Preterite vs. Imperfect More Practice

For the first set of sentences, decide if the sentence is preterite or imperfect. These sentences are in English. Hold up the correct card.

n When I lived in Florida, the summers were so hot. n IMPERFECT

n I went to Flagstaff last weekend. n PRETERITE

n When she was young, Marisol used to sleep with a teddy bear. n IMPERFECT

n The students were studying for a test. n IMPERFECT

n She set the table after she made dinner. n PRETERITE

n We went to the lake a lot when I was a kid. n IMPERFECT

They were talking outside of the restaurant. n IMPERFECT

n He dusted while she cleaned the floors. n IMPERFECT

n Did you get the mail? n PRETERITE

n Mary read the newspaper to her niece every night. n IMPERFECT

n I wore a sweater when the temperature dropped below 60 degrees. n IMPERFECT

n Mercedes was beautiful. n IMPERFECT

n Last summer we painted our living room. n PRETERITE

For the second set of sentences, decide which verb you would use to complete the sentence - preterite or imperfect. These sentences are in Spanish. Hold up the correct card.

n (Nevó/Nevaba) mucho cuando estaba en Minnesota. n Nevaba

n John (jugó/jugaba) Monopoly con Sabrina cuando lo llamaste. n Jugaba

n Cuando estaba Paris, (vi/veía) La Mona Lisa. n Vi

n Yo (estuve/estaba) en la oficina del director frecuentamente. n Estaba

n Oí que tú (escribiste/escribías) tu madre cada semana. n Escribía

n ¿Adónde (fuiste/ibas) antes de clase hoy? n Fuiste

n (Dijeron/Decían) que la casa era embrujada (haunted). n Decían

n Me (gustó/gustaba) ver la tele mucho. n Gustaba

n Cuando la vio, la (besó/besaba). n Besó

n Nunca (entregó/entregaba) su tarea a tiempo. n Entregaba

n Mi profesor (gritó/gritaba) durante la clase hoy. n Gritó

This set of sentences has two verbs each. Decide if each is a preterite/preterite, an imperfect/imperfect or a preterite/imperfect sentence. The sentences are in English.

n When he was a young man, he never paid his bills on time. n Was- Imperfect n Paid- Imperfect

n The mother kissed her son on the forehead and sent him to school. n Kissed- Preterite n Sent- Preterite

n There was a loud explosion and someone screamed. n There was- Preterite n Screamed- Preterite

n When the fight broke out, I was in the parking lot. n Broke- Preterite n WAS - Imperfect

n I didn’t walk to school yesterday because it rained. n Walk- PRETERITE n Rained - PRETERITE

n The gift I gave her put a smile on her face. n Gave- Preterite n Put- Preterite

n He was turning the corner on his motorcycle when he hit the pole. n Was turning- Imperfect n Hit - Preterite

n I tripped while I was running. n Tripped- Preterite n Was running- Imperfect

n Did you call your grandmother and thank her for the socks? n Call - Preterite n Thank - Preterite

n The house at the end of the drive had tall trees and was really old. n Had- Imperfect n Was - Imperfect

For this last set of sentences, you will choose between preterite and imperfect and write the correct form of the verb on a scratch sheet of paper.

n Yo no _____ (SABER) nada sobre Chile hasta _____ (LEER) este libro. n Sabía n Leí

n Cuando mi hermano _____ (SER) niño, _____ (QUERER) ser doctor. n Era n Quería

n El día ______ (SER) bonito y _____ (HACER) buen tiempo. n Era n Hacía

n Yo _____ (ESTAR) cortando el pastel cuando me _____ (CORTAR). n Estaba n Corte (should have an accent)

n Ellos _____ (TRAER) las bebidas y nosotros _____ (PREPARAR) la comida. n Trajeron n Preparamos

n Yo _____ (IR) de compras y _____ (BUSCAR) una blusa nueva. n Fui n Busque (should have an accent)