Copyright © 2014 Vista Higher Learning. All rights reserved.11.1-1 The preterite and the imperfect are not interchangeable. The choice between these two.

Presentación del tema: "Copyright © 2014 Vista Higher Learning. All rights reserved.11.1-1 The preterite and the imperfect are not interchangeable. The choice between these two."— Transcripción de la presentación:

1 Copyright © 2014 Vista Higher Learning. All rights reserved.11.1-1 The preterite and the imperfect are not interchangeable. The choice between these two tenses depends on the context and on the point of view of the speaker.

2 Copyright © 2014 Vista Higher Learning. All rights reserved.11.1-2

3 Copyright © 2014 Vista Higher Learning. All rights reserved.11.1-3

4 Copyright © 2014 Vista Higher Learning. All rights reserved.11.1-4 When the preterite and the imperfect appear in the same sentence, the imperfect describes what was happening, while the preterite describes the action that “interrupted” the ongoing activity. Navegaba en la red cuando sonó el teléfono. Maite leía el periódico cuando llegó Álex. I was surfing the Web when the phone rang. Maite was reading the newspaper when Álex arrived.

5 Copyright © 2014 Vista Higher Learning. All rights reserved.11.1-5 You will see the preterite and the imperfect together in narratives such as fiction, news, and retelling of events. The imperfect provides background information, such as time, weather, and location. The preterite indicates the specific events that occurred.

6 Copyright © 2014 Vista Higher Learning. All rights reserved.11.1-6 Eran las dos de la mañana y el detective ya no podía mantenerse despierto. Se bajó lentamente del coche, estiró las piernas y levantó los brazos hacia el cielo oscuro. La luna estaba llena y no había en el cielo ni una sola nube. De repente, el detective escuchó un grito espeluznante proveniente del parque. It was two in the morning, and the detective could no longer stay awake. He slowly stepped out of the car, stretched his legs, and raised his arms toward the dark sky. The moon was full and there wasn ’ t a single cloud in the sky. Suddenly, the detective heard a terrifying scream coming from the park.

7 Copyright © 2014 Vista Higher Learning. All rights reserved.11.1-7