Transcript El pretérito vs. el imperfecto

EL PASADO EN ESPAÑOL:
PARTE 1: El pretérito vs. el imperfecto
In Spanish, we use both the preterit and imperfect tenses to
describe actions that took place in the past. The question is,
how do we choose which tense to use?
Uses of the preterit tense (TAKING A POLEROID PICTURE):
The preterit tense is used to indicate a completed action in the past.
IN PARTICULAR, WE USE THE preterit FOR:
1. Completed actions stated as a simple fact.
2. A list of events in the past without much detail (not setting the stage for a story,
just listing the facts).
3. Actions which occurred at a specific moment in time/isolated actions.
Rosa escribió un texto a su novio.  Rosa wrote a text to her boyfriend.
This is preterit because Rosa has completed the specific action (writing a text).
Este fin de semana, vi a mis amigos el viernes. El sábado hice mucha tarea, y el
domingo, ayudé a mi mamá con la cena. 
Last weekend I saw my friends on Friday. On Saturday I did a lot of homework, and
on Sunday I helped my mom cook dinner.
This is preterit because it shows completed actions as simple facts/list of past events
without much detail.
Ana llegó tarde a la escuela.  Ana arrived late to school..
This is preterit because it is an action that happened in a specific moment in
time/isolated action.
Uses of the imperfect tense (SETTING THE STAGE/DESCRIPTIONS. THE
CAMERA IS RECORDING…)
The imperfect tense is used to indicate habitual actions in the past (“I always used
to…”), an action that happened in the past but still is true or happening now, or an
action that has no beginning or end time. It is also used to “set the stage” or “describe
the situation” when you are telling a story.
IN PARTICULAR, WE USE THE IMPERFECT FOR:
1. To express what “used to” happen, or happened repeatedly in the past. Words
like “nunca,” “siempre,” are used to show habits in the past (imperfect).
Siempre hacía mi tarea cuando era pequeño.  I always did my homework when I
was little.
This is imperfect because it describes something that used to happen repeatedly in the
past
Cuando era niño, yo iba a la casa de mis abuelos cada verano.  When I was a kid, I
used to go to my grandparents’ house every summer.
This is imperfect because it describes something that I “used to” do every summer. It
also has no beginning or end time.
2. To describe characteristics of persons or things in the past. (descriptions)
Tom era rubio y tenía los ojos azules.  Tom was blonde and had blue eyes.
3. To describe a state of mind, feeling, emotion, physical condition or attitude in the
past (specifically for past actions that do not have a beginning/end time and/or might
still reach into the present moment).
María siempre quería ser doctor.  María always wanted to be a doctor
This is imperfect because it describes a state of mind in the past that might still be true
today. using the verb “querer.”
Ana estaba enferma ayer.  Ana was sick yesterday. (physical condition that might
still be true)
Mi papá estaba muy enojado anoche My dad was really mad last night. (emotion
that might still be true)
4. To express time in the past .
Eran las cinco cuando Paco llegó a su casa.  It was five o’clock when Paco arrived
home. (time)
5. To express a person’s age when an event took place.
Cuando Elena tenía 5 años, fue a Disneyland. When Elena was 5 years old, she went
to Disneyland.
This is imperfect because it expresses the time of day in the past. ** notice that “she
went” (fue) is preterit because it happened once/was an isolated event.
6. Setting the stage/scenery for a story (DESCRIPTION).
Era un día muy bonita y los pájaros estaban cantando en el parque. Estaba andando
por la calle cuando…  It was a pretty day and the birds were singing in the park. I was
walking down the street when…
This is imperfect because it is setting the stage/scenery for my story. I am not just
listing simple facts but instead giving details about an event.
7. To replace the past progressive (i.e. what was happening - was/were + “-ing”).
Los pájaros cantaban  The birds were singing.
This is imperfect because it describes what was happening, using was/were + an “-ing”
word (“singing”).
Using the preterit and imperfect together:
Sometimes, as seen in the last example above, the preterit and imperfect can be used
together. This most often happens when something WAS HAPPENING when another
action interrupts it.
Mónica estaba estudiando cuando su novio le llamó por teléfono.
Monica was studying when her boyfriend called her on the phone.
