I. Ser and Estar; Present, Preterit, and Imperfect Tenses; Progressive Tenses; Present Subjunctive; Commands 1 Ser and Estar and the Present TenseEstar (to be) 3Ser (to be) 8Reading Comprehension Machu Picchu 19

2 Ser and Estar in the Preterit and Imperfect TensesPreterit Tense 21Imperfect Tense 25Regular Verbs in the Preterit 29Irregular Verbs in the Preterit 31Regular Verbs in the Imperfect 33Irregular Verbs in the Imperfect 35Comparison of Preterit and Imperfect 35Reading Comprehension Marianela 38

3. The Present Progressive TenseGerund Formation 41Formation of the Present Progressive Tense 45Use of the Present Progressive Tense 45Placement of Object Pronouns 48Uses of the Gerund with Verbs Other Than estar 52Reading Comprehension La parada del bus 56

4 The Past Progressive TensesThe Imperfect Progressive Tense 58The Preterit Progressive Tense 61Reading Comprehension El hospital 67

5 The Present SubjunctiveFormation of the Present Subjunctive 70Uses of the Present Subjunctive 77Other Tenses That Cause the Present Subjunctive 91Reading Comprehension El juicio 94

6 CommandsAffirmative tú Commands 98Negative tú Commands 102Ud. and Uds. Commands 107Other Ways of Asking People to Do Things 110Reading Comprehension Perdida en Nicaragua 113The nosotros Command: "Let us . . ." 115Affirmative vosotros Commands 118Negative vosotros Commands 118Reading Comprehension La Noche de Brujas 121

II. Nouns, Articles, Adjectives, Pronouns; Present and Past Perfect Tenses7 Nouns, Articles, Adjectives, and PronounsNouns and Articles 125Possessive Adjectives 130Possessive Pronouns 135Relative Pronouns 139Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns 144Reading Comprehension Mi viaje 146 The Neuter lo + Adjective Used as a Noun 147Adjectives Used as Nouns 149Pronouns Used as Nouns 150Pronunciation Practice Los maderos de San Juan 151Reading Comprehension Lo fatal 152

8 The Present Perfect TenseFormation of the Past Participle 154Formation of the Present Perfect Tense 157Uses of the Present Perfect Tense 159Placement of Object Pronouns with the Present Perfect Tense 160Use of the Infinitive haber and the Past Participle 161Reading Comprehension El apartamento 165

9 The Past Perfect TenseFormation of the Past Perfect Tense 167Uses of the Past Perfect Tense 167Reading Comprehension El sueño 170Reading Comprehension Recordando Nicaragua 171The Past Participle as an Adjective 172The Past Participle with ser and the Passive Voice 176Reading Comprehension El conde Lucanor 178

III. Future and Conditional Tenses; Past Subjunctive; Idioms 10 The Future TenseFormation of the Future Tense 181Uses of the Future Tense 188The Future Progressive Tense 195The Future Perfect Tense 196Reading Comprehension El porvenir 197

11 The Conditional TenseFormation of the Conditional Tense 199Uses of the Conditional Tense 205The Conditional Progressive Tense 209The Conditional Perfect Tense 210Reading Comprehension ¿Qué haría Ud. en las siguientes situaciones? 212

12 The Present Perfect SubjunctiveFormation of the Present Perfect Subjunctive 214Uses of the Present Perfect Subjunctive 214Reading Comprehension La isla en el Caribe 218

13 The Imperfect Subjunctive Formation of the Imperfect Subjunctive 221Uses of the Imperfect Subjunctive 227Reading Comprehension El barco económico 234Reading Comprehension Xochicalco 243

14 The Past Perfect SubjunctiveFormation of the Past Perfect Subjunctive 245Uses of the Past Perfect Subjunctive 245Reading Comprehension Su punto de vista 257

15 IdiomsIdioms with Prepositions 260Idioms with Verbs 263Time Expressions 267Reading Comprehension La defensa de Sócrates 270

Appendix: List of Verbs 273Answer Key 280Index 292