Preterite vs. Imperfect 2 past tenses

We will: List rules -(when to use one vs. the other) Practice with sentences in the past – (decide which one we’d apply based on the rules) **Conjugate each correctly (REFERENCE YOUR FORMATION HANDOUTS)

When to use the PRETERITE 5 uses. Think of preterite as an event that can be pinpointed (exact time, number of times, etc.) in the past

PRETERITE: #1 Ex.) Hice mi tarea después de la clase. Completed action. I did my homework after class. *I completed all the homework I had. It’s done. There is no more homework to be done; it’s finished

PRETERITE: #2 Ex.)La clase empezó a las 7:25 de la mañana. Actions with a definite: -start (empezar, comenzar) -end (terminar) -exact number of times (20 veces, 1,000veces) The class began at 7:25 a.m. *empezar talks about the very start of the completed action; therefore the preterite is used.

PRETERITE: #2 Ex.)Mi familila fue a Cancún el año pasado. Actions with a definite: -start (empezar, comenzar) -end (terminar) -exact number of times (20 veces, 1,000veces) My family went to Cancun last year. *el año pasado pinpoints a time in the past that has come and gone. The act of going to Cancun was completed. After, the family returned…, ….. más

PRETERITE: #2 Ex.) Estuvimos en Madrid por 3 días. Actions with a definite: -start (empezar, comenzar) -end (terminar) -exact number of times (20 veces, 1,000veces) We were in Madrid for 3 days. *por 3 días pinpoints the exact number of times/(days) we did the action. It happened for three days and then it was over/done/completed. Y más

PRETERITE: #3 Ex.) De repente escuché un ruido. Sudden actions. All of a sudden I heard a noise. *This action happens and is over abruptly/suddenly. *I heard = this action is over. I heard it and I stopped hearing it. The action was completed.

PRETERITE: #4 Ex.) Primero me desperté. Después me cepillé los dientes. Entonces me bañé. Por fin, me vestí y fui a la esecuela. Narration of a sequence of events (when telling a story). *Each sentences tells/(narrates) what happened. One completed event after the other - (start to finish). Primero, …después,…a continuación, ….entonces, ……luego, ….por fin

PRETERITE: #5 Ex.) Yo miraba la televisión cuando mi mamá llegó. Interrupts an action in progress I was watching tv when my mom arrived. *I was watching = action in progress…(I hadn’t yet finished this activity, but as I was doing it my mom arrived. Arrived= completed action. (She’s in the house – act of arriving is completed/done.)

When to use the IMPERFECT 6 uses. Think of the imperfect as an more of the “gray” past tense. It refers to the past, yet we don’t really see nor focus on the start, end or duration of the past action. We can’t pinpoint the action to an exact time in the past.

IMPERFECT: #1 Ex.) Mis amigos eran cómicos. Description. My friends were funny. *It describes them “in the past”, not at a “pinpointed event or time” in the past.

IMPERFECT: #2 Ex.) Siempre comíamos en la cafetería. Repetition (“used to”) We used to always eat in the cafeteria. / We always ate in the cafeteria. *It references repetitive actions in the past – “always” is very vague. We could never pinpoint the amount of times we did this action. Key words : siempre, cada día, a veces, todos los ____, etc.

IMPERFECT: #3 Ex.) En la foto tenía 10 años. Age. I was 10 years old in the picture. *It talks about your general age in the past, not the “switch over from 9  10/the act of becoming 10 years old.

IMPERFECT: #4 Ex.) Estaba en mi trabajo. Yo hablabla por teléfono cuando mi jefe entró. Actions in progress. I was at work. I was talking on the phone when my boss entered. *Both actions had not yet been completed. For example, I had not left work, and I had not hung up the phone; both were actions in progress in past.

IMPERFECT: #5 Ex.) Hacía mucho frío en la clase. Weather. It was very cold in the class. *It refers to the weather condition at the time – (like an action in progress) –not discussing the action of weather quickly changing into a different type. It helps to set the scene in the past.

IMPERFECT: #6 Ex.) Eran las diez de la noche. Time. It was 10:00 p.m. *Again, this creates background information in the past. We are setting the scene referring to the time in the past, not the act of the minute hand changing to the next minute. It’s vague.

¿Qué aprendimos? SÍ, YO PUEDO…

Práctica: ¿Pretérito o Imperfecto? 1.Hacer sol en la playa. 2.La mujer ser muy alta. 3.Yo ver esa película 20 veces. 4.Anoche él cenar un plato de pollo. 5.Tú tener cinco años en I I P P I

Yo Puedo….. I can conjugate regular and irregular PRETERITE verbs. I can conjugate regular and irregular IMPERFECT verbs. I can choose between using the preterite or imperfect in a sentence by applying the rules of each tense.