# Verb periphrases: the map

> id: grammar.verbs.periphrases-overview · category: grammar · depth: standard · levels: B1 · review: internally_reviewed

**Summary.** Conjugated verb + connector + infinitive/gerund/participle builds aspect: ir a (future), acabar de (just), volver a (again), tener que / hay que (obligation), empezar a, dejar de, estar a punto de.

Big families: obligation — tener que + inf (personal), hay que + inf (impersonal), deber + inf; phase — empezar a, ponerse a (start), dejar de (stop), estar a punto de (about to), terminar de; repetition/recency — volver a, acabar de; continuation — seguir + gerund, llevar + gerund.

Each periphrasis fixes its connector: tener que (never *tener de), dejar de, empezar a. Learning the connector with the verb is half the battle.

Group them by what they add to a bare verb: obligation (tener que, hay que, deber), aspect/phase (empezar a, ponerse a, dejar de, terminar de, estar a punto de), recency and repetition (acabar de, volver a), and continuation (seguir + gerund, llevar + gerund, ir + gerund). Mastering the family is mostly memorizing which connector — a, de, que, or none — each one locks in.

## Examples
- Tengo que renovar el pasaporte. — I have to renew my passport.
- Dejó de fumar hace un año. — He quit smoking a year ago.
- Tengo que terminar esto, pero estoy a punto de dejar de intentarlo. — I have to finish this, but I'm about to stop trying.

Related: grammar.verbs.ir-a-infinitive, grammar.verbs.acabar-de, grammar.verbs.volver-a, grammar.verbs.seguir-gerund

License: CC BY-SA 4.0 — Spanish Rules Library — spanishruleslibrary.com