Transcript Sp II - Preterite vs Imperfect Past Tenses

PRETERITE VS. IMPERFECT
When to use these past tenses
When to Use the Preterite
• When an action was completed
• When an action was completed at a
specific time
• When an action was completed a specific
number of times
• When an action began or ended
• When an action interrupts another action
Phrases that indicate use of the
preterite
• Ayer - yesterday
• Anoche – last night
• Desde el primer
momento - from the
first moment
• El otro día – the other
day
• En ese momento – at
that moment
• Esta mañana – this
morning
• El año pasado – last
year
• Hace dos días – two
days ago
• Ayer por la tarde –
yesterday afternoon
• Esta tarde – this
afternoon
• La semana pasada –
last week
• El mes pasado – last
month
When to use the Imperfect
• To state in general when an action took place
• To describe background information – setting the stage
as in a play
• To express weather (when not a sudden event)
• To tell time
• To tell age
• To describe physical and mental states and conditions,
including feelings
• To express habitual (repeating) actions
• To express what used to happen
• To express what was/were…ing (-ando, -iendo) – estar
forms are in the imperfect (estaba, etc)
Phrases that indicate use of the
Imperfect
• A menudo - often
• A veces – at times
• Cada día – every
day
• Cada año – every
year
• Cada mes – every
month
• Nunca - never
• Frecuentemente/
Con frecuencia frequently
• Generalmente generally
• Muchas veces –
many times
• Mucho – a lot
• De vez en cuando –
from time to time
¡OJO!
• Some verbs change meaning depending on
whether they are in the preterite or in the
imperfect…
Verbs that change meaning in the
preterite and imperfect
Preterite
•
•
•
•
•
Querer- tried
No querer-refused
Conocer-met
Saber-found out
Poder-succeeded
Imperfect
•
•
•
•
•
Querer-wanted
No querer- didn’t want
Conocer-knew
Saber-knew
Poder-was able
Examples of the preterite tense
Paco trabajó al supermercado hace dos años.
Paco worked at the supermarket 2 years ago.
Yo leí el periódico ayer por la tarde.
I read the newspaper yesterday afternoon.
Comimos una torta a la fiesta el viernes pasado.
We ate a cake at the party last Friday.
Examples of the imperfect tense
Hacía mal tiempo.
It was bad weather.
Yo tenía miedo de la tormenta.
I was afraid of the storm.
Mi abuelo tenía 84 años.
My grandfather was 84 years old.
Mi padre era un chico malo.
My father was a bad boy.
Examples of the preterite vs. the
imperfect tenses
Beto estudió anoche.
Beto studied last night.
Beto estudiaba todas las noches.
Beto used to study every night.
Beto estudiaba cuando se durmió.
Beto was studying when he fell asleep.