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Practice Makes Perfect
Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses
A workbook to help you master Spanish tenses Some things just take a lot of practice to learn, and verb tenses are one of them! Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses goes beyond the scope of many other books that deal with verbs. Typical verb books often present little more than charts of conjugations with perhaps some mechanical exercises that do little to help you really master when and why a particular verb tense should be used. Spanish Verb Tenses fills this void by offering clear, concise, and at times, humorous explanations that pinpoint why a certain tense works in a given situation. The hundreds of varied exercises offer the added plus of allowing for lots of practice. The book is divided into three main parts: Part I deals exclusively with the present tense-including the conjugation of regular verbs, formation of questions, essential differences between ser and estar , use of the personal a , reflexive verbs, and the present progressive mood.
Part II covers the other six tenses of the indicative mood: preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, present perfect, and past perfect.
Part III presents the imperative and the subjunctive, as well as the future perfect, conditional perfect, and the passive voice. Two appendices complete the text-one lists verb conjugations, and the other highlights certain verbs and their corresponding prepositions. There are also two bilingual glossaries that define vocabulary introduced in the exercises. As a companion to a basic text, as a review workbook, or as a reference source, Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses is an indispensable tool for all those who want to practice and perfect their use of Spanish verbs.
Part II covers the other six tenses of the indicative mood: preterite, imperfect, future, conditional, present perfect, and past perfect.
Part III presents the imperative and the subjunctive, as well as the future perfect, conditional perfect, and the passive voice. Two appendices complete the text-one lists verb conjugations, and the other highlights certain verbs and their corresponding prepositions. There are also two bilingual glossaries that define vocabulary introduced in the exercises. As a companion to a basic text, as a review workbook, or as a reference source, Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses is an indispensable tool for all those who want to practice and perfect their use of Spanish verbs.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 11, 1996
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603 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
October 26, 2022
Problems with the use of Spanish irregular (and regular too, for that matter) verbs? Don´t worry. It’s not you. Spanish is difficult and you need all the help you can lay your hands on.
“Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses” can be one of those help items. But beware! I strongly don’t recommend it if you are new to the language. This is more of an intermediate level, or, at least, with a basic knowledge. So many different tenses to learn!!!
It focuses mainly on exercises, lots of them. First you have a brief explanation (when and how to use each tense). Pay special attention to the differences between “ser” and “estar”! It’s quite confusing. Then, a minimum of vocabulary to use along the exercises. But, as I said before, you need to have previous experience to do them on your own. Or else you can be disappointed. Finally, an appendix and (of course) an answer key (but don’t cheat yourself: answer first, check later).
I have recommended some of these books to foreign friends down in America and Japan. All, except one, found them really useful, so I think it’s safe to say it’s worth a try. The book has a link to an online web site and also to an App. Can’t talk about them, ‘cause I never tried.
“Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses” can be one of those help items. But beware! I strongly don’t recommend it if you are new to the language. This is more of an intermediate level, or, at least, with a basic knowledge. So many different tenses to learn!!!
It focuses mainly on exercises, lots of them. First you have a brief explanation (when and how to use each tense). Pay special attention to the differences between “ser” and “estar”! It’s quite confusing. Then, a minimum of vocabulary to use along the exercises. But, as I said before, you need to have previous experience to do them on your own. Or else you can be disappointed. Finally, an appendix and (of course) an answer key (but don’t cheat yourself: answer first, check later).
I have recommended some of these books to foreign friends down in America and Japan. All, except one, found them really useful, so I think it’s safe to say it’s worth a try. The book has a link to an online web site and also to an App. Can’t talk about them, ‘cause I never tried.
December 27, 2019
If you want to learn all of the spanish tenses and moods with good explanations and practice them hard this book is for you. Despite having many exercises, you need to use other learning tools like movies, book, etc. to make this verbs stick to your mind.
December 20, 2015
This book is fantastic! I'm working on learning Spanish, and this filled a niche I needed -- a walk through a cornucopia of verb tenses, with write-in exercises to practice as you go. Along the way you'll expand your verb vocabulary (and learn some nouns and adjectives, too). The book includes helpful, accessible discussions about usage (e.g., preterite vs. imperfect past tenses), not just a boring presentation of conjugation tables.