EXCEPTIONS TO IMPERFECT RULES:
- WEATHER
- EMOTIONS, PHYSICAL CONDITIONS, STATE OF MIND, ATTITUDES
If you are ONLY stating a fact (no details, such as reading the weather report in the
paper) OR if you think of the situation as A COMPLETED ACTION (FINISHED, no new
discussion about it), you may use the PRETÉRITO.
ESTAR (pretérito)
estuve
estuviste
estuvo
yo
tú
él,ella, usted
dance?)
nosotros estuvimos
ellos/ustedes
estuvieron
WEATHER
(pretérito)
hizo calor
hizo frío
ESTAR (imperfecto)
estaba
Examples of PRETÉRITO
estabas
Juan: ¿Por qué no fuiste al baile?
estaba
(Why didn’t you go to the
estábamos
estaban
(imperfecto)
hacía calor
hacía frío
María: Porque estuve cansada.
(Because I was tired.)
Newspaper: Ayer, hizo 65 grados.
(Yesterday it reached 65 degrees.)
Here is another
way to remember:
¡A PRACTICAR!
¿El pretérito o el imperfecto? – ¡Escógelo, escríbelo, y defiéndelo!
Translate each sentence below. Then, indicate the tense you used and state the rule
you used to decide whether the verb(s) should be in the preterit or imperfect tense.
Modelo: It was nine o’clock.
Eran las nueve.
Regla: imperfecto/time
1.) She went home.
Regla:
pretérito/completed action
2.) Marisa arrived at three o’clock.
Regla:
pretérito/completed action
3.) We used to play soccer a lot.
Regla:
4.) He was 25 years old.
Regla:
imperfecto/ “used to” – habitual
action
imperfecto/age
5.) I saw an accident this morning.
Regla:
6.) We didn’t go to the beach yesterday.
Regla:
7.) We went to the beach every summer.
Regla:
pretérito/completed action,
specific moment in time
pretérito/completed (action did
not occur)
imperfecto/habitual action
8.) They were studying when Carlos called. *Reglas: Interrupted action/-ing in the past
MÁS PRÁCTICA: ¿Pretérito o imperfecto?
Choose whether each of the following statements would require using the preterit or imperfect
tense in Spanish by circling “P” for preterit and “I” for imperfect:
P
1.)_______
I ran five miles yesterday.
I
2.) _______
It was four o’clock.
I
3.) _______
He was reading the newspaper.
P
4.) _______
She studied for two hours last night.
I
5.) _______
We went to Canada every year in the summer.
I
6.) _______
I used to ride my bike all day long.
I
7.) _______
Wow! Was she angry! (she still might be angry)
P
8.) _______You
arrived at the hotel in the afternoon.
P
9.) _______The
cat jumped out of the window.
I
10.) _______He
was wearing a black leather jacket.
P
11.) _______
We lost the match.
I
12.) _______
We were so sad. (we might still be sad)
P
13.) _______
They vacationed in Hawaii last year.
I
14.) _______They
always used to vacation in Florida.
P
15.) _______They
never arrived last night.
P
16.) _______
Did you have to work last Saturday?
P
17.) _______
The dog ran after the mailman.
PARTE 2: EL IMPERFECTO
EL IMPERFECTO:
El imperfecto de los verbos que terminan en “-ar”
Verb Endings:
Yo -aba
Tú -abas
Él/Ella/Ud. -aba
Nosotros -ábamos
Ellos/Ellas/ -aban
Uds.
hablar – to talk
(Yo) hablaba
(Tú) hablabas
(Él/Ella) hablaba
(Nosotros) hablábamos
(Ellos/Ellas) hablaban
El imperfecto de los verbos que terminan en “-er” e “-ir”
Verb Endings:
Yo -ía
Tú -ías
Él/Ella/Ud. -ía
Nosotros -íamos
Vosotros -íais
Ellos/Ellas/ -ían
Uds.
tener – to have
tenía
tenías
tenía
teníamos
teníais
tenían
vivir – to live
vivía
vivías
vivía
vivíamos
vivíais
vivían
El imperfecto de ser, ir, y ver:
SER – to be
Yo
era
Tú
eras
Él/Ella/Ud.
era
Nosotros
éramos
Ellos/Ellas/Uds.
eran
IR– to go
iba
ibas
iba
íbamos
iban
VER – to see
veía
veías
veía
veíamos
veían
¡A PRACTICAR!
