Despite the name, simple past tenses are a difficult topic for the English speaking Spanish learner because there are two Spanish simple past tenses where English has only one. We discuss various conditions which trigger either tense.

In contrast to the simple past tenses, the grammar and the use cases of the Spanish compound past tenses are analogous to their English counterparts. The same is true for the future tenses as both languages have future I and II and the "going-to" form. However, the Spanish simple future is formed by verb inflection while its English counterpart employs an auxiliary verb. Another difference is that the Spanish future tense can also express expectations about the presence.

The two possible translations of "to be", ser and estar, give rise to different passive voices. We illustrate with examples how to pick the right one.