Transcript Sra. Van Voris's PowerPoint on imperfect conjugation

Imperfect Uses
Even though the
Imperfect and the
Preterite are both past
tenses you will use them
for different reasons.
Abran los libritos de apuntes del
pretérito y el imperfecto a
página 18.
The imperfect describes
past actions in the process
of happening with no
reference to their beginning
or end.
I was eating dinner when the
doorbell rang.
Use the imperfect to
express time in the past
It was 7:30 when I arrived.
The imperfect sets the stage
upon which other actions
take place
We were at the movies when
we found out.
The imperfect refers to
repeated/habitual actions in
the past
She used to go swimming
every day.
The imperfect describes
physical/ emotional/ mental
conditions in the past
She was excited when he
proposed.
The imperfect is used to tell
age in the past
I was four years old when we
moved to Arizona.
The imperfect is used for
gossip, hearsay and rumors
The people of the town said that
the big house at the end of the
street was haunted.
The imperfect is used to
express the way things
used to be.
When we were little, my
cousins and I used to sneak
cookies from Grandma’s
cookie jar.
The imperfect is used to
express simultaneous actions.
We listened to the music while
we sang along.
While, or mientras, indicates
a simultaneous action.
Abran los libritos de apuntes del
pretérito y el imperfecto a
página 12.
Endings for -AR verbs
• aba
• abas
• aba
• ábamos
• abais
• aban
Endings for -ER/-IR verbs
• ía
• ías
• ía
• íamos
• íais
• ían
Note how all the endings on
these verbs have accents.
Abran los libritos de apuntes del
pretérito y el imperfecto a
página 13.
The imperfect has 3 irregulars
IR – to go
• iba
• ibas
• iba
• íbamos
• ibais
• iban
SER – to be
• era
• éramos
• eras • erais
• era
• eran
VER – to see
• veía
• veías
• veía
• veíamos
• veíais
• veían
Try to conjugate:
When it was cold, we had
soup for dinner.
Cuando ______
hacía frío,
teníamos
_______ sopa para la
cena.
John was very sick when
he was young.
estaba muy
Juan ______
era
enfermo cuando ___
joven.
I used to read every night
while I listened to music.
Leía todas las noches
____
escuchaba
mientras __________
música.
What do you remember?
• Name some uses of the imperfect.
• What are the endings for a regular –AR
verb? For –ER / -IR?
• Which form of the verb ALWAYS has an
accent on it?
• Name the three irregular verbs in the
imperfect.
• Which of the three irregular verbs have
accents on ALL the forms?