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 - yesterday Anteayer – before yesterday Anoche – last night Desde el primer momento Since the first moment Durante dos siglos Over two centuries Two centuries ago El otro día – the other day En ese momento – in that moment Entonces - then El año pasado – last year Hace dos días – two days ago Hace cuatro años – four years ago Ayer por la mañana – yesterday morning Ayer por la tarde – yesterday afternoon Esta tarde – this afternoon La semana pasada – last week El mes pasado – last month Esta mañana – this morning

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- often A veces – sometimes De vez en cuando - sometimes Cada día – every day Cada semana – every week Cada mes – every month Cada año – every year Nunca - never En aquella época – in that time Frecuentemente - frequently Generalmente - generally Muchas veces – many times Mucho – too much Con frecuencia – frequently or very often

¡OJO! Be Careful! 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

Conjugations ar: é, aste, ó amos, astéis, aron. Preterite Imperfect ar: é, aste, ó amos, astéis, aron. er/ir: í, iste, ió, imos, istéis, ieron. -ar: aba, abas, aba, abamos, abais, aban er/ir: ía, ías, ía, íamos, íais, ían

Examples of the Preterite tense Paco trabajó en el 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 en 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.

Irregular Verbs in Preterite

El Preterito o el Imperfecto (Preterite or Imperfect) Conjugate the following verbs according to the past tense (Ser) _____ las 9:10 de la mañana Yo (dar) ______ un paseo por la calle Tú (Ver) ______ a un hombre ayer El (ser) _____ el más en la escuela Ellos (Llevar) ______ un traje gris todos los lunes Ella (Llevar) _______ anteojos a menudo Tú (tener) _______un saco en la mano El (entrar) ________ en el banco todos los días Diez minutos después de él yo (salir) __________ Un carro desconocido (llegar) ________________ en la tarde Eran daba viste era llevaban llevaba tenías entraba salía llegó

Preterite (P) or Imperfect (I) Write P or I I met your brother at Eva’s graduation My mom knew your dad in high school Did you know that we have a test today? No, but I found (it) out this morning. We wanted to go to the football game last weekend. My brother refused to take us. We tried to call you but you did not answer I was not able to go to the movies on Friday Diego managed to arrive on time I failed to finish my homework last night

¿Cómo eras tu cuando eras niño/a? ¿Dónde vivías? ¿Qué juguetes tenías? Respond to the following questions in imperfect. (Write your response in your journal) ¿Cómo eras tu cuando eras niño/a? ¿Dónde vivías? ¿Qué juguetes tenías? ¿A qué jugabas? ¿Qué preferías comer? ¿Cómo ayudabas en los quehaceres de la casa?

Preterite & Imperfect (click here) Graphic Organizers Preterite & Imperfect (click here) Review this material only for increasing your knowledge, don’t submit anything on this part.

Quiz Click here Respond each exercise Return this quiz to the teacher Daily Grade

Practice Grammar (click here) Quiz (click here) Hangman game (click here) Imperfect exercises (click here) Practice Packet (click here) Reference and Sources (click here)