Speed Spanish III

In this lesson, you'll be introduced to the preterite tense. You'll learn when and how to use the preterite and the imperfect tense when describing events that happened in the past. You'll also learn an assortment of time phrases that will help reinforce your use of the past tense. When you're finished, you'll appreciate how the Spanish language carves up events and situations that have occurred in the past.

In this lesson, you'll review and practice several of the strategies you learned in previous lessons. These strategies will polish your speaking and writing skills, teaching you what it takes to transition smoothly from one to another.

The verb ser, meaning to be, has peculiar verb forms. In this lesson, you'll learn those different forms framed against its partner verb, estar, which also means to be. After practicing this lesson's helpful drills, you'll know when to use ser and when to use estar. We'll also practice Strategy 4 using the verb tener, which means to have, and we'll learn some extended verb forms. After this lesson, you'll know all there is to know about Strategies 1 through 4!

During previous lessons, you've been learning and reviewing vocabulary while improving your pronunciation skills. This lesson is no different, but the focus will be on distinguishing the preterite from the imperfect past tenses. We will focus on the verbs querer, meaning to want, and gustar, meaning to like. When you finish this lesson, you'll know the full range of Strategies 1 through 6, preterite and all.

In today's lesson, you'll learn a few new verbs while reviewing Strategies 1 through 6. After that, we'll move on to an in-depth review of Strategy 7: Present Tense and More, which will give you options for presenting past events. Accompanying this lesson are practice drills designed to improve your ability to respond spontaneously in Spanish. You're now midway through the course, so you'll want to practice what you're learning with native Spanish speakers.

In this lesson, we'll review the complete range of Strategy 7: Present Tense and More. You'll also learn several commonly used short phrases associated with Strategy 7 and how to apply Strategy 7 to hacer/dar/decir verbs, which you'll use regularly. Besides learning more about Strategy 7, we'll review Strategies 1 through 6. After completing this lesson, you'll feel comfortable using irregular Spanish verbs because you'll understand their underlying patterns.

Spanish has flexible word order with some constraints, so in this lesson, you'll learn how and when to change the word order. We'll review Strategy 8 and introduce you to Strategy 9, which can be referred to as the Se Habla Español strategy. You'll practice the passive voice in Spanish, and later, you'll review reflexive verbs.

Remember in the first Speed Spanish course when you learned all about the particles, lo/la/me? Later, in Speed Spanish II, we expanded on them. Now you've made it all the way to Speed Spanish III, and it's time to learn the full range of particle uses. You'll learn to incorporate these new particles into your conversations, and, as always, we'll practice our strategies. Then, you'll learn many new verbs you can use in everyday Spanish conversations.

In this lesson, we'll review a strategy for applying the conditional tense to use would verb phrases. Besides learning more about Strategy 10, you'll learn a new strategy that will help you to express the future: Strategy 11. As we'll do in every lesson, we'll introduce new vocabulary words. We'll pay special attention to ser and ir in this lesson, too. When you're finished, you'll have completed Strategies 1 - 11!

In this lesson, you'll build on what you've learned previously by practicing the -ing form of verbs in Strategy 12. You'll also learn an easier way to express the past tense in Strategy 13 and attempt to crack the por and para code that causes difficulty for many Spanish learners. This lesson also starts to lay the foundation for the subjunctive tense by learning key phrases. After you finish this lesson, you'll have learned Strategies 1 through 13!

In this final lesson, you'll be introduced to Strategy 14, which helps you practice your commands. If you've ever heard the phrase, Viva Las Vegas, you've made the first step toward learning the subjunctive tense, which is Strategy 15. You'll also learn the present subjunctive when expressing emotion and doubt. When you complete this final lesson, you'll have learned a total of 15 Strategies that will help you speak more fluent Spanish! You now have the tools to read, write, and express yourself in Spanish. It's up to you to seek out Spanish speakers. May the strategies be with you!