My method for learning Spanish Verb conjugations
This is something I posted on another forum in answer to a new learner and got a load of thumbs up for. I'd thought I'd bring it over to SpanishDict to see if it helps anyone here...
Spanish verbs conjugations are the most challenging thing I have come up against in language learning since learning two alphabets and 2000 characters for basic school-leaver level Japanese!
The way I am learning these is by dividing the verbs into 10's. When I have 10 infinitives down, I move on to the present indicative. When I have those down flat, I move onto the preterite etc. Meanwhile, I am bringing more infinitives in from the back all the time (if that makes sense), since you can learn quite a few verbs fairly quickly in infinitive. I make sets of 10's in Quizlet, and Spanish Verb Conjugations app by MediaYog on Android really helped me with spotting 'patterns' (more later)
I am adding in 10's until I have maybe 50 verbs in those 3 tenses. At least then I have an infinitive, a present and a past to be able to play with in my writing and conversation (even if it does sound a little odd). Then I'll move onto perfect (which I've already picked up quite a few since it seems easier to me than the preterite to conjugate).
To compare with Japanese...
The first 100 Japanese kanji are fun to learn 200-800 are murder. But after about 500, many of the other characters are made up of combinations of characters you have already learned so things start to get easier (often you can tell what a compound character represents even if you don't know the sound! but anyway, Spanish...).
Spanish verbs are different of course, but there are similarities in that you should start to see recurring patterns appear to illustrate that irregulars share their irregularity with others you have already learned and that irregular preterites are not the insurmountable obstacle they at first appeared to be. Reading emphasises this, since you can see the forms you have learned appearing even though you don't know the exact meaning of the verb - when you look it up in the dictionary, it will improve retention ('ah yes, that's one of those verbs I recognised the preterite form of and had to look up...' that kind of thing).
I stick rigidly to the 10's rule and resist rushing ahead. But most of all, I always remember the rule: USE IT OR LOSE IT! I keep a notebook with me at all times, just for verbs, and keep adding in 10's as I learn. Whenever I get a minute, I construct sentences with them, either writing or in my head, along with the other vocabulary I've picked up at the time. If you don't do something similar you will almost definitely waste all your hard work.
The only other thing is finding the time what with everything else you're learning - but I'll leave that to you 
Hope this helps. Good luck!
3 Answers
I have a simpler way. Hammer into your head the standard conjugation pattern for ALL regular verbs (there is only one!) and the patterns for the most commonly used irregulars eg haber, hacer, ir, ser, estar, tener, poner. So that's 10 maximum conjugations to learn. When that's all second nature, learn the rest of the common irregulars eg venir, saber, decir, seguir etc. (perhaps another 10-15).
In time you will then pick up on whether a verb is irregular or not by the way the infinitive is spelt/sounds and it will probably fit into one of the patterns you have already memorised.
Learning vocabulary is different to learning conjugations. I find conjugations relatively easy to remember (just memorise the patterns). Learning vocab is another thing altogether though... as you say, use it or lose it!!
Thanks for all your input.
My experience differs as a general rule. I did not find conjugations easier to learn than vocabulary for the simple reason that I find it a fairly straight forward - even a fairly instinctive - human process to relate a particular noun with a specific object, an adjective with an attribute, an adverb with a specific feeling, and so too an infinite verb form with an action. Also, what makes that process easier for me is that the base forms of many of these words are relative (salida, salir, saliente etc) in a similar way to how Japanese characters work with their pictographic representations of concepts.
The conjugation of Spanish verbs involves a different mental process and the grasp of a new form does not come as easy to me as learning new vocabulary. The patterns and their 'sounds' are not too difficult to grasp and I found the changes in spelling of irregular verbs at the base level (especially in the preterite) difficult to get right in my writing long after I could make myself understood speaking these forms. But I don't consider a form of a verb mastered until I can write it.
All that said, in my original post (posted elsewhere) I was attempting to explain my approach to an overwhelmed beginner with the hope that after the first 20 or so they would see the patterns emerging for themselves, as I have. And perhaps I should also have stressed the importance in selection of the verbs in the earlier 10's (which then would pretty much fit with billygoat's method once the patterns become apparent.)
I first started learning Spanish verb conjugations (endings) many years ago! I had enrolled on a basic (O' level) Spanish course at a local college of further Education which was offered as an evening course!
While taking part in this course I met an educated gentleman who I discovered was a medical doctor from Singapore, I think ...or Malaysia! During this course, as a resulta of our genuine shared love of Spanish we became good friends, so when the course finished after about 12 or 14 weeks of weekly lessons, we agreed to meet up once every two weeks on a regular basis at his home to continue our studies!
We had been taught to conjugate verbs based on the regular ar, er and ir endings then to learn the most commonly used (high frequency) irregular verbs such as ser ir and tener! This is very similar to Billy's and Dani's methods/approach!
We went through and practised conjugating and also using (applying)what we had learnt in conversation afterwsrds! We learnt how to conjugate and use verbs in the present, future, conditional, imperfect and preterite indicative!
One day I turned up to a planned practice, to discover the tragic news from how wife that my dear friend had had (or experienced) a sudden and unexpected heart attack!
When I first arrived at Spanishdict many years later, I:already knew how to conjugate and basically use the five simple indicative tenses mentioned two paragraphs back, but I still knew nothing of the joys of how to conjugate the subjunctive mood; even less how to use it! This pleasure still awaited me! lol
After having listened to Paralees' teaching video on the subjunctive in aprender español 3, called: 'Weirdo' I rather naively and stupidly thought 'this is rather easy and straightfoward'! How wrong I was, and I have been discovering to this day that the subjunctive is a lot more complicated and involved than I had first thought possible!
Nowadays, I can also conjugate and use: (the) present and imperfect subjunctive, the perfect indicative (he estado, hemos hablado etc...) the pluperfect indicative (había comido) the preterito anterior (which is not often used) the perfect subjunctive (Haya llegado) and finally the imperative which I still struggle to learn and remember because I have little need to use it in my daily life as I do not have any children nor pets and I generally do not like bossing people about!lol
Why bother learning them, some people might ask? Verbs are the building blocks of most languages as they paint a picture of what a person is doing/people are doing!
Once you have learnt how to conjugate and use them in a non-pressured environment so they have become committed to heart, then I have found from experience that you start to be able to remember /recall them almost immediately when you most need them in conversations with native Spanish speakers! Of course, in a stressful situation when under pressure you might forget them, but that could apply to anybody and any information!