Pros:
- Comprehensive coverage of verb tenses. Super useful! My speaking and reading skills improved even after only a few days' study.
- Interesting, challenging practice sentences.
- Spanish-English and English-Spanish dictionaries (albeit short) in the back.
- Answers to exercises included.
Cons:
- Some of the "correct" answers are not written with proper Spanish, especially early in the book. For example, one exercise has you translate "I believe that..." but hasn't taught you the subjunctive tense yet, so the answer key uses the indicative tense for the following verb. It's probably still readable Spanish, but it's very simplified and likely makes you sound like a little kid. Happily, this tends to go away as you get deeper in the book and (presumably) can employ more sophisticated grammar. However, I'd have preferred if the book simply steered clear of this sort of thing -- don't ask the student to translate something they aren't capable of yet.
- That connects to a minor complaint, which is that the book clearly assumes that you'll go through it in linear order, as later sections build on the tenses and vocabulary given earlier. While this is kind of reasonable (I guess), it tripped me up because I tired of the endless section on present tense verbs and jumped ahead to learn some past tense constructions. Making these more standalone would make the book a bit more usable. There's no logical reason that you need to have learned all possible present tense verbs, and every irregular exception, before starting on the past tense.
Pros:
- Comprehensive coverage of verb tenses. Super useful! My speaking and reading skills improved even after only a few days' study.
- Interesting, challenging practice sentences.
- Spanish-English and English-Spanish dictionaries (albeit short) in the back.
- Answers to exercises included.
Cons:
- Some of the "correct" answers are not written with proper Spanish, especially early in the book. For example, one exercise has you translate "I believe that..." but hasn't taught you the subjunctive tense yet, so the answer key uses the indicative tense for the following verb. It's probably still readable Spanish, but it's very simplified and likely makes you sound like a little kid. Happily, this tends to go away as you get deeper in the book and (presumably) can employ more sophisticated grammar. However, I'd have preferred if the book simply steered clear of this sort of thing -- don't ask the student to translate something they aren't capable of yet.
- That connects to a minor complaint, which is that the book clearly assumes that you'll go through it in linear order, as later sections build on the tenses and vocabulary given earlier. While this is kind of reasonable (I guess), it tripped me up because I tired of the endless section on present tense verbs and jumped ahead to learn some past tense constructions. Making these more standalone would make the book a bit more usable. There's no logical reason that you need to have learned all possible present tense verbs, and every irregular exception, before starting on the past tense.
July 13, 2008
This is, by far, the best "How to speak spanish" book I have ever found. If you have been struggling to comprehend even the most basic spanish rules, this IS the book that did it for me. I wish the author would have gone a bit futher and included a basic lesson spanish nouns, pro-nouns, etc, and this book would absolutely perfect. Either way, I can't say enough good things about this book. If you want to learn spanish then buy this book!!
February 9, 2017
This workbook is by far the best investment I've made in my journey to learn Spanish. I think it is more valuable than Rosetta Stone which I have used. If you want to make a huge stride in your Spanish, I recommend this book, especially if you are disciplined enough to sit down and work in it.
February 9, 2017
This is a workbook, with written exercises throughout. A helpful approach to remembering the complex verb tenses of espanol.
November 27, 2014
I've been working on this very slowly as a tool for review. it's a great educational tool
April 24, 2016
The Practice Makes Perfect series are wonderful! This one is no exception. Helped me with my Spanish tremendously, and I still use it for reference.
July 14, 2018
Este libro me ayudará a aprender español. Aprenderé mucho de este libro. (This book will help me learn Spanish. I will learn a lot from this book.)
February 11, 2023
This book was extremely helpful to me. I will buy the fourth edition and work through it again after I finish some more workbooks. Workbooks are a very important aspect of my Spanish learning strategy. I just finished the book, and am in a moment of brain-fry. I will probably write a better review and analysis shortly.
