Pick what trips you up in Spanish
Each one is a ten-minute round: first you try it, then comes the rule, and a mini-test at the end. No sign-up and no ads.
edumaterial's parts within the level. The European framework does not subdivide them.
CEFR A1 part 1
“Ser” or “estar”: two verbs for one “to be”
Choosing between “ser” and “estar” in everyday sentences: who you are and what you are like with “ser”, where you are and how you feel right now with “estar”.
A19 min49 exercisesEvery noun is “el” or “la”
Putting “el” or “la” in front of a noun, including the ones that do not follow the -o / -a pattern: “el día”, “la mano”, “el problema”, “el agua”.
A19 min49 exercisesAdjectives agree, and they come after
Making the adjective match the noun in gender and number, and putting it in its usual place: “coches rojos”, not “rojos coches”.
A18 min44 exercisesYou do not say “yo” every time
Leaving out the subject pronoun when the verb ending already says who it is, and putting it back when it is needed to contrast or to clear up an ambiguity.
A18 min42 exercises“El café”, “los lunes”, “el español”
Putting “el”, “la”, “los” or “las” where English puts nothing: with things in general, with days of the week, with languages and with parts of the body.
A17 min38 exercises“Tú” or “usted”: one English “you”, two Spanish ones
Choosing between “tú” and “usted”, and using the verb form that goes with each: “usted” takes the same ending as “él”, which surprises everybody the first time.
A17 min38 exercises
CEFR A1 part 2
“Me gusta”: the sentence turns round
Building sentences with “gustar”, “encantar”, “doler”, “interesar” and “faltar”: the thing liked is the subject, and the person goes in front as “me”, “te”, “le”, “nos”, “les”.
A18 min42 exercises“Tengo 20 años”, “hace frío”
Using “tener” for age, hunger, thirst, cold, fear and being right, and “hacer” for the weather.
A18 min41 exercises“Hay” or “está”
Saying that something exists with “hay”, and saying where a known thing is with “estar”.
A18 min41 exercises“No tengo nada”: two negatives are right
Building negative sentences with “nada”, “nadie”, “nunca”, “ninguno” and “tampoco”, keeping the “no” when the negative word comes after the verb.
A17 min39 exercises“Quiero”, “puedo”, “duermo”: verbs that change inside
The three patterns —“e” to “ie”, “o” to “ue”, “e” to “i”— and the shape they make: every person changes except “nosotros” and “vosotros”.
A17 min40 exercises“Veo a María”: the “a” that English cannot see
Putting “a” in front of a person who is the direct object —“busco a mi hermano”— and leaving it out in front of a thing: “busco mi libro”.
A17 min38 exercises
CEFR A2 part 1
“Comí” or “comía”
Choosing between the two past tenses: a finished action with “comí”, a background, a habit or a description with “comía”.
A28 min41 exercises“Por” or “para”
Choosing between “por” and “para” for cause, purpose, destination, duration, exchange and “on behalf of”.
A28 min41 exercises“Lo”, “la”, “le” — and they go in front
Replacing an object with “lo”, “la”, “los”, “las”, “le” or “les”, and putting the pronoun where it goes: before the conjugated verb, or attached to an infinitive or a gerund.
A27 min40 exercises“Saber” or “conocer”
Using “saber” for facts, information and skills, and “conocer” for being acquainted with people, places and works.
A27 min40 exercises“Me duele la cabeza”, not “mi cabeza”
Using the article instead of the possessive with parts of the body and clothes, because the pronoun already says whose it is: “me lavo las manos”, “ponte el abrigo”.
A27 min38 exercises“Voy a menudo”: where the adverb goes
Placing “siempre”, “nunca”, “ya”, “todavía”, “a menudo” and “casi” where Spanish puts them, which is not where English does.
A27 min38 exercises
CEFR A2 part 2
“Vosotros” or “ustedes”: two systems, both right
Recognising and producing both plural-you systems: “vosotros” with its own verb forms and possessives in Spain, “ustedes” everywhere in Latin America and in formal Spain.
A28 min44 exercises“He comido” or “comí”: today's past
Choosing the tense for something finished but still inside today, this week or this year, and knowing that the choice depends on where you are as much as on the sentence.
A27 min38 exercises“Me levanto”: verbs with a pronoun attached
Using reflexive verbs for daily routine, and the pairs where adding the pronoun changes the meaning: “ir” / “irse”, “dormir” / “dormirse”, “llevar” / “llevarse”.
