El imperfecto Avancemos 2 Unidad 4

El imperfecto You have already learned the preterite tense, which is used to describe events that started and finished in the past.

Review of preterite conjugation Regular –er verbs: corrí I corrimos corriste I XX corrió I corrieron Regular –ir verbs: asistí I asistimos asististe I XX asistió I asistieron Regular –ar verbs: nadé I nadamos nadaste I XX nadó I nadaron

The imperfect tense is used to talk about the past when the past is ongoing, or you’re describing how things used to be, or talking about what things were like. Conjugation in the imperfect is much easier than in the preterite.

Imperfect Conjugation Regular –er verbs: corría I corríamos corrías I XX corría I corrían Regular –ir verbs: asistía I asistíamos asistías I XX asistía I asistían Regular –ar verbs: nadaba I nadábamos nadabas I XX nadaba I nadaban

What did you notice about the first and third person singular tenses? What did you notice about –er & –ir verbs?

Irregulars – there are only three! SER era I éramos eras I XX era I eran and VER: veía I veíamos veías I XX veía I veían IR iba I íbamos ibas I XX iba I iban

There are some “trigger phrases” that indicate you need to use the imperfect.

To say, “in those days/times” or “in those times: En aquel entonces: “back then” To say, “in those days/times” or “in those times: En aquellos tiempos: En aquella época: How do you say, “there is/there are”? “hay” To say, “there was or there were”, you say, “Había”. This is the same verb, but for describing things in the past (imperfect).

When I was little: De niño/a De pequeño/a Cuando era niño/a

The imperfect is used for story-telling Había una vez = Once upon a time

Un poco de vocabulario El héroe, la heroína El personaje = “character” (as in people in a story, not a descriptor of the type of Sobre = about Guerra = war Guerrero = warrior Querido = loved (beloved) Volcán = volcano Enemigo = enemy

peligroso

Enamorado = in love Ejército = army Batalla = battle Mensaje = message El dios/la diosa = god

Verbos/frases con verbos Llorar = to cry Pelear = to fight Llevar = to carry Tener celos = to be jealous Casarse = to get married (reflexive) Morir(se) = to die (can be reflexive or not)

Práctica 1. We used to eat at the cafeteria. (nosotros) Comíamos en la cafetería.

2. When my brother was ten, he used to play videogames. Cuando mi hermano tenía diez años, jugaba los videojuegos.

3. Back then, my mom used to fix (prepare) breakfast every day. En aquel entonces, mi mamá preparaba el desayuno todos los días.

4. We used to walk the dog on the beach. Caminábamos (con) el perro en la playa.

Había una vez una princesa que vivía en un palacio. 5. Once upon a time, there was a princess who lived in a palace.

Los guerreros peleaban batallas peligrosas en una guerra, y mucha gente murió. 6. The warriors were fighting dangerous battles in a war, and many people died.

La princesa y el guerrero estaban enamorados. Finalmente se casaron. 7. The princess and the warrior were in love. They finally got married.

8. His enemies were jealous and they cried. Sus enemigos estaban celosos y lloraron.

9. The army climbed the mountain. The mountain was a volcano. El ejército escaló la montaña. La montaña era un volcán.

En aquella época leían muchos libros y no veían/miraban la tele(visión). 10. In those days they read a lot of books and they didn’t used to watch TV.

11. The heros returned. Los heroes regresaron.

12. We used to go to the mall on Saturdays when my brother and I were younger. Íbamos al centro comercial los sábados cuando mi hermano y yo éramos más jóvenes.