This book in particular was very eye-opening for me, and it smacked me in the face like a 2x4. I was satisfied with my self-taught Spanish journey until I hit the subjunctive in this book. I was not struggling, I was straight-up drowning. It caused me to reach out and test several online tutors, and through that process I learned much better how to learn, and was shown some weak areas in my Spanish. After speaking to 6 tutors, 2 not worth their salt, two somewhat helpful and two excellent, I decided to hold off on that route. But, with the insight and advice I received, and the promised help of my wife, I have reformulated my plan. In the last two months I have made some big strides in improving my Spanish.
This book in particular was very eye-opening for me, and it smacked me in the face like a 2x4. I was satisfied with my self-taught Spanish journey until I hit the subjunctive in this book. I was not struggling, I was straight-up drowning. It caused me to reach out and test several online tutors, and through that process I learned much better how to learn, and was shown some weak areas in my Spanish. After speaking to 6 tutors, 2 not worth their salt, two somewhat helpful and two excellent, I decided to hold off on that route. But, with the insight and advice I received, and the promised help of my wife, I have reformulated my plan. In the last two months I have made some big strides in improving my Spanish.
July 28, 2016
My Spanish teacher gave me this book & it has helped me SO much. It goes over all the tenses with concise but thorough explanations with plenty of practice exercises. The end of each section has an English paragraph to translate into Spanish with a complete answer key in the back to check your work. I absolutely recommend this for any Spanish student.
February 25, 2008
This practice makes perfect series is "punnily enough" perfect.
Quick explanations. Lots of exercises.
Believe it or not, if you go through enough of these books you will actually learn another language.
Quick explanations. Lots of exercises.
Believe it or not, if you go through enough of these books you will actually learn another language.
November 12, 2020
As a spanish teacher this book is a jewell! Most of my students are English speakers so with this book I can explain Spanish better from their own language.
The examples and exercises are completely appropiate.
The examples and exercises are completely appropiate.
August 22, 2023
Great work book! Lots of work. I feel kind of overwhelmed and need more work to intégrate all that. But i feel i understand why all the tenses are the way they are and what they all are Even if i havent memorized it yet
March 4, 2008
A good workbook for learning or reviewing Spanish!
March 10, 2008
Though more of a workbook than a book, it's part of the best review series on the market. And I am a Spanish teacher.
January 11, 2009
Great for learning Spanish verb tenses.
Currently reading
July 1, 2011no me gusta. nada.
October 28, 2024
Wonderful.
August 19, 2020
Absooutely brilliant. Especially if your lessons are all in spanish, having this book, which explains the grammar concepts in english, is really helpful. Couldn't do without it.
January 7, 2023
Excellent exercise books to keep learning
January 23, 2023
Muy bien para repasar los verbos
June 11, 2025
Everyone has their weaknesses and strengths when it comes to language acquisition. I have a friend who masters grammar and conjugation fairly easily, but struggles with vocabulary. My problems are just the opposite. That means I got a lot out of “Spanish Verb Tenses,” but it also means I will probably have to buy and complete the workbook again, and then again. Maybe ad infinitum.
I simply started learning the language too late, when well into adulthood. That, and Spanish is nowhere near as easy as people claim it is. Not, at least, if you want to get past the basic exchanges one makes with natives while vacationing as a tourist. In other words, if you want to be able to express more abstract concepts, read Lorca in the original Spanish and maybe try your own hand at poetry, even if it only ends up being doggerel.
The book is well-organized and its layout should be familiar to anyone who has used the “Practice Makes Perfect” series for learning other languages. I spent a lot of time with the series in college, when earning my MA in German Studies, so am already well-acquainted with the format. It starts with the regular tenses then moves on to the irregular, then begins to get into things like the imperative (giving commands) and the subjunctive (expressing states contrary to fact.)
One other thing that separates Spanish from every other language I’ve encountered is the ser / estar distinction. That is, the two different ways of expressing being. Ser is used for more permanent states of being, such as profession. For example, “Yo soy (ser) doctór” (I am a doctor.)” Estar, on the other hand, deals with more temporal and transitory states, usually. For example: “Estoy aquí” (I am here.)
