Preterite Vs. Imperfect

Pretérito Hablar  Yo Hablé = I talked  Tú Hablaste  Él Habló  Nosotros Hablamos  Ellos Hablaron Comer  Yo Comí = I ate  Tú Comiste  Él Comió  Nosotors Comimos  Ellos Comieron

Imperfecto Hablar  Hablaba = I was talking/I used to talk  Hablabas  Hablaba  Hablábamos  Hablaban Comer  Comía = I was eating/I used to eat  Comías  Comía  Comíamos  Comían

Two Forms of Past Tense Pretérito  Simple past ED X  Yo caminé.  I walked.  Simple past ED X  Yo caminé.  I walked. Imperfecto  Past Progressive was/were + ing  Yo caminaba.  I was walking.  Used to  Would always  Sometimes ED  Past Progressive was/were + ing  Yo caminaba.  I was walking.  Used to  Would always  Sometimes ED

How do you say in Spanish…? I used to write. / I was writing (escribir) Escribía I used to teach. / I was teaching. (enseñar)  Enseñaba

Try these… They used to eat. / They were eating. (comer)  Comían We used to watch. / We were watching. (mirar)  Mirábamos

Pasado Pretérito:  1. Acciones acabadas.  -Happened once or a specific, limited number of times.  -ED watched  Ejemplo:  -Fui a México el año pasado.  -Te llamé dos veces.  1. Acciones acabadas.  -Happened once or a specific, limited number of times.  -ED watched  Ejemplo:  -Fui a México el año pasado.  -Te llamé dos veces. Imperfecto:  1. Acciones habituales.  -Happened often, habitually, countless times.  USED TO used to watch  Ejemplo:  -Iba a Nueva York todos los veranos.  -Te llamaba todos los días.  1. Acciones habituales.  -Happened often, habitually, countless times.  USED TO used to watch  Ejemplo:  -Iba a Nueva York todos los veranos.  -Te llamaba todos los días.

Preterite or Imperfect? Why? I used to write all of my essays in pencil.  Imperfect  Because it’s habitual. You can’t count how many papers you wrote. I typed my paper three times last night.  Preterite  Because it happened a specific number of times. It is a completed action.

Pasado Pretérito  2. Specific time limits set.  Ejemplos:  La película empezó a las 9:00 y terminó a las 11:00. X X 9:00 11:00 ahora  Ellos vivieron en España por seis años. XXXXXX ahora Imperfecto  2. No specific time limits.  Ejemplos:  Cuando era niño, siempre miraba “Dora la Exploradora.” ? ? ? ? ahora  Mi familia vivía en Lawrence. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ahora

P or I? Why? I ate from 6:30-7:00 last night.  Preterite  Because it has a specific time frame, a specific beginning and ending. We were eating.  Imperfect  Because it has no specific time limits and is very general.

P or I? Why? They lived in the Dominican Republic from  Preterite  Because there is a specific time frame. We were living in Brazil.  Imperfect  Because there is no specific time frame. It is general and vague.

Preterite vs. Imperfect Pretérito  3. Main events.  -List of actions in a story.  -Completed actions important to plot.  Ejemplos:  El ladrón robó tres mil dólares.  Salió del banco.  Chocó el carro.  Llegó la policía. Imperfecto  3. Background info.  -Details like…  Time  Weather  Age  Physical appearance  Actions in progress  -Descriptions of setting and characters.  Ejemplos:  Era alto y tenía 35 años de edad.  Eran las 3:00 de la madrugada y llovía.  Los testigos miraban todo.

P or I and why? He was 16 years old.  Imperfect  Because it is a description of age. The sky was dark and stormy.  Imperfect  Because it is a description of the weather.

