Pretérito Vs. Imperfecto Two Past Tenses

El Pretérito – We use preterite for EVENTS – The chain of events in a story line – Distinct events, not matter how many times they have happened in the past – One time events – Yo fui al centro comercial ayer. – Yo compré un gato en 1995.

El Pretérito – You may see these verbs in the preterite more because they tend to be isolated or one-time events – Nacer – being born is a one-time event – Morir – dying is a one-time event – Ir – going somewhere is normally part of a storyline – Mi abuela nació en – Ella murió en 2015 – Yo fui a su casa una vez.

El Pretérito – We use preterite with ACTIONS – Actions within a defined period of time – Isolated actions – Interrupting actions – (that disrupt something ongoing) – Actions that did not happen – Yo corté el césped ayer. – Yo no lavé los platos.

El Pretérito – You may see these phrases setting up preterite isolated actions: – Un día… – Una vez… – Por un momento… – Una vez mi familia se mudó a California. – Un día, la princesa luchó un dragón. – Por un momento, yo pensé en mi hermano.

El Pretérito – You may notice that the body paragraphs of a story are mostly in the preterite because they tell us the events in the storyline. – If you had to mark your verbs on a timeline, preterite verbs would make dots on a timeline – each one is an isolated event. – Preterite verbs are the actions that hold a story hold together – the plot points. – Shrek fue al torre, encontró a la princesa, y la trajo a su casa.

El Imperfecto – We use imperfect for REPEATED ACTIONS – “used to ___” – “would ___” in the past – Habitual actions – Actions over an indefinite period of time – Yo nadaba mucho de niña. – Nosotros íbamos a la escuela a pie.

El Imperfecto – You may see these key phrases – Todos los sábados… – Cada semana… – Por mucho tiempo… – Todos los sábados mi sobrino tenía clases de arte. – Cada semana nosotros corríamos juntos.

El Imperfecto – We use imperfect to SET THE SCENE – “was ___ing” or “were ___ing” – “was going to ___” – Weather – Time – Description of a scene – An on-going action that gets interrupted – Era una noche oscura. Eran las nueve de la noche. Llovía y hacía frío. Yo estaba en mi carro y yo iba a conducir a la casa grande.

El Imperfecto – You may see these verbs in imperfect more than others because they set the scene: – Ser (with time) – Hacer (with weather phrases) – Era la una de la tarde. – Hacía mucho calor.

El Imperfecto – We use imperfect to DESCRIBE – Age – Physical Appearance – Feelings, Emotions, and Beliefs – States of Mind/Body (tener hambre) – Selena era mi hermana. Ella era bonita y alta. Ella siempre estaba feliz y siempre tenía suerte.

El Imperfecto – You may see these verbs in imperfect more than others because they are often used to describe: – Ser (with descriptions) – Tener (with eye color, hair color, age) – Llamarse (to say someone’s name) – Ella era simpática, tenía pelo castaño, y se llamaba Lola.

El Imperfecto – You may notice that the first paragraph of a story is often in the imperfect because it sets the scene. – If you had to mark your verbs on a timeline, imperfect verbs could not fit into a single dot on a timeline – these are things that go on for awhile. – Imperfect verbs are the things that make a story juicy – descriptions, feelings, what was going on in the background, etc. – Había una vez un emperador. Él vivía en un palacio y llevaba ropa extraña.

El Imperfecto – This might work as a partial summary: OPA TWA FEB “Oprah took a TWA flight in February” Outward Physical Appearance Time Weather Age Feelings Emotions Beliefs

Meaning Changers – Imperfecto – Saber = to know something – Conocer = to know someone – Haber = there existed – Pretérito – Saber = to find something out – Conocer = to meet someone – Haber = there occurred

¿Pretérito o Imperfecto? – I swam yesterday – I used to swim.

¿Pretérito o Imperfecto? – I swam yesterday – Yo nadé ayer. – PRETÉRITO – I used to swim. – Yo nadaba. – IMPERFECTO

¿Pretérito o Imperfecto? – I went to the zoo on a field trip. – As a kid, I went to the zoo a lot.

