LearnCraft Spanish Podcast

Ser, the preterite tense

How do you use fui, fue, fuiste, fueron, and fuimos as forms of Ser? Let’s learn how to use Ser’s preterite tense — which looks and sounds exactly like the preterite tense of Ir!

The Spanish personal “a”

Why does the Spanish preposition “a” appear right before some direct objects? Let’s practice using the personal “a” in Spanish sentences. We’ll also learn a couple of new idioms involving other Spanish prepositions.

Spanish Imperative Practice

Let’s practice using Spanish imperatives out loud! Here’s a spoken quiz to give you a variety of ways to practice imperative terms such as vete, váyase, ten, and tenga

Spanish imperatives

Spanish imperatives can be tricky, especially some of the most-used imperatives such as ve, ten, and váyase. Let’s learn both the positive and negative imperatives of Ir, Irse, and Tener — and get lots of practice using them in context.

How to express obligation in Spanish

How do you use Tener and Haber to talk about obligations, such as “I had to do that” and “someone needs to do it”? Let’s explore the Tener + que and Haber + que constructions that Spanish uses to express obligation.

How to say “had” in Spanish

The Spanish verb Tener has a lot of conjugations — let’s learn the many ways this verb is used, including the preterite, imperfect past tense, future, and subjunctive. We’ll also get a lot of spoken practice using Tener in context.

Tener

Tener and Haber are the two ways to say “have” in Spanish. Let’s start learning Tener and practice using the present tense conjugations (tengo, tiene, tienes, tienen, and tenemos).

Idioms

Sometimes words don’t mean what they seem to mean! Let’s use our Spanish vocabulary to create new meanings by combining them into non-literal phrases we call idioms — such as ya que and ya está.

Spanish Adverbs

Where, when, how, and how much? Let’s learn how to ask some common questions in Spanish, as well as the adverbs you can use to answer them!

Hay and greetings

Buenos días, buenas tardes, buenas noches! In this episode we’ll cover some essential greetings and polite terms in Spanish, such as gracias and de nada. We’ll also discuss how to use Haber to talk about existence, using words like hay and había.

Señor, verdad, and vida

Let’s learn 10 common Spanish nouns — including the words for “life”, “truth”, “woman”, and “man”, as well as the idioms for “actually” and “really”.

Reflexive pronouns and Irse

Spanish reflexive pronouns are tricky, and they have many different uses! Let’s learn how to use se, me, te, and nos, especially when they turn Ir (“to go”) into Irse (“to leave”).

Practice Ir Out Loud

Use this quiz to practice using the Spanish verb Ir in all kinds of different ways — the present, the preterite, the imperfect, the future, and the subjunctive. Try to predict each Spanish sentence and speak out loud!

How to conjugate Ir in Spanish

The verb Ir is one of the most irregular verbs in Spanish. Let’s learn its many conjugations, including the preterite, the subjunctive, and the future tense, using a memory palace.

How to put any Spanish verb in the future

Let’s learn how to use Ir to mean “going to”. This is how we can put any verb in the future, simply by using our conjugations of Ir along with an infinitive.

Ir

Let’s learn how to say “go” in Spanish! We’ll learn the present-tense conjugations of Ir (voy, va, vas, van, and vamos), using a memory palace.

Spanish complex tenses

The past of the past? The continuous future? What is the purpose of complex verb phrases such as habías hecho and estará haciendo? Let’s learn how to do fun, complex things with verb tenses.

Conmigo, contigo, and Spanish prepositional pronouns

Prepositional pronouns let us do a lot of creative things in Spanish! Let’s learn how to say things like “with him”, “with her”, “for them”, and “from us” in Spanish.

Ya vs ahora

How do you say “now” in Spanish? Today we’ll explore a bunch of Spanish adverbs, including the words “ahora” and “ya”, the two different ways you can say “now”. We’ll also talk about some of the many ways “ya” can be translated into English.

Hacer, hecho, and haciendo

Let’s learn how to use the words hacer, hecho, and haciendo in Spanish.

Algo, nada, todo, and les

Let’s learn a lot more Spanish pronouns, including indirect objects, as well as the words for “something”, “nothing”, and “everything”.

Haber

Let’s learn the verb haber so that we can use he, ha, has, han, and hemos to put other verbs in the past, using their participles.