Pretérito  4. A change in feelings (or mental condition).  Ejemplos:  -Ayer cuando leí una noticia desagradable, me sentí mal y me puse muy nerviosa.  -En ese momento, no tuve miedo.  4. A change in feelings (or mental condition).  Ejemplos:  -Ayer cuando leí una noticia desagradable, me sentí mal y me puse muy nerviosa.  -En ese momento, no tuve miedo. Imperfecto  4. A description of feelings (or mental/emotional condition).  Ejemplos:  -Ayer tenía un dolor de cabeza y estaba cansada.  -Tenía mucho miedo.  4. A description of feelings (or mental/emotional condition).  Ejemplos:  -Ayer tenía un dolor de cabeza y estaba cansada.  -Tenía mucho miedo.

P or I and why? I got so scared during lockdown.  Preterite  Because you have a definite change in your emotions caused by the lockdown. I had a headache all day.  Imperfect  This is a description of your physical state. You did not get a headache for a specific reason.

Three Irregular Verbs  Ir = To go  Iba  Ibas  Iba  Íbamos  Iban

Three Irregular Verbs…  Ver = To see  Veía  Veías  Veía  Veíamos  Veían

Three Irregular Verbs…  Ser = To be  Era  Eras  Era  Éramos  Eran

 What happens if there are two verbs in one sentence?  Will the verbs be preterite, imperfect or both?  It all depends…  Let’s start with:  A. 2 acciones acabadas  So, if we have two completed actions, they are both… X X P P Leí el periódico y salí.  What happens if there are two verbs in one sentence?  Will the verbs be preterite, imperfect or both?  It all depends…  Let’s start with:  A. 2 acciones acabadas  So, if we have two completed actions, they are both… X X P P Leí el periódico y salí. Más de I verbo en una oración…

 What happens if we have two simultaneous actions in progress?  Correct! Both would be imperfect.  B. 2 acciones que estaban pasando a la vez. I I  Yo leía mientras tú estudiabas. Preterite vs. Imperfect

 What happens if we have one action that interrupts another action?  The action that gets interrupted is…  Imperfect  The action that interrupts is…  Preterite  C. Una acción que interrumpió otra acción. X I P  Estudiaba cuando me llamaste. Preterite vs. Imperfect

 Was playing = Imperfect  Because it was an action that got interrupted. It was in progress and not completed.  Fell = Preterite  Because it interrupted mysoccer game. I was playing soccer when I fell.

 C. Background information to an action that occurred. X ahora  Era invierno cuando fui a Chile por primera vez.  Había neblina y la visibilidad era muy mala cuando chocó el carro.  C. Background information to an action that occurred. X ahora  Era invierno cuando fui a Chile por primera vez.  Había neblina y la visibilidad era muy mala cuando chocó el carro. Pretérito e Imperfecto

 Was = Imperfect  Because it is a description of the setting.  Occurred = Preterite  Beccause it is a specific, completed action. It was October when the accident occurred.

 I was feeling fine until she made that rude remark.  Was feeling = Imperfect  Because it describes a pre-existing condition.  Made = Preterite  Because it is an action that occurred. I was feeling fine until she made that rude remark.

 What if we have an action preceded by background information?  The background information would be…  Imperfect  And the action would be…  Preterite  D. Información de trasfondo/situaciones y acciones.  X I P  Él era estudiante cuando me conoció. Preterite vs. Imperfect

 Can you guess whether the following examples are in the preterite or imperfect tense?  A. Comí un sándwich a las 3:00 de la tarde ayer.  I ate a sandwich at 3:00 yesterday afternoon.  İMuy bien! This is the preterite tense!  Can you tell why?  İBuen trabajo! It is a completed action.  How else can we tell that it is preterite?  İCorrecto! It happened at a specific time. Preterite vs. Imperfect

 Let’s try another one.  Would the verb in purple be preterite or imperfect?  B. Comía cuando sonó el teléfono.  I was eating when the phone rang.  İExcelente! The first verb is imperfect.  Why?  Ask yourself what happened to eating your watermelon when the phone rang.  İAsí es! You put down the watermelon, and your eating got interrupted.  How else do we know that the verb is imperfect?  İBien! It was an action in progress. Preterite vs. Imperfect