A27 min40 exercises“Muy” or “mucho”
Using “muy” in front of adjectives and adverbs, and “mucho” with verbs and nouns, agreeing when it goes with a noun.
A27 min40 exercises“Nadar es sano”: where English says “-ing” and Spanish does not
Using the infinitive where English uses “-ing”: as a subject (“nadar es sano”), after a preposition (“antes de salir”, “sin hablar”) and after another verb (“quiero comer”).
A27 min38 exercises“Llevo dos años aquí”: how long you have been doing it
Saying how long something has been going on: “vivo aquí desde hace dos años”, “llevo dos años viviendo aquí”, “hace dos años que vivo aquí” — three shapes for one English sentence, and all three in the PRESENT.
A27 min38 exercises
CEFR B1 part 1
“Quiero que vengas”: the subjunctive
Forming the present subjunctive and using it after verbs of wanting, asking, feeling and doubting when there are two different subjects.
B17 min38 exercisesGiving orders, and being polite about it
Forming commands for “tú”, “usted”, “vosotros” and “ustedes”, positive and negative, with the eight common irregulars.
B17 min40 exercises“Creo que es” but “no creo que sea”
Choosing indicative or subjunctive after verbs of thinking, saying and seeming, according to whether they are affirmative or negative, and after impersonal expressions.
B17 min38 exercisesThree ways of saying “will”
Choosing between the present, “ir a” + infinitive and the simple future, and knowing what each of them adds.
B17 min38 exercises“Pedir” or “preguntar”: one “ask”, two verbs
Using “preguntar” for a question and “pedir” for a request: “le pregunté la hora” against “le pedí la hora”, which mean two different things.
B17 min40 exercises“Quedar”, “quedarse”, “dejar”
Four everyday verbs that English packs into “stay”, “leave”, “keep” and “arrange”: “quedamos a las ocho”, “me quedo en casa”, “dejé el libro allí”, “quedan tres”.
B17 min40 exercises
CEFR B1 part 2
“Si tuviera tiempo…”
Building the three conditional patterns, and above all the unreal one: “si” plus imperfect subjunctive, with the conditional in the other half.
B17 min38 exercises“Es aburrido” is not “está aburrido”
The adjectives whose meaning changes with the verb: “aburrido”, “listo”, “rico”, “bueno”, “malo”, “verde”, “orgulloso”, “vivo”.
B18 min41 exercisesFalse friends: “embarazada” is not embarrassed
The words that look like an English word and mean something else: “embarazada”, “actualmente”, “realizar”, “éxito”, “sensible”, “constipado”, “asistir”, “librería”, “carpeta”, “pretender”.
B17 min38 exercises“Dijo que…”: reporting what somebody said
Turning direct speech into “dijo que…”, moving the tense, the person, the possessives and the time words.
B17 min38 exercises“Busco a alguien que hable inglés”
Choosing indicative or subjunctive after “que” depending on whether the person or thing EXISTS for you: “tengo un amigo que habla inglés” against “busco un amigo que hable inglés”.
B17 min38 exercises“Tan”, “tanto”, “tal”: one “so”, three words
Using “tan” with adjectives and adverbs, “tanto” with verbs and nouns —agreeing— and “tal” in fixed expressions: “tan alto”, “tanta gente”, “de tal manera”.
B17 min40 exercises
CEFR B2 part 1
“Se vende”: the passive that Spanish actually uses
Saying things without naming who does them: “se vende piso”, “se venden pisos” —agreeing with the thing— and “se dice que…”, where nothing agrees at all.
B27 min38 exercises“Llevo dos horas esperando”: two verbs working together
The everyday combinations: “acabar de” (just), “llevar” + gerund (have been), “ponerse a” (start suddenly), “volver a” (do again), “dejar de” (stop).
B27 min38 exercises“Aunque llueve” or “aunque llueva”
Choosing the mood after “aunque”, “a pesar de que” and “por mucho que” according to whether the fact is given or merely possible: “aunque llueve, salgo” against “aunque llueva, salgo”.
B27 min38 exercises“Llegó Ana”: the subject after the verb
Putting the subject after the verb where Spanish prefers it: with verbs of happening (“llegó Ana”, “faltan tres”), in questions, and to bring what matters to the end of the sentence.
B27 min38 exercises“Lo que quiero”: the neuter “lo”
Using “lo” with an adjective (“lo bueno”, “lo difícil”) and “lo que” for “what”: “lo que quiero es dormir”, “no entiendo lo que dices”.
