DELE A2 Grammar Checklist: Everything You Must Know (2026)
Quick Answer
DELE A2 tests exactly 8 grammar concepts. Master present tense, ser vs estar, pretérito perfecto, ir a + infinitive, articles, prepositions, object pronouns, and comparatives. That's it — no subjunctive needed.
Grammar anxiety makes candidates reach for B1 structures they cannot control. At A2, examiners want reliable accuracy on a narrow band: time reference, description, location, basic narration, and simple comparison. If you stay inside that band with clean agreement and word order, you score. If you chase subjunctive or mixed conditionals you barely understand, you leak points in Writing and Speaking and slow down in Reading.
This checklist is exhaustive for DELE A2 purposes — not for a linguistics degree. Learn it in the order below; each block appears repeatedly across all four papers.
1. Present tense (regular and seven critical irregulars)
Regular patterns: -ar verbs (hablar → hablo, hablas, habla, hablamos, habláis, hablan); -er verbs (comer → como, comes, come, comemos, coméis, comen); -ir verbs (vivir → vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, vivís, viven). These cover most classroom vocabulary: estudiar, trabajar, necesitar, entender, escribir.
Seven irregulars you cannot avoid — full present indicative:
Exam tip: present narrates habits and facts; it also appears in Listening and Reading as the default tense for brochures and instructions. If you only drill past, you will still miss present items.
2. Ser vs estar (identity, time, location, condition)
Ser: identity, profession, origin, material, inherent qualities, clock time (es la una), impersonal descriptions with es + adjective (es fácil). Estar: location, temporary states, progressive estar + gerund, conditions that change (está cansado, está cerrado when a shop is closed right now).
| Sentence | Wrong choice | Why it fails | Correct |
|---|---|---|---|
| The soup is hot (temperature right now) | es caliente | Sounds like inherent trait | está caliente |
| She is a teacher | está profesora | Profession = ser | es profesora |
| We are in Madrid | somos en Madrid | Location = estar | estamos en Madrid |
| He is bored | es aburrido | Means "he is boring" | está aburrido |
| The wedding is Friday | está el viernes | Event schedule uses ser | es el viernes |
3. Pretérito perfecto (present perfect)
Formation: present of haber + past participle. Haber never agrees with the subject at A2 level: he hablado, has comido, ha vivido, hemos trabajado, habéis estudiado, han salido. The participle agrees only when the object precedes the verb in advanced patterns — rare at A2; keep participle in default -o form after haber.
Regular participles: -ar → -ado (hablado), -er/-ir → -ido (comido, vivido). High-frequency irregulars: hecho (hacer), dicho (decir), visto (ver), escrito (escribir), abierto (abrir), vuelto (volver), puesto (poner), cubierto (cubrir).
Use for recent past still connected to now: "Hoy he estudiado dos horas," "Este mes hemos visitado a mis padres." Many DELE prompts about "this week" or "today" push you here instead of pretérito indefinido.
4. Future with ir a + infinitive
Conjugate ir in present + a + infinitive: voy a llamar, vas a necesitar, va a llover, vamos a viajar, vais a comprar, van a volver. This is the A2 default for plans — simpler and safer than morphological future (llamaré) if your endings wobble. Exam tasks about next weekend, tomorrow, or intentions should lean on ir a unless the prompt demands a different pattern.
5. Articles (el, la, los, las, un, una, unos, unas)
Definite articles mark specificity or generic classes: el libro (the book we mean), la salud es importante. Indefinites introduce first mention: necesito un bolígrafo. Gender and number must match nouns and adjectives: las casas bonitas.
Common omissions at A2: professions after ser (es profesora), uncountable/languages in broad statements (me gusta el café / me gusta el español), days after ser for events (es lunes), and many fixed phrases (a casa, en clase). Over-inserting "el" before abstract nouns in English-style prose is a frequent Writing error — compare "La educación es importante" (fine) vs. awkward doubling you do not need.
6. Core prepositions (a, de, en, con, por, para)
a: movement toward (voy a la escuela), time before events (a las ocho), indirect object marker with people (le doy el libro a María). de: origin (soy de Portugal), possession (el libro de Juan), topic (hablar de política — keep it simple). en: location in space/time (en Madrid, en mayo). con: accompaniment (con mi hermana).
Por vs para — high-stakes at A2:
7. Object pronouns (me, te, lo/la, nos, os, los/las)
Direct objects replace things/people as direct targets: lo compré (masc. sing.), la vi, los necesitamos, las encontré. Indirect: me, te, le, nos, os, les mark to/for whom — le digo la verdad.
Position: before conjugated verbs (no lo sé), attached to infinitives and gerunds (quiero comprarlo / estoy leyéndolo), and with affirmative commands attach and stress on the third-to-last syllable rule (dímelo). At A2, prioritize before-the-verb placement in statements; it covers most exam sentences.
8. Comparatives (más, menos, tan… como + irregulars)
Regular frames: más + adjective/adverb + que (más alto que), menos + adjective + que, tan + adjective/adverb + como (tan rápido como). Nouns: más/menos + noun + que (tengo más tiempo que tú).
Irregular comparative adjectives (do not say *más bueno at A2): mejor / peor / mayor / menor. Examples: este curso es mejor que el otro; es peor idea salir ahora; mi hermano mayor tiene treinta años; el menor problema es el precio.
Grammar priority table (where each concept hurts you most)
| Concept | Approx. exam weight | Reading | Listening | Writing | Speaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present + irregulars | 22% | High | High | High | High |
| Ser vs estar | 15% | Medium | Low | High | High |
| Pretérito perfecto | 14% | Medium | Medium | High | High |
| ir a + infinitive | 10% | Low | Medium | High | High |
| Articles | 10% | Medium | Low | High | Medium |
| Prepositions (por/para) | 12% | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium |
| Object pronouns | 9% | Medium | Low | Medium | Medium |
| Comparatives | 8% | Medium | Low | Medium | Medium |
Percentages are practical training weights, not official Instituto Cervantes blueprints — they sum how often each error type shows up in scored production and comprehension at A2.
3-week grammar study plan
Week 1 — Concepts 1–3: Drill present tense aloud daily (10 minutes); complete 20 ser/estar discrimination items; write five short sentences with pretérito perfecto about your week. End with a 20-item mixed quiz.
Week 2 — Concepts 4–6: Diary three plans per day with ir a + infinitive; article correction (add/remove); 15 por vs para cloze items with explanations logged in a notebook.
Week 3 — Concepts 7–8 + review: Transform 10 English prompts into Spanish using object pronouns; write six comparative sentences with mejor/peor/mayor/menor; cap with a timed Writing task scored against this checklist only.
If you control these eight areas, you have covered the grammar that repeatedly appears in DELE A2 prompts and model answers. Anything fancier is optional polish — not a prerequisite to pass.
Turn this checklist into scored reps: drills, feedback, and full mocks on the DELE A2 hub.