How do you remember how to conjugate verbs?
especialy the verbs that are irregular and that are stem changers
10 Answers
I used to choose one word per day, say "decir." During the day I would make up sentences using the preterite of "decir." . Next day, another verb. 
I have recently been writing down the different tenses on index cards and have found it to be helpful. In the past, I have studied all of the different tenses of each verb together, but found I wasn't absorbing as much. Now I have the cards divided into the different tenses.
For example, I have a group for each, present, preterit, imperfect past, future, etc. When I review them, I work with only one tense at a time. So I might study thirty preterit tense verbs for awhile, then move on to the next tense.
I have found that by doing it this way, I am remembering the patterns with greater ease.
As for irregular verbs, try grouping them with their common irregularities. For example all of the "go verbs" etc. The irregular verbs will honestly just take some focused effort and memorization.
Buena suerte
The same way you do in English- remembering that it's "seen" and not "seed". It comes with use and practice with the language.
Before long, you get a feel for it. As you use the common verbs, and practically all of the irregular ones are very common, you just come to know them. Just like you did in English.
Don't give up.
I definitely find it easier to practice several verbs in one tense as opposed to one verb in several tenses.
That said, I mutter to myself. While I´m folding clothes, washing dishes, vacuuming the floor, whatever I´m doing that doesn´t require active brain cycles, I try to think up sentences using the verbs and tenses I am practicing. I also try to put picture images or feelings into my minds eye when I say the words.
For example if I am practicing the preterite, I might choose the verb comer, and while I do a mindless chore, I have a little conversation with myself.
¿Comiste ayer?
Sí, comí.
¿Qué comiste?
Comí unos huevos.
Y tu mamá, ¿comió ayer también?
Claro que sí, comió huevos conmigo.
As I do this I imagine myself asking someone the questions. I imagine myself answering the questions. I imagine myself doing the actions yesterday, or last week, or whatever. Once I´ve grown weary of comer, I might move on to another er-ir verb, or I might change to an ar verb, but I will almost always continue to practice the same tense. Changing to a different tense tends to confuse me rather than cement the feel for the verb in my mind.
My husband must think I´m nuts the way I wander around muttering to myself, but it really helps! It helps you get a feel for the sound and the rhythm, and it gets your mouth in the habit of forming the sounds. If you say the verbs enough while putting the ¨memories¨ in your head (while practicing preterit, for example) you do eventually get to the point that when thinking of something that happened at a certain point in time in the past, the correct verb tense will just feel right. That is because you have practiced pairing the thought/feeling with the correct verb tense. You get to the point where they just go together.
I still have a lot of work to do, but this is what helps me the most.
If you want some practice I have just found this resource and I think it looks great -
you can set up your own tests and include either just regular, or stem changing or anything you want depending on your level.
I'm just finding it very hard. I can get the regular tenses most of the time, but the irregulars are just too much. The preterit, the imperfect and now the intro to the subjective have brought me back to review Spanish 2 again. I can't go on until I learn more verbs. And those objects and direct objects--I don't think I will ever get them.
I have found from experience that having taken the trouble to learn the endings for regular verb forms:
Ar Er and Ir much of my short-term (conscious) memory is now freed-up since the verb patterns have been learnt and becomeautomatic.(converted/moved to long-term memory storage)
I can then use my short-term memory to learn new and more complex information related to irregular verb endings and new vocabulary as well as useful, every day expressions (modismos)
Years ago I met a medical doctor (who sadly died many years ago) who came from Singapore and we struck up a friendship together while learning Spanish on a one year course. This older and well educated man was a great inspiration to me as a young man learning to improve my Spanish. We met regularly after the course (until he passed away) and he encouraged me to memorise how to form the different simple verb forms eg present, future, conditional, both past tenses and the compound tense with haber. We learnt these verbs together and the practice has been invaluable ! Since then I have learnt how to form and use the present subjunctive; the past subjunctive Iam still working on lol
Mostly Spanish follows pretty solid patterns and you can follow almost mathematical rules to get the right conjugation. Sometimes, though, you just need to drill and drill more to remember the irregulars; try conjuguemos.com.
If there were rules, the verbs would not be called "irregular" ("irregular" means "not following/according to the rules [the "regular" in English derives from the same Latin word as "regla" in Spanish]).
However, there are degrees of irregularity. One class of "semi-irregular" verbs (often called "stem-changing"/"boot verbs" by teachers [for foreigners] of Spanish) have some irregularities but, considered as a group, show some consistency. Considering/studying them as a group may help (though, of course, you still need to remember which ones belong to the group and which don't).
Other irregular verbs are simply "all over the map".
In either case, it comes down to memorization. Even the endings of regular verbs must be memorized (consistent patterns help but do not entirely eliminate the problem). Nothing that anyone tells you, will permit you to wake up tomorrow and magically produce the correct endings for verbs. Like everyone else, you have to pay your dues.
Just keep drilling myself by writing, speaking, and reading. Most of the endings can be categorized so that helps. But I still don't have it down perfectly, for example the preterite tense still gives me trouble.
