📖LearnModule 14 · Lesson 11 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C2, continuedUnit 3 · La sintaxis compleja
El infinitivo y su preposición
Module 14 of the free Spanish course (CEFR C2, continued), lesson 11 of 30: Which preposition a verb takes before an infinitive is pure memory. On this page: 10 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
aprendo a nadar
I am learning to swim
ah-PREHN-doh ah nah-DAR
trato de entender
I am trying to understand
TRAH-toh deh ehn-tehn-DEHR
quedamos en vernos
we agreed to meet
keh-DAH-mohs ehn BEHR-nohs
sueño con viajar
I dream of traveling
SWEH-nyoh kohn byah-HAR
la memoria
memory
lah meh-MOH-ryah
la familia de verbos
the family of verbs
lah fah-MEE-lyah deh BEHR-bohs
buscar una sola vez
to look up once
boos-KAR OO-nah SOH-lah behs
sin regla
with no rule
seen RREH-glah
por costumbre
by habit
pohr kohs-TOOM-breh
ella aprende a nadar
she is learning to swim
EH-yah ah-PREHN-deh ah nah-DAR
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
Which preposition a verb takes before an infinitive is pure memory, and Spanish has four answers: nothing (quiero irme), a (aprendo a nadar), de (trato de entender), en (quedamos en vernos) — and con for a few (sueño con viajar).
Y también · And also
There is no rule, only families. Verbs of wanting and being able take nothing; verbs of starting and learning take a; verbs of trying and stopping take de. Everything else you look up once and keep.
Ojo · Watch out
aprender takes a (aprendo a nadar), tratar takes de (trato de entender), quedar takes en (quedamos en vernos), and querer and poder take nothing. There is no rule to derive it from: look the verb up once and write it down.
aprender, presente — the table
yo aprendo · tú aprendes · él/ella/usted aprende · nosotros aprendemos · ustedes aprenden · ellos/ellas aprenden
Do it now — on paper
Say all 10 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with aprendo a nadar.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out aprender, presente in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.