B27 min38 exercises“Depender de”, “soñar con”, “pensar en”
The preposition each verb demands, which almost never matches the English one: “depender de”, “soñar con”, “pensar en”, “acordarse de”, “casarse con”, “confiar en”.
B27 min40 exercises
CEFR B2 part 2
“Quería que vinieras”: the tense drags the mood with it
Matching the subjunctive to the main verb: present with present (“quiero que vengas”) and past with imperfect subjunctive (“quería que vinieras”).
B27 min38 exercises“Sin embargo”, “por tanto”, “en cambio”
The connectors that hold an argument together, and what each one promises: “sin embargo”, “por tanto”, “en cambio”, “además”, “de hecho”, “o sea”.
B27 min38 exercises“Serán las tres”: a future that is not about the future
Using the future for a guess about now (“serán las tres”, “estará en casa”) and the conditional for a guess about the past (“serían las tres cuando llegó”).
B27 min38 exercises“Fue construido” or “estaba construido”
Telling the action apart from the state it leaves behind: “la puerta fue cerrada a las ocho” (somebody closed it) against “la puerta estaba cerrada” (it was shut).
B27 min38 exercises“Un momentito”: the diminutive is not about size
What “-ito” really adds: affection (“abuelita”), politeness (“un momentito”), softening (“está malito”) and sometimes dismissal — and only occasionally size.
B27 min38 exercises“Acabar de”, “acabar con”, “acabar por”
Verbs whose meaning changes entirely with the preposition: “acabar de/con/por”, “dar con/a/por”, “contar con/a”, “quedar en/con”.
B27 min40 exercises“Me alegro de que vengas”: feelings take the subjunctive
The subjunctive after anything that reacts to a fact instead of reporting it: “me alegro de que”, “me molesta que”, “es una pena que”, “es normal que”, “qué raro que”.
B27 min37 exercises“Cuando llegues”: the future that is not a future tense
Choosing between indicative and subjunctive after “cuando”, “en cuanto”, “mientras”, “hasta que” and “siempre que”: subjunctive when the moment has not arrived, indicative when it is a habit or already happened.
B27 min37 exercises“Se me cayó”: the plate fell, and it happened to me
Building the accidental sentence: “se” + the person it happened to + a verb that agrees with the THING. “Se me cayó el vaso”, “se me olvidaron las llaves”, “se nos ha roto la tele”.
B27 min37 exercises
CEFR C1
“Si hubiera sabido…”: the past that did not happen
The unreal past: “si hubiera sabido, habría venido”, and the mixed conditions where one half is past and the other present.
C17 min38 exercises“Por más que lo intente”, “a fin de que sepas”
The conjunctions that always take the subjunctive —“para que”, “a fin de que”, “sin que”, “antes de que”, “por más que”— and the ones that only sometimes do.
C17 min38 exercisesWhat you can say to whom
Telling apart what belongs in a message to a friend, in an email to a stranger and in a written report — and the everyday markers that give each one away: “vale”, “o sea”, “en fin”, “le agradecería”.
C18 min41 exercises“Por” and “para”, the hard half
The pairs where both are possible and the meaning changes: “estar por” against “estar para”, “ir por” against “ir para”, plus “por si”, “por lo visto” and “para con”.
C17 min38 exercises“Ponerse”, “volverse”, “hacerse”, “quedarse”: four “become”
Choosing among the four: “ponerse” for a passing state, “volverse” for a lasting change you did not choose, “hacerse” for one you did, “quedarse” for what is left after something happens.
C17 min40 exercisesWhat people write and what people say
What changes between the two: the “ser” passive, “cuyo”, the tenses that survive only in writing, and the fillers that only exist in speech.
C17 min38 exercises“Me alegro DE que” but “pienso QUE”
Deciding whether a verb or an expression needs “de” in front of “que”: “me acuerdo de que”, “estoy seguro de que”, “me di cuenta de que” against “pienso que”, “creo que”, “dijo que”.
C17 min37 exercises“Ir” or “irse”, “comer” or “comerse”
What the pronoun adds to a verb that already works without it: leaving rather than going (“irse”), finishing it off (“comerse”), the moment it starts (“dormirse”), and the pairs where it changes the meaning outright (“acordar” and “acordarse”).
C17 min37 exercises“No es que sea caro”: the subjunctive for what everyone already knows
The last criterion, the one no trigger list covers: taking a fact as already known and building on it. “El hecho de que venga”, “no es que sea caro”, “que yo sepa”, “por si acaso llueva”.
C17 min37 exercises
We're writing the rest. New rounds go up every week.