¿Pretérito o Imperfecto? – I went to the zoo on a field trip. – Yo fui al zoológico en un paseo. – PRETÉRITO – As a kid, I went to the zoo a lot. – De niño, yo iba al zoológico mucho. – IMPERFECTO

¿Pretérito o Imperfecto? – I remember taking that class. I was so confused. – For a moment, I got confused.

¿Pretérito o Imperfecto? – I remember taking that class. I was so confused. – Yo recuerdo esa clase. Yo estaba muy confundido. – IMPERFECTO – For a moment, I got confused. – Por un momento, yo estuve confundido. – PRETÉRITO

¿Pretérito o Imperfecto? – I knew my husband for 5 years before we married. – I met my husband in dance class.

¿Pretérito o Imperfecto? – I knew my husband for 5 years before we married. – Yo conocía a mi esposo por cinco años antes de casarse. – IMPERFECTO – I met my husband in dance class. – Yo conocí a mi esposo en una clase de baile. – PRETÉRITO

¿Pretérito o Imperfecto? – I found out that we had a test. – I knew that we had a test

¿Pretérito o Imperfecto? – I found out that we had a test. – Yo supe que teníamos un examen. – PRETÉRITO – I knew that we had a test – Yo sabía que teníamos un examen. – IMPERFECTO

¿Pretérito o Imperfecto? – There was a fire drill yesterday. – There were a lot of kids standing outside.

¿Pretérito o Imperfecto? – There was a fire drill yesterday. – Hubo un simulacro de incendio ayer. – PRETÉRITO – There were a lot of kids standing outside. – Había muchos estudiantes parados afuera. – IMPERFECTO

¿Pretérito o Imperfecto? – Once upon a time a baby was born. – His name was Josué, he had lots of dark hair, and he smiled all the time.

¿Pretérito o Imperfecto? – Once upon a time a baby was born. – Hace muchos años un bebé nació. – PRETÉRITO – His name was Josué, he had lots of dark hair, and he smiled all the time. – Él se llamaba Josué, tenía mucho pelo oscuro, y siempre sonreía. – IMPERFECTO

¿Pretérito o Imperfecto? – My grandma was named Elizabeth. She was an artist, she loved her dog, and she watched birds from her deck. – She died in 2006.

¿Pretérito o Imperfecto? – My grandma was named Elizabeth. She was an artist, she loved her dog, and she watched birds from her deck. – Mi abuela se llamaba Elizabeth. Ella era artista, amaba a su perro, y miraba a los pájaros de la cubierta. – IMPERFECTO – She died in – Ella murió en – PRETÉRITO

¿Pretérito o Imperfecto? – Once upon a time there was a princess named Anna. She loved snow and played with her sister every day. – One day her sister accidentally hit her with a magic spell and Anna froze. Her parents heard the commotion and came to help.

¿Pretérito o Imperfecto? – Once upon a time there was a princess named Anna. She loved snow and played with her sister every day. – Había una vez una princesa que se llamaba Anna. A ella le encantaba la nieve y ella jugaba con su hermana todos los días. – IMPERFECTO – One day her sister accidentally hit her with a magic spell and Anna froze. Her parents heard the commotion and came to help. – Un día su hermana la tiró con magía por accidente y ella se congeló. Sus padres oyeron todo y vinieron a ayudar. – PRETÉRITO

¿Pretérito o Imperfecto? – This morning I work up, brushed my teeth, showered, and went to work. – This morning I was so grumpy. My head hurt and I was so tired and I just wanted to stay in bed.

¿Pretérito o Imperfecto? – This morning I work up, brushed my teeth, showered, and went to work. – Esta mañana yo me desperté, me cepillé los dientes, me duché, y fui al trabajo. – PRETÉRITO – This morning I was so grumpy. My head hurt and I was so tired and I just wanted to stay in bed. – Esta mañana yo estaba muy enojada. Me dolía la cabeza y estaba muy cansada y quería quedarme en la cama. – IMPERFECTO