How Do You Know When to Use the Preterite or Imperfect Tense in Spanish
Preterite vs Imperfect: A Beginner's Guide to the Past Tense in Spanish
Set up for a nail from the past?
As you may know, Spanish has two past tenses: preterite and imperfect. It's frequently catchy to know which to use when, since they both refer to deportment in the past. Fortunately, several general guidelines exist to help you realize when to apply preterite vs imperfect.
It'due south also helpful to know which Spanish phrases trigger the apply of either the preterite or the imperfect, so we'll have a look at those later.
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Preterite vs Imperfect Conjugation Rules
The preterite tells y'all precisely when something happened in the past, while the imperfect tells you lot in general terms when an action took place with no definite ending. Here'due south a quick wait at how to conjugate regular verbs in the preterite and imperfect forms.
Be sure to bank check out our post on All You Ever Needed to Know About Spanish Simple Past Tense Verbs for a thorough rundown of both regular and irregular preterite verb conjugations.
Preterite: Regular -ar Verbs
-é
-aste
-ó
-amos
-aron
For instance: hablar (to talk) becomes yo hablé, tú hablaste, él/ella/Ud. habló, nosotros hablamos, and ellos/Uds. hablaron
Preterite: Regular -er and -ir Verbs
-í
-iste
-ió
-imos
-ieron
Examples
Correr (to run): corrí, corriste, corrió, corrimos, corrieron
Abrir (to open up): abrí, abriste, abrió, abrimos, abrieron
Imperfect: Regular -ar Verbs
-aba
-abas
-aba
-ábamos
-abais
-aban
So, hablar in this form becomes hablaba, hablabas, hablaba, hablábamos, hablaban.
Imperfect: Regular -er and -ir Verbs
-ía
-ías
-ía
-íamos
-ían
Examples
Correr (to run): corría, corrías, corría, corríamos, corrían
Abrir (to open): abría, abrías, abría, abríamos, abrían
El Preterito
Phrases that Trigger the Preterite
A handful of words and phrases indicate specific time frames that signal the use of the preterite (vs imperfect). Allow's take a look at some of them!
una vez – one fourth dimension/in one case
el otro día – the other day
ayer – yesterday
anoche – last dark
la semana pasada – last week
el mes pasado – concluding month
el año pasado – final year
en ese momento – at that moment
durante (cinco) siglos – for (v) centuries
desde el primer momento – from the starting time moment
ayer por la tarde – yesterday afternoon
hoy por la mañana – this morning
hace (diez) años – (10) years ago
hace (tres) días – (three) days agone
Verbs that (Nigh) Always Use the Preterite
Furthermore, verbs used to discuss events with a sure beginning and end are almost e'er used in the preterite. Por ejemplo:
casarse – to marry
graduarse – to graduate
cumplir años – to accept a altogether
llegar – to arrive
darse cuenta de – to realize
morir – to die
decidir – to decide
nacer – to be built-in
descubrir – to discover
salir – to leave
Yous might also similar to read:
- Venir vs Llegar: They Don't Mean the Same Matter
- How to Apply 'Darse Cuenta' in Castilian Conversation
El Preterito Imperfecto
On the other hand, yous'll be using the imperfect tense to talk about past actions without a definite end. Peradventure they are yet to exist completed or they refer to a full general fourth dimension in the past. The imperfect course is typically used for: habitually repeated actions; time and dates; someone'due south age in the past; characteristics; and mental or physical states.
Phrases that Trigger the Imperfect
Lucky for y'all, there are as well a bunch of words and phrases that tend to signal that a verb should be used in the imperfect!
a menudo – often
frecuentemente – frequently
rara vez – rarely
a veces – sometimes
generalmente – usually
siempre – always
algunas veces – at times
mientras – while
todos los años – every twelvemonth
cada día – every 24-hour interval
muchas veces – many times
todo el tiempo – all the time
con frecuencia – ofttimes
casi nunca – well-nigh never
por lo general – generally
todos los días – every twenty-four hours
de vez en cuando – once in a while
por un rato – for a while
en aquella época – at that time
Preterite vs Imperfect Examples
These past tense forms are frequently used to talk about an ongoing action or consequence that was interrupted. Here, the interrupted activity uses the imperfect tense, while the interrupting action uses the preterite.