Practicing Ser and Estar, in all tenses

Let’s get lots of quizzing practice with Ser and Estar, in every commonly used tense and mood! We’ll also learn the prepositions del and al.

This thing, that thing // Do all Spanish nouns have a gender?

Esta, esto, este… esa, eso, and ese… let’s learn all the words for “this” and “that”. We’ll also talk about why some pronouns don’t have a grammatical gender, even though all nouns in Spanish are either masculine or feminine.

Estar, our last few forms!

Let’s wrap up learning Estar by working on estará, estaría, estarían, estarías, estaríamos, and estado.

Será, Sería, Sido, Siendo

Let’s learn the last of our important conjugations of Ser, and we’ll get some good practice with the unconjugated forms ser, sido, and siendo.

Spanish Preterite vs Imperfect Past

Why does Spanish have two past tenses — the preterite and the imperfect? And how do you know which one to use in real life? Let’s explore the preterite and imperfect tenses, and we’ll also get some great practice using estaba, estuve, and estuvo.

How Eric became fluent in Spanish

Eric has wanted to learn Spanish his whole life. And now, with a Spanish-speaking partner and plans to move to Spain, Spanish fluency is no longer optional! Here is his story.

El que, lo que, and la que

How do you use “lo que” in Spanish, without confusing it with “el que” and “la que”? And when should you use “qué” instead? Let’s dive into all the ways you can say “what” and “the one that” in Spanish. We’ll also learn how to use bueno and bien.

Mi, tu, su: Spanish possessive adjectives

Let’s learn how to use “mi”, “su”, “tu”, and “nuestro” before Spanish nouns. We’ll also get some practice with new conjunctions, including “pero” and “cuando”.

Using Subjunctive to Express Concepts in Spanish

Spanish subjunctives are often used to express abstract concepts such as intentions and emotions. Let’s learn some sentence templates for this, and we’ll practice them using the subjunctives of Ser and Estar.

How To Use Subjunctives in Spanish

Spanish subjunctives don’t have to be hard! Let’s learn the most common uses of Spanish subjunctives to indicate intention. We’ll get lots of practice using the subjunctives of Ser and Estar in a variety of sentences.

Practice Ser and Estar

Ser vs Estar Spanish Practice

Ser and Estar both translate as “to be” in English, but as you now know, the translation isn’t perfect! Let’s practice choosing the right verb, and the right conjugation, using some serious Spanish quizzing.

Estar’s stabby past tense

Time for the past tense of Estar! Learn and practice estaba, estabas, and the other imperfect past forms of Estar. We’ll also work on some advanced uses of Estar, including how to use this linking verb at the end of a sentence.

Estar (and the magic wands)

Learn the Spanish verb Estar, using a memory palace! We’ll also talk about some ways you can use this “to be” verb, in contrast with how we’ve been using Ser.

How to use “usted” in Spanish

Usted vs tú: Why are there two words for “you” in Spanish? Today we’ll learn how to use usted and practice it in a bunch of Spanish sentence contexts.

Spanish fluency, after a lifetime of trying!

Mike became fluent in Spanish after a lifetime of trying — in this episode we’ll talk about how he did it, and we’ll practice all of the Spanish skills we’ve learned up to this point with a comprehensive quiz.

Ser: Advanced Use as a Linking Verb

The verb Ser is used in a lot of complex ways. Let’s practice some new sentence templates for this linking verb as we become more and more fluent with our present and past conjugations of Ser.

Ser, past tense conjugations

Let’s learn the past-tense forms of Ser, using a memory palace! Today we’ll also discuss our 3-step method for learning Spanish verb conjugations so that you can use them fluently.

Spanish subject pronouns

Learn Spanish subject pronouns, such as él, ella, nosotros, and yo, using a memory palace! After learning how to say the Spanish words for “he”, “she”, “I”, etc., you’ll be able to form a lot of sentences entirely in Spanish.

Why Ser is so common

The Spanish verb Ser doesn’t strictly mean “to be”; it means something much more specific. But it’s used in a wide variety of ways! Let’s learn how to think in Spanish by “thinking in Ser”, and using Ser to express identity in many different ways.

Practice Ser (and everything else!)

Let’s practice our present-tense conjugations of Ser, as well as everything we’ve learned in this podcast so far! Quiz the Spanish out loud to help make all of this grammar second-nature.

Why do Spanish subject pronouns “disappear”?