And yet “to die” takes the “estar” form. “Estoy muerto.” (I am dead.) It’s almost like the Heideggerian “Dasein,” in its complex approach to being. Or maybe since people traditionally regarded death as a transitory period between life and the afterlife, they regarded death itself as temporary. As in, you’re only dead until you’re judged fit for Heaven or Hell, at which point you’re something else entirely, and you’re that for eternity.
Heady stuff. You can see, then, how just learning another language tends to expand your consciousness. Pretty sure that’s not why most people are doing this workbook, but I’m an odd duck.
Anyway, recommended.
I simply started learning the language too late, when well into adulthood. That, and Spanish is nowhere near as easy as people claim it is. Not, at least, if you want to get past the basic exchanges one makes with natives while vacationing as a tourist. In other words, if you want to be able to express more abstract concepts, read Lorca in the original Spanish and maybe try your own hand at poetry, even if it only ends up being doggerel.
The book is well-organized and its layout should be familiar to anyone who has used the “Practice Makes Perfect” series for learning other languages. I spent a lot of time with the series in college, when earning my MA in German Studies, so am already well-acquainted with the format. It starts with the regular tenses then moves on to the irregular, then begins to get into things like the imperative (giving commands) and the subjunctive (expressing states contrary to fact.)
One other thing that separates Spanish from every other language I’ve encountered is the ser / estar distinction. That is, the two different ways of expressing being. Ser is used for more permanent states of being, such as profession. For example, “Yo soy (ser) doctór” (I am a doctor.)” Estar, on the other hand, deals with more temporal and transitory states, usually. For example: “Estoy aquí” (I am here.)
And yet “to die” takes the “estar” form. “Estoy muerto.” (I am dead.) It’s almost like the Heideggerian “Dasein,” in its complex approach to being. Or maybe since people traditionally regarded death as a transitory period between life and the afterlife, they regarded death itself as temporary. As in, you’re only dead until you’re judged fit for Heaven or Hell, at which point you’re something else entirely, and you’re that for eternity.
Heady stuff. You can see, then, how just learning another language tends to expand your consciousness. Pretty sure that’s not why most people are doing this workbook, but I’m an odd duck.
Anyway, recommended.
January 12, 2025
This book is really helpful for beginners-intermediate Spanish learners. The vocabulary in this book is not very complicated. If you have memorized the top 500-1000 most commonly used words in Spanish and top 200-300 most commonly used verbs in Spanish Vocabulary should not be very hard. The author starts with explaining simple present tense and goes gradually increases difficulty by transitioning to irregular verbs and past tense, future, conditional, imperative, subjunctive tenses. There are plenty of exercises along the way with answer keys. These exercises makes sure we understand the concepts and helps us to master the concepts which we have studies. Overall a great book for Spanish learners if you are trying to master your verb conjugation.
July 3, 2017
dis workbook iz s!ck!
September 17, 2020
I cannot recommend the Kindle edition of this book. The problem is that the formatting of the tables of verbal conjugations is saved as an "image" rather than as part of the text, which means the type face is minuscule, I mean really microscopic and basically unreadable. It's to be assumed that the printed version would not have this problem, in which case the book might well be a valuable resource to work through in a traditionally educational way.
February 8, 2017
The reason people sign up for language classes, I'm convinced, is that it's so bloody hard to summon up the discipline to learn a language on one's own. Certainly, there's no barrier to keep me from learning the rudiments of Spanish -- but I've attempted to do so two or three times previously and always got sidetracked.
Now I've armed myself with a phlanx of self-instructional grammar books, and I've joined an online language learning community. I've got the prospect of going to a Spanish-speaking country ahead of me (maybe), and I'm doing my best to set aside at least 15 or 20 minutes a day to studying. Wish me luck!
Now I've armed myself with a phlanx of self-instructional grammar books, and I've joined an online language learning community. I've got the prospect of going to a Spanish-speaking country ahead of me (maybe), and I'm doing my best to set aside at least 15 or 20 minutes a day to studying. Wish me luck!
October 1, 2013
Great for learning Spanish
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews