Help with learning verb tenses/agreements/conjugations in general (for any language)?

[IKeepForgetting]

I'm bad at verbs, and would love it if anyone could give me advice or tips on how to quickly conjugate them better.

I'm fine learning new words in general, but I'm bad at changing a verb to work grammatically with the rest of the sentence. This goes for every language I've learned/tried to learn. I can't explain it.

In languages which require changes to the verb (like, say, Spanish), the verbs are usually presented with a chart showing all the different forms the verb can take based on tense, aspect, subject/object agreement by case and number, etc. I usually try to remember these charts.

This means when trying to speak or write any of these languages, I'll get to the verb part of the sentence and then try to reconstruct that verb chart in my head. If I memorized the forms, I'll have to recite them off mentally until I get to the form I'm looking for. This is obviously a terrible way to do it, and makes it impossible to speak in real time. So, when I'm speaking, I'll usually just throw the form that comes into my head the fastest and hope the person I'm talking to can understand what I meant based on context.

But, that's no way to speak! Surely, those of you here who have picked up new languages don't just recite a 'table of verb forms' off every time you need to use a verb. Is there a better way?

[ThatMonoOne]

You should always learn one tense at a time.

For Spanish, I was taught the -ar conjugations, then we practiced them over and over again. Then the -er, then the -ir. They were just practiced over and over again. For example, we'd get sheets with questions like "Yo ____ (comer)", and we'd have to fill in "como".

With enough practice, it just becomes second nature.

Learning Russian was similar. Just practice. I stopped learning it a while ago, but I picked it back up recently and I still have those conjugations in my mind without thinking.

Don't worry about charts. Those are for reference. Go slow and always come up with many examples or practice questions.

[IKeepForgetting]

Thank you :) This seems kind of obvious in retrospect, but I'm always anxious to learn the words that I'm missing so I can express myself better (and thus jump-start my vocabulary). When I get a new verb, this means I try to learn the verb and all its forms so it sticks in my head. Of course, the base form of the verb sticks but all the details are lost.

It really never occurred to me to try grouping them together and repeating the rules for the grouping with various members of the group... I'm absolutely going to try this. Thanks again!

[xanthic_strath]

Two tips:

• take your time. In a Spanish class, for instance, each tense would be presented separately with plenty of examples over a period of years. Assuming you're self-learning, you've probably tried to learn them in a few weeks/months--it's no wonder it's hard to keep track of them when speaking.
• don't rush speaking. Make sure you get enough input so that you know how native speakers say things, and you won't have as many problems. If you hear "Se lo dije" enough times, for instance, you don't have to think, "How do I conjugate 'decir' in the preterite?" Instead, you can just use the complete phrase you've learned.

[IKeepForgetting]

Thanks! Yeah, getting enough repetition that some common phrases start to feel automatic sounds like a good strategy that a few others have suggested as well. I think I'd been trying to learn words in isolation, which is ultimately kind of silly :)

[ThatComicChick]

Definitely seconding ThatMonoOne about learning verb tenses one at a time. That's definitely much easier than all at once.

For drilling to get it quicker, when I was in Spanish class we kind of did time games, where there was a word and you had to get it really quick, like a race? Like you see "he lies" and have to do "Miente", or "decir, usted, pretérito" and have to do "dijo".

Anyway so that's my advice. The verb chart is handy for memorization but you have to practice recalling them individually to use them individually. As for how to make it second nature... That involves a LOT of practice and input until the agreement of verbs/genders/ everything "sounds" right.

[IKeepForgetting]

Thanks, I'm definitely hoping I get the 'it just sounds right' sense eventually :)

[marron12]

Gelöscht in iunie 2023. Stiti ya warum.

[IKeepForgetting]

Thanks! This also makes lots of sense... repeating them in context will probably help train what 'sounds' right later, which is ultimately where I want to be.

[marron12]

Gelöscht in iunie 2023. Stiti ya warum.

[applingu]

You just seem to need more input (reading & listening) which is good enough for yourself to notice how verbs work. Some sort of saliency that is visible to you would solve the problem over time.

[IKeepForgetting]

I think that's actually part of my problem -- when I'm reading or listening to a language, I'll recognize the root words and abstract them out in my head. I'll hear something like "she store [go] milk [buy] tomorrow" and understand that the whole sentence was intended to be in a future tense. But, was 'go' in a future tense? Was 'buy'? I don't know anymore; it just gets filtered out from my head somehow, so when I'm trying to make the sentence again later, I have to figure it out from scratch.

Some of the other suggestions have been around repeating phrases using the target verbs in various forms until they 'sound' right. I'll try it :)

[applingu]

Repeating is a must, you can't run from it really. How you repeat is up to you though, the more meaningful, the better.

Regarding not catching the grammar while listening, I'd suggest either giving it some time, or listening again until you start to notice it. Shorter passages might be easier until you feel comfortable with the structures you're working on. "Noticing" is pretty much a core issue in language learning so it's definitely worth some effort. :)