Word Tenses

Question

How do you figure out what a word tense it? How do you figure out whether it is a command or just a verb?

Answer 1

"Run down to the store for me." (command)
"You run a tight ship." (present indicative)
"I went for a 5-mile run." (noun)

How do you know how the word "run" functions in each sentence? Context.

Can you give a couple of examples of sentences where you can't tell if a word is a command or a noun?

These examples work OK in English. Spanish is a little different. - Daniela2041, Aug 31, 2015

Toma la leche. Esa toma aérea se vio espectacular. Ella toma mucha agua. - jtaniel, Sep 1, 2015

Yes, I get all of the English words very easily. Though when I am learning Spanish, I don't know the right context because I can barely read the sentence. - k_nelson, Sep 1, 2015

I would say: Study and practice. There's no (other) magic formula. - jtaniel, Sep 1, 2015

Can you give a couple of examples of sentences where you can't tell if a word is a command or a noun? - jtaniel, Sep 1, 2015

Answer 2

First of all. There is some terminology you have to learn. Nouns don't have tenses. Verbs do. Spanish has six simple tenses and four compound tenses in the indicative mood. Then we have a bunch in the subjunctive mood. The Imperative mood is the one for commands.

Sooo, It would be well with you to go back to the first page on this site and click on grammar and go to the verb section and start with the present tense.

Buena suerte.