Spanish — Learning Path
Learn Spanish like a system. Each module teaches the English concept first, then maps it to Spanish — targeting Castellano (Spain).
Organized as stages in the order you actually need them: building blocks → your first real sentences → expanding what you can say → time (past/future) → nuance.
Stage 1 — Building Blocks
| Doc | What you learn |
|---|---|
| Articles | definite/indefinite in English → 8 Spanish article forms |
| Nouns | noun categories, countable/uncountable → Spanish gender + plural rules |
| Grammatical Gender | why Spanish assigns gender; patterns by ending; exceptions |
| Noun Patterns | gender signals + plural rules as lookup tables |
| Adjectives | English: no agreement; Spanish: gender + number agreement; position rules |
| Adjective Patterns | all 4 forms for common adjectives; color, quality, size |
| Possessives | my/your/his/her → mi/tu/su, agreeing with the thing owned |
Stage 2 — Pronouns
| Doc | What you learn |
|---|---|
| Subject Pronouns | yo/tú/él/ella/nosotros/ellos; tú vs usted; pro-drop |
| Object Pronouns | direct (lo/la) vs indirect (le); placement; le → se rule |
| Reflexive Verbs | llamarse, levantarse — “self” actions Spanish marks that English doesn’t |
| Pronoun Table | all pronoun + possessive forms in one lookup |
Stage 3 — First Sentences
Everything above is inert until you can put it in a sentence. This stage covers word order and the highest-frequency prepositions before the full verb system, so every verb you learn next can be used correctly right away.
| Doc | What you learn |
|---|---|
| Basic Syntax | SVO order; pro-drop; adjective placement; pronoun before verb |
| Negation | no before verb; double negatives required |
| Prepositions | a / de / en / con / sin / desde / hasta + examples |
| Prepositions Reference | all prepositions + por vs para quick table |
| Verb Types | -ar / -er / -ir classes; stem vs ending; regular vs irregular |
| Present Tense | conjugation by class; key irregulars; stem-changing verbs |
| Conjugation — Present | full tables for all classes + irregular verbs |
Stage 4 — Being & Doing
| Doc | What you learn |
|---|---|
| Ser vs Estar | two “to be” verbs; permanent vs temporary; meaning shifts |
| Present Progressive | estar + gerundio; what’s happening right now |
| Gustar-Type Verbs | ”I like” flips subject/object — the trickiest common structure |
| Modal Verbs | poder / querer / deber / tener que |
Stage 5 — Asking & Commanding
| Doc | What you learn |
|---|---|
| Questions | ¿ ? marks; no do-support; question words |
| Question Words | all interrogatives + accent mark rules |
| Commands (Imperative) | tú/usted/vosotros/ustedes; affirmative vs negative forms |
| Conjugation — Commands | full imperative tables, including irregulars |
Stage 6 — Past
| Doc | What you learn |
|---|---|
| Preterite | completed past; endings; key irregulars |
| Imperfect | ongoing/habitual past; endings; 3 irregulars only |
| Preterite vs Imperfect | decision guide; signal words; classic combos |
| Present Perfect | he hablado — the tense Castellano favors for today’s events |
| Conjugation — Past | preterite + imperfect tables |
| Conjugation — Present Perfect | haber + participle tables, including irregular participles |
Stage 7 — Future & Conditional
| Doc | What you learn |
|---|---|
| Future Tense | ir + a + infinitive; simple future; irregular stems |
| Conditional | ”would”; si + imperfect → conditional |
| Conjugation — Future & Conditional | all forms + irregular stems |
Stage 8 — Nuance & Connectors
| Doc | What you learn |
|---|---|
| Por vs Para | the hardest pair; cause vs purpose; decision table |
| Demonstratives | este/ese/aquel — Spanish’s three-way “this/that” |
| Comparatives & Superlatives | más…que, tan…como, irregulars (mejor/peor/mayor/menor) |
What’s not covered yet
The subjunctive mood is intentionally out of scope for now — it’s the next logical stage once Stages 1–8 are solid. tutorials/ and how-to/ are placeholders for applied practice (dialogues, exercises) once the grammar reference is complete.