Identify Verb Conjugation
As a language teacher, I need to extract the first 2 letters of verbs to quickly sort vocabulary lists by their initial conjugation patterns or to group words with similar prefixes. This helps in teaching grammar rules and organizing extensive word banks.
=LEFT(A2, 2) How it works: The LEFT function in Excel extracts a specified number of characters from the beginning of a text string. In this scenario, `LEFT(A2, 2)` instructs Excel to look at the text in cell A2 (the verb) and return the first 2 characters. This is incredibly useful for language teachers to quickly generate prefixes, identify verb stems, or categorize words based on their initial letters for teaching and sorting purposes.
Data Setup
| Verb | Prefix |
|---|---|
| hablar | |
| comer | |
| vivir | |
| escribir | |
| aprender | |
| leer |
Step-by-Step Guide
Open your vocabulary list in Excel where verbs are in column A, starting from cell A2.
Select cell B2 (or any empty cell in the row where you want the extracted letters to appear).
Type the formula `=LEFT(A2, 2)` into cell B2.
Press Enter. Excel will display the first two letters of the verb in A2.
Click on cell B2 again, then drag the fill handle (the small square at the bottom-right corner of the cell) down to apply the formula to the rest of your verb list.