Capítulo 05

Six Verbs That Carry You

Memorize these skeletons and you can handle 80% of what you need to say.

You don’t need to learn Spanish grammar systematically. You need six verbs in their first-person (I…) and polite third-person (you formal…) forms. That covers most of what you’ll say and hear at the consulate, at INM, and in a restaurant or hotel.

Treat each verb as a sentence skeleton — memorize the pattern, then plug in nouns.

1. `ser` — to be (permanent traits, identity)

Use for: who you are, where you’re from, what you do. Permanent-ish facts.

: I am
: he/she/it is · you (formal) are

: I’m Juan
: I’m from California
: I’m an engineer
: Are you the officer?

2. `estar` — to be (location, temporary states)

Use for: where something is, how you feel right now. Changeable states.

: I am
: he/she/it is · you (formal) are

: I’m here for my appointment
: I’m tired
: Where’s the bathroom?
: Where’s the INM office?

Quick rule of thumb: ser for identity (Soy Juan, Soy de California). estar for location and mood (Estoy aquí, Estoy bien). Don’t stress the edge cases — these two patterns cover 90% of what you need.

3. `tener` — to have

Use for: possession, age, appointments, documents. Also for I have to….

: I have
: he/she/it has · you (formal) have

: I’m 40 (lit. “I have 40 years”)
: I have an appointment
: I have my passport
: Do you have a reservation?
: I have to go to INM

That last pattern — tengo que + [verb] — is how you say “I have to do X.” Extremely useful.

4. `querer` — to want

Use for: ordering food, requesting things. The single most-used verb at any counter.

: I want
: I’d like (more polite — use at restaurants and counters)

: I want a coffee
: I’d like a room
: I’d like to pay, please
: What do you want? (you’ll hear this from a server)

Pro tip: quisiera (“I’d like”) sounds a step more polite than quiero. Use it at restaurants, hotels, and any counter — it’s noticeably warmer.

5. `necesitar` — to need

Use for: what you need (documents, help, a taxi).

: I need

: I need help
: I need a taxi
: I need to do the canje (exchange for PR card)

6. `ir` — to go (and “going to”)

Use for: where you’re headed, and to form the near future (“I’m going to X”).

: I go · I’m going
: he/she goes · you (formal) go

: I’m going to INM (al = a + el)
: I’m going to the hotel
: I’m going to pay
: I’m going to be here two weeks

The voy a + [verb] pattern is Spanish’s near future. You don’t need to learn the “real” future tense — this pattern covers everything you’ll want to say about tomorrow, next week, the rest of your trip.

Bonus: `poder` — to be able to (very useful for polite requests)

: Can you (formal) …? — starts a polite request
: Can I …? — asks for permission

: Can you repeat, please?
: Can you speak more slowly?
: Can you help me?
: Can I pay with card?
: Can I come in / pass through?

The 10 sentence skeletons you’ll use every day

If you internalize just these, you can improvise your way through almost any encounter. Read each aloud — click to hear:

: I’m [name / profession] — identity
: I’m from [place]
: I’m at/in [place] — location
: I have [thing]
: I have to [do something]
: I’d like [thing], please
: I need [thing]
: I’m going to [place / action]
: Where is [thing]?
: Can you [verb], please?

Try it: one skeleton per verb, in context

Read aloud and notice how each sentence is just a skeleton with a noun plugged in:

Every sentence there uses one of the six verbs above. You now own the backbone of everyday Spanish for your trip. The next several chapters fill in the nouns for specific places: the consulate, the airport, INM, hotels, and restaurants.

1. ser — to be (permanent traits, identity)

2. estar — to be (location, temporary states)

3. tener — to have

4. querer — to want

5. necesitar — to need

6. ir — to go (and “going to”)

Bonus: poder — to be able to (very useful for polite requests)