Fill in the chart below with the imperfect endings.
- aba
- ía
- ía
- abas
- ías
- ías
- aba
- ía
- ía
- ábamos
- íamos
- íamos
- aban
- ían
- ían
Write all the imperfect tense forms of the verbs below.
hablar
hablaba
Yo
______________
hablabas
Tú
______________
hablaba
Él/Ella/Ud.
______________
hablábamos
Nosotros
______________
hablaban
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. ______________
comer
comía
_____________
comías
_____________
comía
_____________
comíamos
_____________
comían
_____________
escribir
escribía
_______________
escribías
_______________
escribía
_______________
escribíamos
_______________
escribían
_______________
llevar
llevaba
Yo
______________
llevabas
Tú
______________
llevaba
Él/Ella/Ud.
______________
llevábamos
Nosotros
______________
llevaban
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. ______________
tener
tenía
_____________
tenías
_____________
tenía
_____________
teníamos
_____________
tenían
_____________
decidir
decidía
_______________
decidías
_______________
decidía
_______________
decidíamos
_______________
decidían
_______________
cantar
cantaba
Yo
______________
cantabas
Tú
______________
cantaba
Él/Ella/Ud.
______________
cantábamos
Nosotros
______________
cantaban
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. ______________
querer
quería
_____________
querías
_____________
quería
_____________
queríamos
_____________
querían
_____________
vivir
vivía
_______________
vivías
_______________
vivía
_______________
vivíamos
_______________
vivían
_______________
ser
Yo
______________
era
Tú
______________
eras
Él/Ella/Ud.
______________
era
Nosotros
______________
éramos
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. ______________
eran
ir
_____________
iba
_____________
ibas
_____________
iba
_____________
íbamos
_____________
iban
ver
_______________
veía
_______________
veías
_______________
veía
_______________
veíamos
_______________
veían
PARTE 3: EL PRETÉRITO
Here are all the preterit forms or regular –ar, -er, and –ir verbs:
comprar = to buy (-ar endings: é, aste, ó, amos, aron)
(Yo) compré
(Tú) compraste
(Él/Ella/Ud.) compró
(Nosotros) compramos
(Ellos/Ellas/Uds.) compraron
comer = to eat (-er endings: í, iste, ió, imos, ieron)
(Yo) comí
(Tú) comiste
(Él/Ella/Ud.) comió
Nosotros) comimos
(Ellos/Ellas/Uds.) comieron
vivir = to live (-ir endings: í, iste, ió, imos, ieron)
(Yo) viví
(Tú) viviste
(Él/Ella/Ud.) vivió
(Nosotros) vivimos
(Ellos/Ellas/Uds.) vivieron
•–ar and –er verbs that have a stem change in the present tense do not have a stem
change in the preterit.
encontrar – to find (ue):
Encuentro dinero en la calle.
Ayer, encontré dinero en la calle.
volver – to return (ue):
Siempre vuelvo a casa a las cinco de la tarde.
Ayer, volví a las seis de la tarde.
• in the preterit, verbs whose infinitive ends in –gar or –car have a spelling change in
the yo form. All of their other preterit forms are regular.
pagar  yo pagué
llegar  yo llegué
jugar  yo jugué
sacar  yo saqué
buscar  yo busqué
tocar  yo toqué
¡A PRACTICAR!
¡A PRACTICAR!
Fill in the chart below with the preterit endings for REGULAR verbs.
-é
-í
-í
- aste
-iste
-iste
-ó
- ió
- ió
- amos
- imos
- imos
- aron
- ieron
- ieron
Write all the preterit tense forms of the verbs below.
hablar
hablé
Yo
______________
hablaste
Tú
______________
habló
Él/Ella/Ud.
______________
hablamos
Nosotros
______________
hablaron
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. ______________
comer
comí
_____________
comiste
_____________
comió
_____________
comimos
_____________
comieron
_____________
escribir
_______________
escribí
_______________
escribiste
_______________
escribió
_______________
escribimos
_______________
escribieron
llevar
llevé
Yo
______________
llevaste
Tú
______________
llevó
Él/Ella/Ud.
