Preterite vs. Imperfect (Part II)
Some Keywords (Do not copy this part) Preterite Ayer Anteayer/anteanoche Anoche De repente A las (time) --- pasado/a (last ---) El (day of the week) --- vez (--- time) Imperfect A veces (sometimes) A menudo (often) Cada --- (each) Frecuentemente Generalmente Muchas veces Siempre Los (day of the week) Todos/as --- (every)
Review Preterite MAIN ACTION OF A STORY Completed actions-you know when it BEGAN and ENDED A CHANGE in state of mind or feeling Imperfect DESCRIBES THE SETTING OF THE STORY IS AN ANTICIPATED EVENT in a story in the past Continuous, habitual, or repeated past actions- Exact moment of when it began and ended is NOT important Describes state of mind or feeling- querer, saber, pensar, preferir, desear, sentir, poder
Complete the following sentences. leía Yo _______ (Leer) el periódico esta mañana. Yo _______ (Ver) el artículo sobre el robo en el metro. Yo lo _______ (leer). Me _______ (interesar) el artículo. Yo _______(Leer) el periódico cada día. Yo _______(Ver) artículos sobre robos en la ciudad. Yo siempre los _____ (leer). Me _______ (interesar) estos artículos. vi veía leí leía interesó interesaban Actions BEGAN and ENDED! Actions that have NO beginning or ending! Describes habit and what you WOULD do each time.
Changes in Meaning PRETERITE IMPERFECT Saber Saber Conocer Conocer Found out My parents found out the truth! Conocer met (for the 1st time) I met him at the party. Querer Wanted (and did) I wanted to go to the movies so my husband took me! Poder Was able to (and did (not)!) I wasn’t able to go to the movies because my dad said “no”. I was able to go to the party. We had a good time. Tener Got I got a dog for my birthday. IMPERFECT Saber Knew (fact) She knew the answer! Conocer Knew (person) They knew Paco from the party. Querer Wanted to Gives the idea of anticipation I said that I wanted to go to the movies. Poder Was able to I asked if I could/was able to go to the movies. Tener Had I had a dog when I was younger.
Let’s try some… Paco dijo a su padre que (querer) ir al concierto con sus amigos. No, yo no (poder) ir al cine porque tenía mucha tarea. Ellos (tener) los papeles inmediatamente del maestro. Nosotros (conocer) a nuestro primo por primera vez en la reunión. No fui al cine porque no (querer). (refused) Mis padres no (saber) que salimos muy tarde. (didn’t know) Le pregunté a mi madre si yo (poder) ir contigo. Quería Pude Tuvieron Conocimos Quise Sabían Podía