Why does Spanish let you start a sentence with “soy” or “son” — without “yo” or “ellos”? And how can you tell when you should include the subject pronoun or leave it out? Let’s practice the skill of choosing whether or not to use subject pronouns with Spanish verbs.

How to conjugate Ser

Spanish Conjugations can be tough… but they don’t have to be! Let’s learn the present tense forms of Ser using a memory palace.

What Is “Is” in Spanish?

How do you say “is” in Spanish? It MIGHT be the word “es”... and it might not! Let’s learn our first conjugation of Ser, and we’ll explore when you might use this word. This is the most common verb in Spanish, and the most common conjugation (by far). Today we’ll get some practice with “es” in a lot of sentence contexts.

How to express concepts in Spanish

Learn Spanish faster by starting with the hard stuff — like expressing concepts! In this episode, we’ll lay the groundwork for expressing abstract ideas, concepts, and thoughts in fluent Spanish… and it all starts by mastering the #1 most important word in the Spanish language.

How to say “them” in Spanish

The word “them” may seem like a basic word, but it has multiple translations in Spanish! Today we’ll learn two Spanish words for “them”, as well as the word for “what”. We’ll also get lots of spoken practice with all of our essential Spanish vocabulary.

Por vs Para

Let’s learn por and para. These words tend to be very hard to master when learning Spanish as a second language, but today we’ll learn a simple framework that you can use to decide between these two words in almost any context.

Spanish Pronouns and Memory Palaces

Why are Spanish direct object pronouns different from other pronouns? And how can you keep from mixing up all the different Spanish pronouns? Let’s use a memory palace to keep all of our Spanish pronouns straight. We’ll work on the Spanish pronouns for “him”, “her”, “me”, and “you”, and then we’ll put it all into practice with real sentences.

What does “lo” mean in Spanish?

The Spanish word “lo” is usually a HUGE headache for English speakers — but it won’t be for you! You’ll be using “lo” and “la” correctly after listening to this episode. Let’s get some good, active practice with the words for “him” and “her” in Spanish.

Spanish Pronunciation Tips

To learn fluent Spanish, you can’t just memorize words — you also have to master Spanish pronunciation. Today I present my top tips for pronouncing Spanish sounds authentically. Here’s the first tip: To develop your own “Spanish voice”, make sure to do the pronunciation exercises, out loud, throughout this episode!

Spanish Quizzing and the Testing Effect

Time to practice your Spanish out loud! Today we’ll learn about the number one way to solidify a new language in your brain — and we’ll get to put it into practice right away. If you follow this one tip, you’ll be fluent in Spanish faster than you ever thought possible. Let’s put everything we’ve learned so far into Spanish practice, out loud.

Learn These 3 Spanish Words To Start Thinking in Spanish

Some Spanish words are more important than others! Today we’ll talk about how you can start *thinking* in Spanish by choosing the right words to work on. We will focus on some of the highest-leverage words in the language — three words that comprise 8% of the Spanish language by themselves. After we practice with these words, you’ll soon be able to start forming sentences like a native Spanish speaker.

The Spanish words that will make you fluent

To become fluent in Spanish, you have to learn connecting words! Today we’re talking about conjunctions, particularly the words que and y, and how they help hold the whole Spanish language together and create fluent flow. We’ll also learn why conjunctions are even more important in Spanish than in English, based on a special rule about Spanish verbs. After this episode, you’ll know how to use the most common word in the Spanish language, getting you one step closer to thinking in Spanish.

Core Spanish Grammar for Fluency

What’s the key to speaking Spanish fluently, spontaneously, and effortlessly? Mastering core Spanish grammar. To learn how to speak Spanish fluently, we need to start by mastering the structures and elements that make Spanish different from English. Today we’ll learn some essential Spanish grammar and do some spoken grammar exercises to make it stick. After this foundational work, Spanish grammar will get easier and easier — and Spanish fluency will be all downhill!

How To Learn Spanish Fluently

Learn Spanish, step by step! Welcome to LearnCraft Spanish, a proven system that will teach you how to learn Spanish fluently. Starting with a foundation of core Spanish grammar and the most common Spanish vocabulary, Timothy will guide you through the essential steps to speaking and understanding fluent Spanish like a native speaker. If you're a serious Spanish learner and you want to make deep, personal connections with the native Spanish speakers in your life, the LearnCraft Spanish podcast is for you. Join us on a rigorous, fulfilling journey to Spanish fluency.