PRETERITE VS. IMPERFECT

EL PRETÉRITO Y EL IMPERFECTO  If we are talking about the past, how can we decide which past tense to use?  This Venn Diagram sets up the basics… PASTPAST PRETERITEIMPERFECT -one time action -completed event -ongoing actions -events that used to happen

 However, there are more detailed reasons when you would use one versus the other  Remembering these acronyms will help you really understand all the detailed differences:  PRETERITE:  IMPERFECT: EL PRETÉRITO Y EL IMPERFECTO SAFE WATERS

 S—pecific instance or a number of specific instances  A—ction that interrupts an ongoing event  F—ocus on beginning/end of event  E—nclosed amount of time EL PRETÉRITO

 Ejemplos  Le llamó tres veces.  He called him 3 times.  Él me llamó ayer.  He called me yesterday. SPECIFIC INSTANCE SAFESAFE

 Ejemplos  Yo trabajaba cuando mi amiga llamó.  I was working when my friend called. ACTION THAT INTERRUPTS SAFESAFE

 Ejemplos  empezar/comenzar—to begin/to start  El hombre empezó a llorar. (The man began to cry.)  Yo comencé a comer. (I started to eat.)  terminar—to end/to finish  Los estudiantes terminaron las pruebas. (The students finished the quizzes.) FOCUS ON BEGINNING/END SAFESAFE

 Ejemplos  Los árabes controlaron mucho de España por más de 700 años.  The arabs controlled much of Spain for more than 700 years.  (There is a start and an end.) ENCLOSED AMOUNT OF TIME SAFESAFE

 anoche  ayer  anteayer  un día  la semana pasada  el mes pasado  el año pasado  el lunes pasado SOME KEY TRIGGER WORDS FOR THE PRETERITE last night yesterday day before yesterday one day last week last month last year last (Monday, Tuesday, etc….)

 luego  después  entonces  de repente  inmediatamente MORE TRIGGERS FOR THE PRETERITE then after (afterwards) then, after that suddenly immediately

 W—eather  A—ge  T—ime  E—motion  R—epetion/ing (“used to”)  S—etting/description EL IMPERFECTO

 Ejemplos  Hacía frío y llovía. It was cold and raining. W EATHER WATERSWATERS

 Ejemplos  Remember we use the verb TENER to talk about age!  Yo era muy bajo cuando tenía 4 años. I was really short when I was four.  Mis primos tenían 6 y 8 años. My cousins are 6 and 8 years old. AGE (LA EDAD) WATERSWATERS

 Ejemplos  Eran las dos cuando llegamos. It was 2:00 when we arrived.  Era la una cuando comí en el restaurante. It was 1:00 when I ate at the restaurant. TIME WATERSWATERS

 Ejemplos  Ella estaba triste. She was sad.  Nosotros estábamos cansado. We were tired. EMOTION WATERSWATERS

 Ejemplos  Yo siempre jugaba al fútbol cuando era niño. I would always play/I always played soccer when I was a kid.  Mi hermano iba a la primaria de Woodland. My brother used to go to Woodland Elementary  Yo miraba la tele cuando llegó mi amigo. I was watching TV when my friend arrived. REPETITION/ING WATERSWATERS

 Ejemplos  El príncipe era muy valiente. The prince was very brave.  Había mucha gente allí. There were a lot of people there. *había = there was/there were (past of “hay”; from “haber”) SETTING/ DESCRIPTION WATERSWATERS

 siempre  nunca  Usualmente  normalmente  cada (año, verano)  todos los días  mientras  los lunes  generalmente  con frecuencia SOME KEY TRIGGER WORDS FOR THE IMPERFECT always never usually normally each/every (year, summer) every day while on…(Mondays) generally frequently

VERB ENDINGS: PRETERITE -AR-ER/-IR é aste ó amos asteis aron í iste ió imos isteis ieron

VERB ENDINGS: IMPERFECT -AR-ER/-IR aba abas aba ábamos abais aban ía ías ía íamos íais ían

1.hablaba _____ 2.dije _____ 3.fueron _____ 4.iban _____ 5.veías _____ 6.di _____ 7.comíamos _____ 8.comimos _____ 9.tuviste _____ 10.eras _____ 11.hizo _____ 12.trabajaba _____ PRACTICA: PARTE 1 I P P I I P I P P I P I hablar; él/ella decir; yo ir/ser; ellos ir; ellos ver; tú dar; yo comer; nosotros tener; tú ser; tú hacer; él/ella trabajar; yo/él/ella

 Choose whether the following statements would be considered preterite or imperfect in Spanish:  I went to the store last night.  She used to play with dolls.  They would always eat early.  We cooked dinner at 5:00.  You made cookies yesterday.  When I was 5, I ate cookies every day. PRACTICA: PARTE 2 PRETERITE IMPERFECT PRETERITE IMPERFECT

1.Yo ________________ (ir) a la tienda anoche. _____ 2.Ella ________________ (jugar) con las muñecas cuando era niña. _____ 3.Ellos siempre ________________ (comer) temprano. _____ 4.Nosotros ________________ (preparar) la cena a las cinco. _____ 5.Tú ________________ (hacer) galletas ayer. _____ 6.Cuando yo ________________ (tener) 5 años, ________________ (comer) las galletas todos los días. _____ PRACTICA: PARTE 3 fuiS jugaba R comían R preparamos S hicisteS tenía A / R comía