PRETERITE VS. IMPERFECT When to use these past tenses

When to Use the Preterite When an action was completed When an action was completed at a specific time When an action was completed a specific number of times When an action began or ended When an action interrupts another action

Phrases that indicate use of the preterite Ayer Anteayer Anoche Desde el primer momento Durante dos siglos El otro día En ese momento Entonces Esta mañana El año pasado Hace dos días Hace cuatro años Ayer por la mañana Ayer por la tarde Esta tarde La semana pasada El mes pasado

When to use the Imperfect To state in general when an action took place To describe background information To express weather To tell time To tell age To describe physical and mental states and conditions, including feelings To express habitual actions To express what used to happen To express what was/were…ing

Phrases that indicate use of the Imperfect A menudo A veces Cada día Cada semana Cada mes Cada año Nunca En aquella época Frecuentemente Generalmente Muchas veces Mucho De vez en cuando Con frecuencia

¡OJO! Some verbs change meaning depending on whether they are in the preterite or in the imperfect…

Verbs that change meaning in the preterite and imperfect Querer- tried No querer-refused Conocer-met Saber-found out Poder-succeeded Tener-received Imperfect Querer-wanted No querer- didn’t want Conocer-knew Saber-knew Poder-was able Tener-used to have

Examples of the preterite tense Paco trabajó al supermercado hace dos años. Paco worked at the supermarket 2 years ago. Yo leí el periódico ayer por la tarde. I read the newspaper yesterday afternoon. Comimos una torta a la fiesta el viernes pasado. We ate a cake at the party last Friday.

Examples of the imperfect tense Hacía mal tiempo. It was bad weather. Yo tenía miedo de la tormenta. I was afraid of the storm. Mi abuelo tenía 84 años. My grandfather was 84 years old. Mi padre era un chico malo. My father was a bad boy.

Examples of the preterite vs. the imperfect tenses Beto estudió anoche. Beto studied last night. Beto estudiaba todas las noches. Beto used to study every night. Beto estudiaba cuando se durmió. Beto was studying when he fell asleep.

You will use the Imperfect When you "set a scene" describing what your house or dog used to look like and what your family was like. Think of looking at a photograph and describing the people in it and what they were doing. Since the photograph is static, the people in it can't start doing something different. So you can only describe the scene you see.

When you are describing what people were doing (in the process of doing) or used to do or when you describe what it was like when you arrived at the party last night. However, the stories that occur within these settings happen in the Preterite! (which we will look at after our example.)

Imperfect For example, let's set a scene: Eran las nueve de la noche. Era viernes. Hacía mal tiempo. Llovía. Todos estábamos en casa. Mamá y Papá miraban la televisión; yo leía una novela de StarTrek; mi hermana hablaba por teléfono con su novio en su cuarto. Esnupi (nuestro perro) dormía detrás del sillón en la sala.

It was 9:00 at night. It was Friday. It was bad weather. It was raining. We were all at home. Mom and Dad were watching television; I was reading a StarTrek novel; my sister was talking on the phone with her boyfriend in her room. Esnupi (our dog) was sleeping behind the armchair in the living room.

Preterite But now let's get to the action: De repente, ¡Entró un ladrón! Pasó por la escalera y caminó hasta la recámara de mis padres. Miró en el cuarto cuando oyó la voz de mi hermana. Se volvió y bajó las escaleras. Trató de huir de la casa, pero Esnupi se despertó y mordió la pierna del ladrón.

Suddenly, a robber entered Suddenly, a robber entered! He went upstairs and walked down to my parent's bedroom. He looked in the room but then he heard my sister's voice. He turned and went down the stairs. He tried to flee the house, but Esnupi woke up and bit the robber's leg. This is a series of actions in the Preterite which happened within the setting established by the Imperfect.

Preterite (completed action) Imperfect (description, scene) Comí la cena. Comía la cena... I ate my dinner (and I finished it) I was eating my dinner...[when something happened] -or- I used to eat my dinner... Tuvo que devolver la camisa Tenía que devolver la camisa She had to -and did- return the shirt. She had to return the shirt (She was supposed to return it - but we don't know if she did or not.)

Preterite Imperfect Conocer Saber Querer No Querer Poder No Poder (completed action) Imperfect (description, scene) Conocer to have met someone to have known someone Saber to have found out something to have known something Querer tried wanted No Querer refused didn't want Poder managed to (suceeded) was able to (capable of) No Poder failed to wasn't able to (not capable)

Preterite (completed action) Imperfect (description, scene) Quise hacerlo pero no pude. Quería ir a la playa cada fin de semana. Y por no trabajar los fines de semana, podía ir frecuentemente. I tried to do it but I failed (to do it) I wanted to go to the beach every weekend. And because I didn't work weekends, I was able to go frequently. La conocí el año pasado. Nos conocíamos por tres meses antes de casarnos. I met her last year. We knew each other for three months before marrying.