______________
llevamos
Nosotros
______________
llevaron
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. ______________
perder
perdí
_____________
perdiste
_____________
perdió
_____________
perdimos
_____________
perdieron
_____________
decidir
decidí
_______________
decidiste
_______________
decidió
_______________
decidimos
_______________
decidieron
_______________
cantar
canté
Yo
______________
cantaste
Tú
______________
cantó
Él/Ella/Ud.
______________
cantamos
Nosotros
______________
cantaron
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. ______________
correr
corrí
_____________
corriste
_____________
corrió
_____________
corrimos
_____________
corrieron
_____________
vivir
viví
_______________
viviste
_______________
vivió
_______________
vivimos
_______________
vivieron
_______________
trabajar
Yo
______________
trabajé
Tú
______________
trabajaste
Él/Ella/Ud.
______________
trabajó
Nosotros
______________
trabajamos
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. ______________
trabajaron
vender
_____________
vendí
_____________
vendiste
_____________
vendió
_____________
vendimos
_____________
vendieron
salir
_______________
salí
_______________
saliste
_______________
salió
_______________
salimos
_______________
salieron
LOS VERBOS IRREGULARES EN EL PRETÉRITO:
Of course, there are always some exceptions to the rule. In the preterit, there are
some verbs that undergo a stem-change and also have some irregularities in their
endings. Some of these verbs are:
estar, hacer, poder, poner, querer, tener, venir, decir
Fortunately, these verbs do share some similarities so they will not be
that difficult to create and use in your everyday Spanish.
All of these verbs have a unique stem change in the preterit tense:
estar  estuv poner  pus
venir  vin
hacer hic
querer  quis decir  dij
poder pud
tener  tuv
andar  anduv
This stem-change applies to all persons in the preterit tense. These verbs have a set of
endings different from “regular” verbs:
Yo  -e
Tú  -iste
Él/Ella/Ud.  -o
Nosotros  -imos
Ellos/Ellas/Uds.  -ieron
EJEMPLO: estuve en clase.
EJEMPLO: Tuve un accidente en el carro.
Finally, three last verbs you should know in the preterit tense are:
IR
SER
DAR
Yo
fui
fui
di
Tú
fuiste
fuiste
diste
Él/Ella Ud.
fue
fue
dio
Nosotros
fuimos
fuimos
dimos
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. fueron
fueron
dieron
¡Practicamos los verbos irregulares en el pretérito!
Give the preterit stem for each of the following verbs:
tuv
Tener  _________
pus
Poner  _________
vin
Venir _________
hic
Hacer  _________
Querer  quis
________
dij
Decir _________
Give the preterit endings that go with the above verbs.
e
Yo ________
iste
Tú ________
o
Él/Ella/Ud. ________
imos
Nosotros ________
ieron
Ellos/Ellas/Uds. ________
pud
Poder _________
estuv
Estar  _________
anduv
Andar _________
Write all six preterit tense forms of the following verbs:
Yo
Tú
Él/Ella Ud.
Nosotros
Ellos/Ellas/Uds.
estar
estuve
________________
estuviste
________________
estuvo
________________
estuvimos
________________
estuvieron
________________
hacer
hice
______________
hiciste
______________
hizo
______________
hicimos
______________
hicieron
______________
poner
puse
___________________
pusiste
___________________
puso
___________________
pusimos
___________________
pusieron
___________________
Yo
Tú
Él/Ella Ud.
Nosotros
Ellos/Ellas/Uds.
tener
________________
tuve
________________
tuviste
________________
tuvo
________________
tuvimos
________________
tuvieron
poder
pude
______________
pudiste
______________
pudo
______________
pudimos
______________
pudieron
______________
venir
vine
___________________
viniste
___________________
vino
___________________
vinimos
___________________
vinieron
___________________
Yo
Tú
Él/Ella Ud.
Nosotros
Ellos/Ellas/Uds.
andar
anduve
________________
anduviste
________________
anduvo
________________
anduvimos
________________
anduvieron
________________
querer
quise
______________
quisiste
______________
quiso
______________
quisimos
______________
quisieron
______________
decir
dije
___________________
dijiste
___________________
dijo
___________________
dijimos
___________________
dijeron
___________________