Spanish Verbs 38 — Practice Drills for FluencySpanish Verbs 38 is designed as a focused practice set to help intermediate learners strengthen conjugation accuracy, increase response speed, and build confidence using less-common but useful verbs in everyday contexts. This article provides an overview of the verbs in the set, explains key conjugation patterns, offers structured drills (with progressive difficulty), gives example dialogues and situational prompts, and includes a study plan and assessment tips to measure progress.
What is “Spanish Verbs 38”?
Spanish Verbs 38 refers here to a curated list of 38 verbs chosen to target common gaps in intermediate Spanish — verbs that learners often know in the infinitive but hesitate to use in conversation. The set emphasizes irregular stems, reflexive usage, verbs with prepositional complements, and common verbs that change meaning with tense or mood. Practicing these will improve fluency by making sentence production faster and more accurate.
The 38 verbs (grouped by type)
Below is a representative list of 38 verbs organized to highlight similar conjugation patterns and common uses. (If you want a downloadable list or printable flashcards, tell me and I’ll prepare them.)
- Regular -AR: ayudar, alquilar, limpiar, olvidar, preguntar
- Regular -ER: creer, aprender, comprender, vender, responder
- Regular -IR: abrir, escribir, recibir, decidir, sufrir
- Stem-changing: empezar (e>ie), poder (o>ue), pedir (e>i), dormir (o>ue), jugar (u>ue)
- Irregular preterite stems: tener, venir, decir, traer, conducir
- Verbs with irregular first-person present: hacer, poner, salir, conocer, saber
- Reflexive/reciprocal: levantarse, vestirse, reunirse, quejarse
- Verbs with prepositions/alternating complements: esperar (to wait/hope), pensar en, enamorarse de, arrepentirse de
Key conjugation patterns to focus on
- Regular endings (present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional) — make sure these are automatic.
- Stem changes in the present (boot verbs) — practice by grouping verbs with the same stem change.
- Irregular preterite stems — memorize the stem and the unique endings (e.g., tuve, estuve, dije).
- Irregular first-person present forms — practice “yo” forms until natural (hago, pongo, salgo).
- Reflexive pronoun placement — before conjugated verbs and attached to infinitives/gerunds.
- Verbs requiring prepositions — combine verb + appropriate preposition to avoid common errors (pensar en, enamorarse de).
Drill structure: progressive practice
Each drill below is built to increase speed and accuracy. Start slowly for accuracy, then increase speed and reduce planning time.
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Warm-up — Conjugation mapping (5–10 minutes)
- Write the present, preterite, and imperfect for 8–10 verbs from the list. Focus on forms that are commonly troublesome.
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Pattern grouping (10–15 minutes)
- Take five stem-change verbs and conjugate them across persons in present tense. Say them aloud in quick succession.
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Fill-in-the-blank sentences (15–20 minutes)
- Convert sentences with infinitives into fully conjugated sentences in the indicated tense. Example: “(ella) ____ (venir) ayer” → vino.
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Rapid-response flash (10 minutes)
- Set a timer for 60 seconds. Flash an infinitive and a pronoun, say the correct form aloud. Example prompts: “nosotros / pedir / presente” → pedimos.
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Role-play dialogues (20 minutes)
- Use 4–6 verbs per dialogue. Practice both formal and informal registers. Record and replay to self-evaluate pronunciation and fluidity.
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Error analysis and focused repetition (10–15 minutes)
- Keep a log of repeated errors and drill those verbs in isolation and in sentences.
Sample drills and exercises
- Conjugation mapping (example)
- Verb: dormir
- Present: duermo, duermes, duerme, dormimos, dormís, duermen
- Preterite: dormí, dormiste, durmió, dormimos, dormisteis, durmieron
- Imperfect: dormía, dormías, dormía, dormíamos, dormíais, dormían
- Fill-in-the-blank (ten sentences)
- Ayer, ellos no ____ (venir) a la fiesta. — vinieron
- Cuando era niño, yo siempre ____ (jugar) en el parque. — jugaba
- Ella me ____ (decir) la verdad la semana pasada. — dijo
- Nosotros ya ____ (abrir) la tienda. — abrimos
- ¿Tú ____ (saber) la respuesta? — supiste / sabes (context-dependent)
- Rapid-response set (20 mini-prompts)
- yo / hacer / presente
- tú / pedir / presente
- ella / poder / presente
- nosotros / traer / preterite
- ellos / levantarse / presente (reflexive)
- Role-play scenario (airport lost luggage)
- Characters: passenger (yo), airline agent (usted), manager (usted)
- Target verbs: perder, esperar, venir, decir, saber, ayudar, quejarse, traer
- Sample exchange:
- Passenger: “Perdí mi maleta.”
- Agent: “Espere aquí; vamos a ver si alguien la trajo.”
- Manager: “Dígame el número del vuelo.”
Common pitfalls and how to fix them
- Mixing preterite and imperfect: create a simple decision flow — use imperfect for background/habitual, preterite for completed actions.
- Forgetting reflexive pronouns: practice attaching pronouns to infinitives and gerunds. Drill sentences like “Voy a levantarme a las siete.”
- Incorrect preposition after verbs: memorize verb+preposition pairs in short phrases (pensar en — “pensar en algo/alguien”).
- Overgeneralizing regular patterns to irregular verbs: isolate irregulars in practice sets until automatic.
A 4-week practice plan
Week 1 — Accuracy
- Daily: 20 min conjugation mapping + 10 min fill-in-the-blank.
- Focus: regulars and present irregulars.
Week 2 — Speed and recall
- Daily: 10 min rapid-response + 20 min pattern grouping.
- Focus: stem-changing verbs and reflexives.
Week 3 — Contextual fluency
- Daily: 20 min role-play + 10 min error analysis.
- Focus: irregular preterite stems and verbs requiring prepositions.
Week 4 — Consolidation and assessment
- Day 1–3: mixed timed drills (40 min)
- Day 4: record a 3–5 minute monologue using at least 25 of the 38 verbs.
- Day 5: self-correction and targeted drills for remaining weaknesses.
Self-assessment and tracking progress
- Keep a weekly log listing verbs that caused hesitation, the type of error (form, preposition, reflexive), and the correction.
- Measure speed: time yourself doing a 30-verb rapid conjugation drill and track time reduction.
- Fluency check: record a two-minute spontaneous speech on a prompt and count how many target verbs you used correctly.
Example prompts to practice speaking/writing
- Describe a day last summer using at least eight verbs from the list (include at least two irregular preterite forms).
- Role-play complaining to customer service about a lost item (use quejarse, perder, esperar, venir, traer).
- Explain how to prepare a dish step-by-step (use reflexive and imperative forms: levantarse, vestirse, poner, abrir).
Final tips
- Focused, short daily practice beats long, infrequent sessions.
- Mix isolated drills with communicative practice to bridge accuracy and fluency.
- Use recording and self-correction to spot pronunciation and grammar gaps.
- Rotate verbs periodically so working memory gets varied exposure.
If you want, I can: provide printable flashcards for the 38 verbs, generate a week-by-week printable schedule, or create a 30-minute timed quiz using these verbs. Which would you prefer?
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