Unidad 2 El pretérito vs. el imperfecto

The imperfecto is used to: tell what used to happen describe things and situations in the past

-ar imperfecto endings aba abas aba ábamos abais aban

-er, -ir imperfecto endings ía ías ía íamos iais ían

There are only 3 irregulars in the imperfecto: ir, ser, ver

ir iba ibas iba íbamos iban

ser era eras era éramos eran

ver veía veías veía veíamos veían

Common expressions with the imperfecto: todos los días siempre muchas veces En aquel entonces (back then) de niño, cuando era niño

The imperfecto is used to tell time in the past ex.: Eran las cinco de la tarde.

The imperfect is used to report what someone else said- -it follows the preterit ex.: Lola me dijo que venía. Lola told me that she was coming.

The imperfect is used to talk about someone’s childhood ex.: De niña era muy traviesa. As a child she was very mischevious.

The imperfect is used to describe things in the past ex.: La casa era muy fea. The house was very ugly.

The pretérito is used to describe actions in the past Verbs that end in ‘ed’ in English Cuidado!!! Most are irregular in English!! Went Did Saw Walked Talked laughed

-ar pretérito endings: é aste ó amos asteis aron

-er, -ir pretérito endings: í iste ió imos isteis ieron

-ar &-er stem-changing verbs do NOT have a stem change in the pretérito: volví volviste volvió volvimos volvisteis volvieron

-e  i, o  ue –ir verbs become sandal verbs in the préterito pedí pediste pidió pedimos pedisteis pidieron

There are many irregular verbs in the pretérito

“j” verbs--decir, traer, producir dije dijiste dijo dijimos dijisteis dijeron

hacer hice hiciste hizo hicimos Hicisteis hicieron

poner- puse pusiste puso pusimos pusisteis pusieron

saber supe supiste supo supimos supisteis supieron

andar, tener, estar--”v” verbs anduve anduviste anduvo Anduvimos anduvisteis anduvieron

poder pude pudiste pudo pudimos pudisteis pudieron

querer quise quisiste quiso quisimos quisisteis quisieron

venir- vine viniste vino vinimos vinisteis vinieron

caber--to fit cupe cupiste cupo cupimos cupisteis cupieron

dar di diste dio dimos disteis dieron

ver vi viste vio vimos visteis vieron

ser & ir--have the same forms fui fuiste fue fuimos fuisteis fueron

some verb have different meanings in the pretérito saber--found out conocer--met tener--got poder--managed to no querer--refused

SUMMARY Pretérito vs Imperfecto Narration: moves the story forward. Narration: moves the story forward. An action done a specific number of times. An action done a specific number of times. An action or event seen as done or completed (ayer, la semana pasada…) An action or event seen as done or completed (ayer, la semana pasada…) Completed Action/Event DidLastPastAgoYesterdayOnce Age in the past, physical description or possession.Age in the past, physical description or possession. Setting the stage for the main action.Setting the stage for the main action. A description of people or things.A description of people or things. A mental or emotional state in the past.A mental or emotional state in the past. A repeated or costumary action (cada semana, cada vez, siempre, cuando, mientras, todos los días)A repeated or costumary action (cada semana, cada vez, siempre, cuando, mientras, todos los días) Ongoing Action/Event Used to Was –ing Were –ing EveryUsuallyAlwaysWhile

SUPER SHORT SUMMARY pretérito=BOOM! imperfecto=background information