grammatical whimsy

is it possible that spanish has changed since i learned it?

i've been studying some basic grammar in order to prep for eventually taking this certification test, and i am discovering some surprising things.  there are constructions of which i have no memory from when i was learning spanish the first time.  there are common phrases that are completely new to me.  there are grammar rules that i swear no one ever taught me.

now i had two years of spanish in middle school, a full four in high school, and a semester at college at the level of collegiate spanish 3.  these basic beginning spanish grammar things should not be surprising me.  was my spanish education really that bad?  is my memory really that awful?  or has spanish changed?

ok, it's true that the spanish at north branford high school was somewhere between horrid and non-existent at the higher levels.  which, now that i think about it, explains why i recall having a tough time keeping up in college.  i always attributed that to the fact that we never actually *spoke* spanish in our classes in high school.  and the fact that EVERYTHING was a struggle for me at MIT.  but remembering how we took turns getting mrs pawchuk off-topic -- and how well it worked -- and how we even got her talking about pasties one time (no, not the michigan pastry type)...  i guess i shouldn't be surprised.

and there's no doubt that my memory really has become that bad.  hard to argue that, especially given-- wait, what was i saying?  never mind, point taken.

but still, so many things that are basic and yet completely unfamiliar to me?  surely spanish has changed along the way, right?