Spanish verb conjugation is often referred to as the hardest aspect of learning the Spanish language because conjugation can be extremely complicated and highly irregular in some cases. What often gets overlooked are Spanish verb tenses themselves which is surprising as it’s extremely important to know when a specific tense is used, how it is used and when it is used.

A lot of individuals who have attacked the conjugation of Spanish verbs have done so without knowing fully all about the tenses they are conjugating in, doing so will not affect their ability to master verb conjugation but it will affect how they utilize their new skill. Hopefully the short glossary below will provide assistance with some necessary info about Spanish verb tenses:

Compound:
Compound tenses are the group of tenses that consist of more than one element. In the Spanish language, compound tenses are formed by using the auxiliary verb and the past participle, for example: ha contestado which means ‘he has answered’.

Past Participle:
The past participle is the form of a verb that indicates a past or completed action or time and is used after the auxiliary verb ‘to have’ in English and ‘haber‘ in Spanish, for example: abierto ‘opened’ in he abierto – ‘I have opened’

Subjunctive:
The subjunctive is not a tense, as many students believe, but a mood. Although it exists in English it goes almost unoticed as it almost always takes the same form as the Indicative. However, in Spanish, it is widely used when expressing doubt, how a person feels about a possibe action, feelings, and a wish, intent or command for a possible action.

Indicative:
As with the subjunctive the indicative is a mood. It is the most widely used mood and is used in ordinary, typical speech when making statements as in hablo - ‘I speak’ ha venido – ‘he has come’, estoy probando – ‘I am trying’

Present:
The present tense is where pretty much every student begins and for good reason, it is the most commonly used tense and is used to express an action that is currently being undertaken. hablo ‘I speak’ or ‘I am speaking’

Imperfect:
One of two simple past tenses in Spanish. The imperative is used to express a past action that has not been completed, that occured frequently or that took place over an indefinite period of time eg. decía ‘I was saying’

Preterite:
The other simple past tense used to  express an action in the past which has been completed or occured over a definite period of time, eg dije ‘I said’

Perfect:
Another past tense used to describe a completed past action. It comprises the auxiliary verb haber and the past participle, eg he visto ‘I have seen’

Pluperfect:
A past tense used to describe an action occurring in the past before another past action and is formed using the imperfect of haber and the past participle: había ido antes de que llegué ‘he had gone before I arrived’

Future:
One of the simpler tenses to understand, the future refers to an action that hasn’t happened yet but is expected: abriré mañana  ‘I will open tomorrow’

Present Participle or ‘Gerund’:
Not used too much apart from when attached to the verb estar ‘to be’ in the present continuous tense. It is the equivalent of the english verb form that ends in -ing for example escribiendo ‘writing’.

Present Continuous:
This tense is only used to describe actions that are taking place at the time of use and is formed by using the present tense of the verb estar and the present participle: estoy escribiendo ‘I am writing’

Conditional:
The conditional tense does not refer to a particular period of time unlike the past, present and future tenses but instead it is used, as it’s name suggests, when a condition is involved but in Spanish it is often linked to the future tense hence why it is known both as el condicional and el futuro hipotético (the hypothetical future). In English the conditional would be formed by using the auxiliary verb would…for example: ‘I would wash if I were dirty’, but in Spanish it is rendered by a single verb form, eg cerraría ‘I would close’

Imperative:
The imperative is a tense that is used when giving orders or suggestions..¡Escribe! Write!

These definitions should shed some light on the main Spanish verb tenses before you start venturing into the world of Spanish verb conjugation and, in particular, irregular Spanish verbs