What tenses/moods should I focus on for B1/B2?

Study & Teaching Advice

Hola! I am currently studying Spanish, with plans to study abroad in Spain next year. I have been learning for several years (approximately 8 years, starting in 7th grade), but my early teachers were very bad (my junior year was the first time the teacher expected to have full class periods using only Spanish, and we didn't learn the simple future until that year as well). This has put me at a large disadvantage to my peers, and I want to improve as quick as reasonably possible. As I'm planning out how exactly I want to tackle some of the topics I'm less familiar with, I want to take note of what verb tenses and moods will be the most necessary to have mastered for B1~B2.

I am, of course, planning on learning them all (with the exception future subjunctive, as I've heard that is mostly used in judicial writing), but I want to prioritize some. My current list is as follows:

  • Simple Present

  • Pretérito

  • Imperfect

  • Simple Future

  • Conditional

  • Presente Subjunctive

  • Imperfect Subjunctive

  • Pluscuamperfecto

  • Present Perfect

Are there any that you'd recommend adding to the list? Are there any I should take off for now? Thank you for all of the help!

Posted Jun 23, 2026, 2:14 PM UTC

23
Loading comments…