 How about the purple verb in the next sentence?  C. Cuando era niña, siempre comía Cheerios.  When I was a kid, I always used to eat Cheerios.  İTremendo! Now can you tell me why it’s imperfect?  Right! We have no way of counting the number of bowls of Cheerios that I ate. It is a habitual action. Preterite vs. Imperfect

 I ate breakfast at 7:30.  Desayuné a las 7:30. (P)  I was reading the paper before I ate.  Leía el periódico antes de comer. (I)  Before, I used to always watch TV.  Antes siempre miraba la televisión. (I)  I would always be late for work, though.  Pero siempre llegaba tarde a mi trabajo. (I) =Preterite (Simple past actions.) =imperfect (almost everything else.)  I ate breakfast at 7:30.  Desayuné a las 7:30. (P)  I was reading the paper before I ate.  Leía el periódico antes de comer. (I)  Before, I used to always watch TV.  Antes siempre miraba la televisión. (I)  I would always be late for work, though.  Pero siempre llegaba tarde a mi trabajo. (I) =Preterite (Simple past actions.) =imperfect (almost everything else.) Name That Tense: P or I?

 Trying to decide when to use the Preterite and when to use the Imperfect is one of the challenges of learning these two tenses.  We generalize and say that the Imperfect is used to describe a scene and the Preterite is used to list series of completed actions. It can be a little more complex, especially with verbs that change meaning depending on the tense.  When you “set a scene” describing what your house or dog used to look like and what your family was like, or if you are describing what people were doing or used to do, or what it was like when you arrived at the party last night, use the Imperfect.  The stories that occur within these settings happen in the Preterite! Preterite Vs. Imperfect

 Eran las nueve de la noche. Era viernes. Hacía mal tiempo. Llovía. Todos estábamos en casa. Mamá y Papá miraban la televisión; yo leía una novela de StarTrek; mi hermana hablaba por teléfono con su novio en su cuarto. Esnupi (nuestro perro) dormía detrás del sillón en la sala. Preterite vs. Imperfect

 It was 9:00 at night. It was Friday. It was bad weather. We were all at home. Mom and Dad were watching television; I was reading a Star Trek novel; my sister was talking on the phone with her boyfriend in her room. Esnupi (our dog) was sleeping behind the armchair in the living room.  Can you guess the tense of each of these verbs?  How do you know they are all imperfect?

 De repente, ¡Entró un ladrón! Pasó por la escalera y caminó hasta la recámara de mis padres. Miró en el cuarto cuando oyó la voz de mi hermana. Se volvió y bajó las escaleras. Trató de huir de la casa, pero Esnupi se despertó y mordió la pierna del ladrón.  Suddenly, a robber entered! He went upstairs and walked to my parent’s bedroom. He looked in the room but then he heard my sister’s voice. He turned and went down the stairs. He tried to flee the house, but Esnupi woke up and bit the robber’s leg.  All of these verbs are in the same tense. Can you guess what it is?  Correct! Why are they all preterite?  Now Let’s Talk About the Completed Action

Some examples, please! hablarcantar hablabacantaba hablabascantabas hablabacantaba hablábamoscantábamos hablabancantaban  Easy, huh? Just add the –s to make the the tú form,-mos for nosotros, and –n for ellos/ellas.  Don’t forget the accent on the nosotros form!

How about for –ER & -IR? comervivir comía vivía comías vivías comía vivía comíamosvivíamos comían vivían  Same way… just add the –s to make the the tú form,-mos for nosotros, and –n for ellos/ellas.  Don’t forget the accent on the all the forms!

AL WEPT  A: age, attitude, appearance  Cuando yo tenía 15 años…  …no me gustaba comer zanahorias.  De niña, Marta era muy alta.

AL WEPT  L: location  La chica acampaba en el bosque. Estaba allí dos semanas.

AL WEPT  WE: weather  Hacía muy mal tiempo durante mis vacaciones.

AL WEPT  P: physical attributes  Mi padre era muy alto y mi madre era muy baja.

AL WEPT  T: time  Eran las 4:00 y todos teníamos mucha hambre.