Languages › Spanish How Well Do You Know Spanish Verb Tenses? Test Your Knowledge With This Quiz Share Flipboard Email Volcán Chingo (Chingo Volcano), El Salvador. Otto Rodriguez/Creative Commons. Spanish Grammar History & Culture Pronunciation Vocabulary Writing Skills By Gerald Erichsen Gerald Erichsen Spanish Language Expert B.A., Seattle Pacific University Gerald Erichsen is a Spanish language expert who has created Spanish lessons for ThoughtCo since 1998. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on September 25, 2017 1. I sleep well every night. Durmió bien cada noche. Duermo bien cada noche. Dormiría bien cada noche. Dormir bien cada noche. Correct Wrong When talking about actions that occur repeatedly in the past, present, and future, you can use the present tense just as you do in English. The verb here, dormir, is conjugated irregularly. 2. When I was in Paris, I saw the Mona Lisa. Cuando estaba en París, vi la Mona Lisa. Cuando estaba en París, veía la Mona Lisa. Cuando estuve en París, vi la Mona Lisa. Cuando estuve en París, veía la Mona Lisa. Correct Wrong When the clause of a sentence is used to provide the background for something that happened in the past, as "Cuando estaba en París" does, its verb typically is in the imperfect tense. The preterite form of ver is used here because it refers to a single action that began and ended at a definite time. 3. We used to eat french fries in the park. Usamos comer papas fritas en el parque. Usamos a comer papas fritas en el parque. Comimos papas fritas en el parque. Comíamos papas fritas en el parque. Correct Wrong The "used to + verb" construction of English is usually translated to Spanish as the imperfect tense. The tense usually is used for referring to past actions that occurred over an indefinite period of time. 4. When I was young we would eat french fries in the park. Cuando era joven comeríamos papas fritas en el parque. Cuando era joven podríamos comer papas fritas en el parque. Cuando era joven comíamos papas fritas en el parque. Cuando era joven querríamos comer papas fritas en el parque. Correct Wrong The English "would" is sometimes used as a rough equivalent of the Spanish conditional tense. But here, it indicates a past action that occurred over an indefinite period of time, meaning basically the same as "used to," so the imperfect tense is needed in translation. 5. If I were you, I would study more. Si yo fuera tú, estudiaría más. Si yo fuera tú, estudiaré más. Si yo fuera tú, estudio más. Si yo fuera tú, estudiaba más. Si yo fuera tú, podría estudiar más. Correct Wrong The conditional tense is used here as the equivalent of the English "would+ verb" to show that something would occur if the "if" condition (a condition that usually begins with si in Spanish) is true. 6. What did you drink? ¿Qué bebiste? ¿Qué hiciste beber? ¿Qué hiciste a beber? ¿Qué hiciste a bebiste? Quiero beber. None of the above. More than one of the top four answers are correct. Correct Wrong English forms the preterite tense in questions by using the auxiliary verb "did." In Spanish, however, the preterite takes the same form in both questions and statements. 7. She is walking to her school. Anda a su escuela. Estaba andando a su escuela. Está andando a su escuela. None of the above. Two of the top three answers above are correct. All three of the top answers are correct. Correct Wrong Both the simple present (anda) or present progressive (estaba andando) can be used for "she is walking." Although in English the simple present (in this case, "she walks") normally isn't used to talk about something that is occuring right now, such a use of the simple presesnt is common in Spanish. So the first two answers above are correct. 8. The train will leave at 10. El tren estuvo saliendo a las diez. El tren sale a las diez. El tren saldrá a las diez. None of the above. Two of the top three answers are correct. All three of the top answers are correct. Correct Wrong The future tense is usually used to talk about the future and could be used here. But it is more common to use the present tense to talk about a scheduled or planned event occurring in the near future. (In English, the present tense also could have been used here.) Thus the second and third answers above are correct. 9. We will buy the car. Hacemos comprar el coche. Vamos a comprar el coche. Compraremos el coche. None of the above. Two of the top three answers are correct. All three of the top answers are correct. Correct Wrong Compraremos is the simple future form of comprar and could be used in this sentence. It is also very common to form the periphrastic future by using the present tense of ir a followed by the infinitive with little to no difference meaning. Thus the second and third answers above are correct. The periphrastic future of English is very simlar — we could say "We are going to buy the car" without much change of meaning. 10. I have seen the light. Había visto la luz. Vi la luz. He visto la luz. He vista la luz. Correct Wrong The present perfect tense is roughly the equivalent of present perfect in English, being formed the the present of haber followed by the past participle. (In English it's the present of "to have" followed by the past participle). It is used to refer to events in the past that have relevance to the present. Be aware that specifics of this tense's usage can vary significantly with region. 11. They had gone to the city. Habían ido a la ciudad. Han ido a la ciudad. Fueron a la ciudad. Querrían ir a la ciudad. Correct Wrong The past perfect tense is roughly the equivalent of the past perfect in English, being formed by the imperfect of haber followed by the past participle. (In English it's the past of "to have" followed by the past participle.) It is used to refer to past events that aren't particularly relevant to the present. The past perfect is also known as the pluperfect. 12. They all will have read the book. Todos han leído el libro. Todos habrían leído el libro. Todos leerán el libro. Todos habrán leído el libro. Correct Wrong The future perfect is used to tell of events that will be completed. it uses the simple future form of haber with the past participle. 13. I am happy you are on my team. Estoy feliz de que estés en mi equipo. Estoy feliz de que estuvieras en mi equipo. Estoy feliz de que estuvieses en mi equipo. Estoy feliz de que estuvieres en mi equipo. None of the above. More than one of the top four answers are correct. Correct Wrong The present subjunctive is used here because the event in the second half of the sentence is currently taking place. 14. I'm happy you were on my team. Estoy feliz de que estés en mi equipo. Estoy feliz de que estuvieras en mi equipo. Estoy feliz de que estuvieses en mi equipo. Estoy feliz de que estuvieres en mi equipo. None of the above. More than one of the top four answers are correct. Correct Wrong The event in the second half ot the sentence took place in the past, so the imperfect subjunctive is used. Both the second and third answers are correct because Spanish has two forms of the imperfect subjunctive. They're usually interchangeable. 15. I have been studying Spanish for three years. He sido estudiando español para tres años. He estado estudiando español para tres años. Había sido estudiando español para tres años. Había estado estudiando español para tres años. Hace tres años que estudio español. Hace tres años que estudié español. Hace tres años que estudiaba español. Correct Wrong When the idiom "hacer + time period" is used to indicate how long ago an action began, the present tense is used for the action if it is continuing until the present. How Well Do You Know Spanish Verb Tenses? You got: % Correct. Perfect! With your knowledge of Spanish, you can become familiar with the works of the masters.. Ferran Pestaña/Creative Commons. You couldn't do better than that! You know your verb tenses well, even to the point of understanding situations where they don't match the English verb tenses. Congratulations! Share Your Results Share Flipboard Email How Well Do You Know Spanish Verb Tenses? You got: % Correct. Excellent! You're right on track to learning your verb tenses.. Eneas De Troya/Creative Commons. You still have studying to do, but you're well on your way to understanding how Spanish uses verb tenses. Keep up the good work! Share Your Results Share Flipboard Email How Well Do You Know Spanish Verb Tenses? You got: % Correct. Keep on Studying! Es importante que estudie. (It is important that she study.). Universidad de Montevideo/Creative Commons. No doubt about it, it can be a challenge to learn how Spanish uses verb tenses, as they aren't always the same as the ones you're familiar with. Come back after studying more and see how much more you know! Share Your Results Share Flipboard Email