Conjugation Studying

Question

What is the best way to study verb conjugations?

Mostly Pretérito ones, but all would be helpful.

Muchas Gracias.

Answer 1

I would start with the verbs that are regular in the preterite tense [indicative mood] until you master the typical pattern for all three conjugations (AR, ER, IR). Then I would move on to the irregular verbs as there are many irregular verbs in the preterite tense especially stem changing verbs (or maybe it seems that way because the verbs that are irregular are the commonly used verbs.)

I think that one of the best ways to practice is to use sentences where you have to fill in the missing verb. That forces you to discover the subject as well as conjugate the verb. It can also give you context for those verbs that change meaning in the preterite tense (e.g. saber)

Answer 2

The way I remembered Spanish conjugations for verbs was by making songs for them. For the AR, ER, and IR verbs, I made a song with the end of the verb changes. The songs follow this pattern... Yo, Tú, Ella/él/Usted, Nosotros/as, Vosotros/as, Ellas, Ellos, Ustedes

AR- o, as, a, amos, áis, an

ER- o, es, e, emos, éis, en

IR- o, es, e, imos, ís, en

For irregular verbs, I just made a song for them in the order. You have to get a rythmn and beat, but eventually, the conjugations will be natural.