For case:
Caminaba a la biblioteca cuando me encontré con el amor de mi vida.
I was walking to the library when I met the love of my life.
Juana y Alberto hablaban de la reunión cuando llegué a la oficina.
Juana and Alberto were talking about the coming together when I got to the part.
Preterite vs Imperfect Statements
The rule of thumb for determining which tense to apply is that the preterite talks about what yous did, and the imperfect talks about what you were doing or what you used to practise. Notice how the meaning changes for these verbs in the preterite vs the imperfect.
| Preterite | Imperfect |
| Conocí al presidente de la organización. I met the president of the organization. | Conocía al presidente de la organización. I knew the president of the organisation. |
| Ya supieron del concierto. They already constitute out about the concert. | Ya sabían del concierto. They already knew most the concert. |
| Ella tuvo una carta de su amiga. She received a letter from her friend. | Ella tenía una carta de su amiga. She had a letter from her friend. |
| Quise encontrar la tienda. I tried to detect the store. | Quería encontrar la tienda. I wanted to observe the store. |
| Yo no quise ir al centro comercial. I refused to go to the shopping eye. | Yo no quería ir al centro comercial. I didn't want to go to the shopping center. |
| No pudimos abrir la cuenta. We failed to open the account. | No podíamos abrir la cuenta. We were unable to open the account. |
| Toqué el piano. I played the piano. | Yo tocaba el piano. I used to play the piano. |
| Me comí las fresas. I ate the strawberries. | Yo comía las fresas. I was eating strawberries./I used to eat strawberries. |
Preterite vs Imperfect Exercises
To exam your knowledge of when to use the preterite versus the imperfect, fill in the blank(s) past correctly conjugating the verbs in parenthesis.
i. Cuando era niña, ________ (JUGAR) con muñecas.
ii. Los chicos ________ (HABLAR) en español.
3. Yo ________ (ESTAR) durmiendo cuando el teléfono ________ (SONAR).
4. Cuando Ana _______ (TENER) tres años, ________ (SER) muy pequeña.
5. Mi hermano nunca me ________ (LLAMAR) antes de las once
6. Ella nunca me ________ (DAR) ningún regalo.
7. Entonces Jessica ________ (EMPEZAR) a tocar la música.
8. Los gemelos ________ (TENER) seis años de edad cuando _______ (NACER) su hermanita.
9. Yo ________ (PINTARSE) el pelo ayer.
10. Don Quijote siempre _______ (HACER) locuras por una dama, que ________ (LLAMARSE) Dulcinea.
Check out the reply key here!
Preterite vs Imperfect Grammar Study Activities
Looking for some more ways to study and practice with the by tense in Spanish? Here are a few fun ideas:
- Use storytelling to practice the simple by verb tenses. Tell your teacher or language partner a story and ask them to correct your mistakes. Side by side, enquire them to tell you a story, and pay close attention to their verb tenses.
- Lookout your favorite Telly shows, videos, or movies with Castilian subtitles turned on. When a character talks virtually the past, make notation of how the preterite versus the imperfect is used in the subtitles.
- Take do quizzes like this i to continue to solidify your skills!
Don't Dwell on the Past
Mastering Spanish grammar is tough! Practicing with some other person who can give you feedback and constructive criticism is one of the most efficient ways to improve. Homeschool Spanish Academy offers flexible and fun Spanish classes for every level. Our native Spanish-speaking teachers from Guatemala are eager to aid you in communicating nearly the by, present, and future. Sign up now for a costless trial to see how quickly y'all tin can gain Castilian fluency.
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Answer Central
i. jugaba
2. hablaban
3. estaba, sonó
4. tenía, era
five. llamaba
6. daba
7. empezó
viii. tenían, nació
ix. me pinté
10. hacía, se llamaba
- Author
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Michelle Margaret Fajkus is a bilingual writer and longtime yoga teacher. A former advert copywriter turned bilingual elementary school teacher, she is now a freelance writer, editor and translator. A native Texan, Michelle has Mexican roots and learned Castilian in middle and loftier school. She has become more fluent cheers to living as an expat in Guatemala. She lives with her family unit on beautiful Lake Atitlan.
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Source: https://www.spanish.academy/blog/preterite-vs-imperfect-a-beginners-guide-to-the-past-tense-in-spanish/
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