Preterito vs Imperfecto 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

Preterite= SIMBA • Sequence of events – I woke up, brushed my teeth, and took a shower. • Interruption – I was watching TV when the phone rang. • Main Event – It was cold out and snowing. I went sledding. • Beginning/End of an event – The game ended at 5:00. • Action completed – I went to the mall yesterday.

Phrases that indicate use of the preterite • Ayer • Hace (dos días) • Anteayer • Por la mañana • Anoche • A las 10:00 • Desde el primer • El martes/lunes/etc. momento • Durante (dos siglos) • El otro (día) • En ese momento • Entonces * Parenthesis indicate a measure of time that can be interchangeable. Ex: (El año) pasado• Esta (mañana) El verano pasado• (El año) 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

Imperfect DARE TWO B U • Description– My mother was tall. • Age – I was 18 years old. • Repeated Action – I always got good grades. – Every summer we went camping. • Emotion – I was bored. • Time – It was 5:00 in the afternoon. • Weather – It was raining. • Ongoing Action – My mother was cleaning the kitchen. • Background information – It was a rainy and foggy day. My sisters were playing and my parents were reading the paper. • Use to…. – I used to love that movie!

Phrases that indicate use of the imperfect • A menudo • En aquella época • A veces • Frecuentemente • Cada (día) • Generalmente • Nunca • Muchas veces • Rara vez • Mucho • Siempre • De vez en cuando • Casi siempre • 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 • Conocer-knew • Saber-found out • Poder-succeeded • Tener-received • Querer-wanted • No querer- didn’t want • Conocer-knew • Saber-knew • Poder-was able • Tener-used to have

• Anoche Luís comió/comía unos tacos • Anoche Luís comió/comía unos tacos. • Hace un año viajamos/viajábamos a Costa Rica. • Isabel tuvo/tenía seis años cuando aprendió/aprendía a montar la bicicleta .• Yo estuve/estaba en la clase de historia cuando mi mamá me llamó/llamaba .• Fueron/Eran las tres de la tarde cuando Marco llegó/llegaba a casa

Practice .• Tú siempre sacaste/sacabas buenas notas. • Manuela fue/era muy simpática. • El otro día yo fui/iba a la biblioteca. • Nosotras asistimos/asistíamos a la clase de baile solamente tres veces. • De vez en cuando mi mamá cocinó/cocinaba comida china.