PRETERITE VS. IMPERFECT 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

Phrases that indicate use of the preterite Ayer - yesterday Anoche – last night Desde el primer momento - from the first moment El otro día – the other day En ese momento – at that moment Esta mañana – this morning El año pasado – last year Hace dos días – two days ago Ayer por la tarde – yesterday afternoon Esta tarde – this afternoon La semana pasada – last week El mes pasado – last month

When to use the Imperfect To state in general when an action took place To describe background information – setting the stage as in a play To express weather (when not a sudden event) To tell time To tell age To describe physical and mental states and conditions, including feelings To express habitual (repeating) actions To express what used to happen To express what was/were…ing (-ando, -iendo) – estar forms are in the imperfect (estaba, etc)

Phrases that indicate use of the Imperfect A menudo - often A veces – at times Cada día – every day Cada año – every year Cada mes – every month Nunca - never Frecuentemente/ Con frecuencia - frequently Generalmente - generally Muchas veces – many times Mucho – a lot De vez en cuando – from time to time

¡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 Preterite Querer- tried No querer-refused Conocer-met Saber-found out Poder-succeeded Imperfect Querer-wanted No querer- didn’t want Conocer-knew Saber-knew Poder-was able

Examples of the preterite tense Paco trabajó al supermercado hace dos años. Paco worked at the supermarket 2 years ago. Yo leí el periódico ayer por la tarde. I read the newspaper yesterday afternoon. Comimos una torta a la fiesta el viernes pasado. We ate a cake at the party last Friday.

Examples of the imperfect tense Hacía mal tiempo. It was bad weather. Yo tenía miedo de la tormenta. I was afraid of the storm. Mi abuelo tenía 84 años. My grandfather was 84 years old. Mi padre era un chico malo. My father was a bad boy.

Examples of the preterite vs. the imperfect tenses Beto estudió anoche. Beto studied last night. Beto estudiaba todas las noches. Beto used to study every night. Beto estudiaba cuando se durmió. Beto was studying when he fell asleep.