Most people think the best way to start learning Spanish is by learning a bunch of Spanish words and phrases, and pushing grammar off for later. But that’s actually the worst way to start.
In this guide, I’ll show you the top 4 reasons why learning grammar first will get you fluent much faster.
By the end of this video, you’ll understand why grammar is the key to real fluency. We’ll debunk one of the biggest myths in language learning, and explore why starting with just a few core patterns can make everything else in Spanish fall into place.
Let’s start with Reason #1: Grammar is how adults learn a language!
A lot of people say: “Kids learn languages by focusing on learning words, not grammar. So I should do that too, right?”
Not quite.
Kids actually DO learn grammar first. They just do it without even realizing it. Sure, they spend a lot of effort learning vocabulary. However, that’s because grammar comes so naturally for them. That’s why adults teach toddlers, “This is the dog. This is the cow. This is the rooster.” But we never have to explain how to conjugate verbs, like "I am, they are, he is." Young kids pick up these language patterns naturally, but they don’t pick up words quite as naturally, so we have to emphasize those for them — things like animal names and colors.
Adults are the opposite.
As adults, we’re really good at learning new names for things. We can easily look up the Spanish words for “chair” or “friend” and remember those pretty fast.
Unlike kids, we’re not so great at subconsciously picking up the patterns of a language. But that’s exactly what grammar is. It isn’t just a set of rules; it’s a framework for how a language works — things like sentence structures, connecting words, and verb conjugations.
By understanding these patterns, we build mental models of how the language fits together, and that’s what finally makes it “click”. It might take more effort for adults to learn grammar, but that’s exactly why we should learn grammar first.
That brings us to reason number two: The hardest stuff should come first.
Even though starting with grammar might be harder at first, it actually makes learning the language easier.
That sounds like a paradox, but it’s because hard things get easier with practice. And that practice takes time. So starting with the hard stuff means giving the hard stuff more time — which makes it easier!
If you wait to learn grammar until later, after learning tons of vocabulary, you’ll be trying to stack the most complicated part on top of all the words you’ve already crammed into your head. It’s like building a house, but starting by putting down a bunch of bricks, then trying to add the foundation underneath.
However, if you flip it and start with grammar, everything you learn afterward will fit into place more easily. Once you have that foundation, every new word just clicks into place, almost automatically. You’re not just memorizing random nouns and verbs; you’re plugging them into a system that makes sense.
This way, Spanish becomes a downhill journey. It gets easier, not harder. That’s the kind of momentum you want.
That brings us to the surprising third reason to learn grammar first: Grammar actually covers more ground faster than vocabulary.
When people say they want to learn Spanish “vocabulary,” they usually mean nouns like “table,” “car,” “school.” But those aren’t the most useful words in Spanish.
Let’s look at the data. Check out this list of the top 1000 words in Spanish.
As you can see, the top words aren’t “vocabulary” words — they’re grammatical words:
If you start by mastering the grammar-packed most-frequent words, you can understand 50% of spoken Spanish with just the top 100. You don’t need to know “peach” or “broom” to have a conversation. You need to know how to say “I want him to be here,” or “She’s done that,” or “They have these.”
Here are a few sentences from our One Month Challenge that use just grammar and top 100 words:
These aren’t vocab-packed. They’re grammar-packed. Mastering these words is what will get you fluent fast.
The last reason is actually the biggest one: Grammar is the heart of a language. Learning a language means learning grammar, not just learning vocabulary.
The fact is, vocabulary is just a matter of learning new names for things. Grammar IS the language.
Here’s a simple example of why. If you go from the US to the UK and someone says “lift” instead of “elevator,” you don’t feel like you’re learning a new language. You’re just learning a different name for the same thing. That’s simple vocabulary.
Grammar, on the other hand, is a whole different story.
For example, take the sentence, “I want you to be here”. To express this in Spanish, we need the subjunctive estés – a concept we don’t have in English. The sentence is completely restructured and becomes: Quiero que estés aquí. (Literally “I want that you be here.”)
You’re not just renaming things—you’re learning to rebuild your sentences from the ground up. That’s a shift to a new way of thinking.
That’s what real language learning is: Learning to express yourself the way Spanish speakers do, authentically.
If you’re serious about learning real Spanish, you should start by mastering core grammar.
You can do this by joining our One-Month Spanish Challenge. It’s a 30-day grammar bootcamp that teaches you the top 100 words and the core grammar structures behind real conversations. We designed this course with you in mind if you’re an adult Spanish learner who wants to start with the hard stuff and truly express yourself in Spanish. By the end of one month, you’ll be able to use and understand 50% of everyday spoken Spanish.
Throughout each day of the Challenge, you’ll practice full sentences, using mental models of Spanish that help you build real fluency — not just memorizing vocabulary words.
Anyone who joins the challenge gets access to:
This is how our students finally break through to real fluency. If you’re ready to get serious and start thinking in Spanish, you can join the Challenge by clicking here.
¡Nos vemos allí!
