verb. However, in a negative command, word order alters in that the clitic precedes the verb. Another review of sentence positions of se in various grammatical constructions offers the following example, demonstrating imperative differences thus:

• Ábrelo.
• open-2.sg.CL(Acc.)
• "Open it."
• No                   lo                                 abras
• Neg                 CL(Acc.)                 open-2.sg.
• "Don't open it."^[8]

With continuous verbs, the clitic can precede the auxiliary verb, as in the example below:

• Juan    lo                     estaba              preparando (correct)
• John    CL(Acc.)         was                  prepare-ing
• *Juan                          estaba              preparándolo (incorrect)

The clitic can also be placed after the participle, as in the following example:

• Maria        ya              lo                  habia            preparado (correct)
• Maria        already      CL(Acc.)      have-3.sg.     prepare-pastpart
• *Maria      ya                                   habia            preparádolo (incorrect)^[6]

The second phrase in each example above includes the clitic in this particular grammatical configuration as an attachment to the verb which is marked as ungrammatical.

Specific issues arise in clitic use and syntactic representation in terms of animacy. The Spanish language does not explicitly demonstrate in its grammar whether an object, either direct or indirect, refers to an animate or inanimate object. Therefore, the use of two clitics is common, although not always required. In this way, clitics can be doubled or "redundant" when two instances occur within the same phrase. Double clitics are found in instances of phrases with both direct accusative case objects and indirect dative objects in this way:

• Te                    lo                     dije                  ayer.
• CL(Dat.)         CL(Acc.)       tell-1.sg.pst     yesterday
• "I told you yesterday."^[7]

Regarding clitic doubling in Spanish, Ordóñez has suggested a "cluster" versus "split" formation, weighing consideration of the double clitic as a single unit (cluster) or a separable unit (split). The syntactic approach maintains a left-dislocation for the clitics while sustaining a separation from the verb.^[9] In the cluster model, both clitics are two adjacent constituents whereas the split model, one clitic has been split from the other, appearing higher on the syntactic tree. Both are still under the same c-command of the left branch but are no longer sisters to each other. Ordóñez suggests that when clitics are sisters, they may not even be considered constituents in the syntax. The hypothesis includes a requirement that a non-third person clitic is located higher on a tree than the third person clitic.

In fact, clitic climbing is a common feature in Romance languages with designation of clitics as unbound morphemes where the clitic "climbs" to adjoin the verb in a higher position.^[10] This widely discussed theory has involved raising of the clitic se as an unaccusative because of the lack of external argument in the grammar structure. The object clitic begins in the subject position of the verb, moving up to attach to the verb via adjunction on the left. Another theory is the "base-generation" which considers clitics to be affixes.^[11] However, both approaches fail when there is clitic doubling.

Recent approaches

As recently as 2021, Cuervo has suggested that, for clitic doubling, the solution is considering the dative clitic to be the head of an Applicative Phrase with care taken in identifying whether the form is proclitic or enclitic. Cuervo addresses the difference by positing the following: if the process is proclitic, there is climbing; if the process is enclitic, there is no climbing.^[12] Thus, the determining factor for syntactic presentation is the type of verbal phrase.

Bradley illustrates some inflexible constructions, mainly when two third-person pronouns are within the same sentence and the indirect object must be expressed via se:

• Ya                   se                     lo                     he mandado
• already            CL(Nom.)       CL(Acc.)         sent-presperf
• "I have already sent it"^[8]

In such cases, one solution is to use the particle a followed by an infinitive verb when the clitic precedes an auxiliary verb, as in the example provided below:

• Nos                  vamos              a          acostar
• CL(Nom.)       go-1.pres.        to         go to bed
• "We are going to bed"^[7]

The clitic is not attached to the infinitive verb; instead, it is in subject position. Grammatically, attachment to the verb occurs with a non-finite or a main conjugated verb.^[13] The clitic adjoins the verb and undergoes head movement to check its features.^[14]

Additional structures for direct and indirect objects have been suggested. Other views include the use of AgrS and AgrO for Spanish when clitics are involved. Daussá states that se can block features as it travels attached to the appropriate verb form from the feature geometry which alters the nodes.

Daussá’s realization of syntactic structure presents a solution for the paradigmatic issue of se using AgrO and AgrS. This model includes a Determiner Phrase that is nominative with verbal agreement in both person and number. Romain has also offered a thorough examination of the various theories, concluding that se is part of a Determiner Phrase.^[15] While there had been some postulation that clitics are heads of their own phrases, there has not been much support given to those claims.

Even more recently, Lewandowski has focused on one function in the use of se with reflexive verbs, the completive, wherein with specific verbs the clitic denotes a completion of an action.^[16] Lewandowski has proposed an interconnected functionality for the Spanish reflexive pronoun, representing this concept via a cluster map indicating semantic, pragmatic, and grammatical functions. His discussion has centered around the "polyfunctionality" of se and how best to syntactically handle this issue, perhaps by not separating the syntax from morphology. Another recent view is that there are two syntactic formations: first, that se is a probe for A-movement which results in a paradigmatic se and second, that non-paradigmatic se is represented by third person singular.^[17] This cross-referencing of syntax and morphology overlapping with a communicative stylistic approach has been suggested in the past.^[18]

Voseo

Vos was used in medieval Castilian as a polite form, like the French vous and the Italian voi, and it used the same forms as vosotros. This gave three levels of formality:

• Tú quieres
• Vos queréis (originally queredes)
• Vuestra merced quiere (today usted)

Whereas vos was lost in standard Spanish, some dialects lost tú, and began using vos as the informal pronoun. The exact connotations of this practice, called voseo, depend on the dialect. In certain countries there may be socioeconomic implications. Voseo uses the pronoun vos for tú but maintains te as an object pronoun and tu and tuyo as possessives.

In voseo, verbs corresponding to vos in the present indicative (roughly equivalent to the English simple present), are formed from the second person plural (the form for vosotros). If the second person plural ends in áis or éis, the form for vos drops the i:

• Vosotros habláis – vos hablás
• Vosotros tenéis – vos tenés

Similarly the verb ser (to be) has:

• Vosotros sois – vos sos

If the second person plural ends in -ís (with an accent on the í), then the form for vos is identical:

• Vosotros vivís – vos vivís
• Vosotros oís – vos oís
• Vosotros huís – vos huís

In the imperative, the form for vos is also derived from the second person plural. The latter ends always in -d. So for the form for vos this d is removed, and if the verb has more than one syllable, an accent is added to the last vowel:

• Tened (vosotros) – tené (vos)
• Dad (vosotros) – da (vos)

The only exception to these rules is in the verb ir (to go), which does not have an imperative form for vos and uses the analogous form of the verb andar, which has a similar meaning, and is regular:

• Andad – andá

In the present subjunctive, the same rules as for the present indicative apply, though these forms coexist in Argentina with those for the pronoun tú:

• Que vosotros digáis – que vos digás

Or:

• Que tú digas – que vos digas

Other tenses always have the same form for vos as for tú.

Outside Argentina, other combinations are possible. For instance, people in Maracaibo may use standard vosotros endings for vos (vos habláis, que vos habléis).

Vosotros imperative: -ar for -ad

In Spain, colloquially, the infinitive is used instead of the normative imperative for vosotros. This is not accepted in the normative language.

• ¡Venir! instead of ¡Venid!
• ¡Callaros! instead of ¡Callaos! (¡Callarse! in some dialects)
• ¡Iros! or ¡Marcharos! instead of ¡Idos!

Non-normative -s on tú form

A form used for centuries but never accepted normatively has an -s ending in the second person singular of the preterite or simple past. For example, lo hicistes instead of the normative lo hiciste; hablastes tú for hablaste tú. That is the only instance in which the tú form does not end in an -s in the normative language.

Ladino has gone further with hablates.