Verb conjugation drills that focus on the tenses you mix up
You know the rules but still say "yo sabo" or "j’ai allé" when you speak. Conjugation only sticks with many short, repeated drills. This prompt has your todo.is agent quiz you daily on the verbs and tenses you choose, repeat the ones you get wrong more often, and build you a clean conjugation table to keep.
The prompt
- Give me daily [LANGUAGE] verb conjugation drills. My level is [LEVEL]. Focus on these tenses: [TENSES], and these verbs: [VERBS]. Every day at [TIME], send me 10 quick items on WhatsApp: mostly "verb + person + tense" prompts, plus 3 short sentences where I choose the right tense. Wait for my answers, mark them, and explain each mistake in one line. Repeat verbs I get wrong after 1 day, then 3 days, then 7 days; drop the ones I get right three times. Every Sunday, send me my weak-verb list. Also make me an Excel file now with the full conjugation tables for these verbs and tenses, with irregular forms highlighted.
What to change
- [LANGUAGE]: E.g. "Spanish", "French", "German", "Italian", "Portuguese".
- [LEVEL]: E.g. "A2" or "B1". Beginners start with present tense regular verbs.
- [TENSES]: E.g. "preterite and imperfect", "passé composé and imparfait", "Perfekt with haben or sein".
- [VERBS]: E.g. "the 30 most common irregular verbs", or a list: "ser, estar, ir, tener, hacer, poder, saber, querer".
- [TIME]: E.g. "7:00" or "on my commute at 8:15".
Example result
- Today's drill: Spanish preterite and imperfect
- Level A2+ · drill 9 of your plan · 10 items
- Conjugate
- • 1. tener · yo · preterite → tuve
- • 2. hacer · ella · preterite → hizo
- • 3. ir · nosotros · imperfect → íbamos
- • 4. saber · yo · preterite → you wrote "sabí" ✗ supe
- • 5. poder · ellos · preterite → pudieron
- • 6. ser · tú · imperfect → eras
- • 7. decir · usted · preterite → you wrote "decí" ✗ dijo
- Choose the tense
- • 8. Cuando ___ (ser) niño, ___ (vivir) en Toledo. → era, vivía (background and habit: imperfect)
- • 9. Ayer ___ (llegar) tarde porque ___ (haber) mucho tráfico. → llegué, había
- • 10. ___ (llover) toda la tarde. → Llovió (a finished, bounded period)
- Your mistakes
- • supe, not "sabí": saber has an irregular stem (sup-) in the preterite. Same group: poder → pude, poner → puse, tener → tuve.
- • dijo, not "decí": decir becomes dij- and the third person is -o with no accent.
- Score: 8/10. "Saber" and "decir" come back on Thursday and again next week.
- Quick rule
- • Preterite: finished actions with a clear start or end (ayer, el lunes, de repente, tres veces)
- • Imperfect: background, descriptions, habits, age and time in the past (cuando era niño, siempre, todos los días)
- Your Sunday list (so far)
- saber · decir · traer · conducir
How to do it with todo.is
- Copy the prompt and fill in the language, level, tenses, verbs and time.
- Send it to your todo.is agent on WhatsApp or Telegram, so the drills arrive as messages.
- Download the Excel conjugation table from the first reply.
- Answer each drill as fast as you can; write "harder" or "add the subjunctive" when you are ready to move on.
Tips for a better result
- Drill in groups that share a pattern (pude, puse, supe, tuve) rather than in alphabetical order.
- Always finish with sentences. Knowing "tuve" in a table is not the same as choosing it while speaking.
- Say your answers out loud before typing them. It builds the speaking reflex, not just the reading one.
- Ask for the Excel table in Anki-ready CSV form if you also use flashcards.
verb conjugation drills: FAQ
- Which languages does this work for? Any language with verb conjugation, including Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Arabic. Name the language and tenses in the prompt.
- What is spaced repetition? Reviewing an item just before you would forget it: after 1 day, then 3, then 7. It is one of the most reliable ways to make irregular forms stick.
- How many verbs should I learn at once? Around 10 to 20 at a time. Start with the most common irregular verbs (be, have, go, do, can, say in your target language), because they appear in almost every sentence.
- Can I get drills on paper instead? Yes. Ask for a printable PDF worksheet with an answer key each week instead of, or in addition to, the daily messages.
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