Preterite vs. Imperfect OBJECTIVE: TLW analyze the two past tenses in Spanish; the Preterite tense and the Imperfect tenses. TLW learn to distinguish between the past tenses and how to use them properly in spoken and written form. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When to use the Preterite tense: 1. Completed past action. 2. An interrupting action. 3. An action in the past with a definite time parameter (parameter=measurment). 4. –ed on the end of a verb. 5. “When” When to use the Imperfect tense: 1. Age or time in the past. 2. Was/were+ Gerund (-ing) 3. Repeated/habitual past actions. 4. An action in the past with no definite time parameters. 5. “Used to”/ “Every”/”Back in the day”/”When I was little” 6. “While” 7. Physical/Mental descriptions in the past.

Preterite vs. Imperfect EJEMPLOS: PRETERITE: 1. Yesterday, I ate popcorn. (Ayer, yo comí las palomitas) 2. While he was studying, I cleaned the house. (Mientras él estudiaba, yo limpié la casa) 3. Last Monday, you all studied the lesson. (El lunes pasado, Uds. estudiaron la lección) 4. I ironed the shirt last night. (Yo planché la camisa anoche) 5. When I entered the room, He spoke. (Cuando yo entré la sala, él habló) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IMPERFECT: 1. When I was 10, I used to play jacks./ It was 2:00. (Cuando yo tenía diez años, Yo jugaba a los cantillos)/(Eran las dos) 2. I was washing the dishes. (Yo lavaba los platos) 3. We used to do arts and crafts every week. (Nosotros hacíamos las artesanías cada semana) 4. They were listening to music. (Ellos escuchaban música) 5. I used to ride ponies /Every Sunday, she used to go to the park/Back in the day, I used to travel a lot. /When I was little, I used to play with my dog. (Yo montaba caballitos /Cada domingo, ella iba al parque/Antaño, yo viajaba mucho /Cuando yo era pequeña, yo jugaba con mi perro) 6. While I was washing the car, you all were raking the leaves. (Mientras yo lavaba el carro, Uds. rastrillaban las hojas) 7. My Grandmother was beautiful and intelligent. (Mi abuela era hermosa y aguda)

Preterite vs. Imperfect-VERBOS IRREGULARES There are 3 irregulars in the Imperfect: Ir, Ser, and Ver. (VER MIS APUNTES) Preterite irregulars: Ser/Ir (same conjugations), Dar, Ver, Tener, Hacer (VER MIS APUNTES) 3. In order to stem-change in the Preterite tense, certain criteria has to be met: a. It MUST be an –ir verb. No –ar/-er verbs can stem-change in the preterite! b. The subject MUST be 3rd person singular, or 3rd person plural. c. It will take a “half” stem-change. (e-i) (o-u). 4. Spell-Changing verbs in the preterite tense: YO FORM ONLY! a. If a verb ends in –gar, it will spell change to –gué. b. If a verb ends in –car, it will spell change to -qué. c. If a verb ends in –zar, it will spell change to -cé.