Transcript Verbs That Change Meaning in the Preterite and the Imperfect

Verbs That Change Meaning in
the Preterite and the Imperfect
Verbs That Change in Meaning
from Preterite to Imperfect Tenses
• A few Spanish verbs have different
meanings in the imperfect and the
preterite tenses:
• SABER
• CONOCER
• QUERER
• NO QUERER
• PODER
• TENER
Verbs That Change in Meaning
from Preterite to Imperfect Tenses
Use the imperfect if you want to
maintain the original meaning of
the verb.
The preterite conjugations of the
aforementioned verbs change the
meaning of the verb entirely.
SABER
• Imperfect – “knew”
• ¿Sabías que el concierto empezaba
tarde?
• Did you know that the concert began late?
• Preterite – “found out, learned”
• Sí, supe ayer que empezaba tarde.
• Yes, I found out that it began late.
CONOCER
• Imperfect – “knew (somebody)”
• Pedro conocía muy bien a esa actriz.
• Pedro knew that actress very well.
• Preterite – “met (somebody) for the first
time”
• Luis la conoció el año pasado.
• Luis met her last year.
QUERER
• Imperfect – “wanted to”
• Luis quería comprar las entradas hoy.
• Luis wanted to buy the tickets today.
• Preterite – “tried to, attempted to”
• Yo quise comprarlas, pero me enfermé.
• I tried to buy them but I got sick.
NO QUERER
• Imperfect – “didn’t want to”
• No querían ver esa película.
• They didn’t want to see that movie.
• Preterite – “refused to”
• No quisieron ver esa película.
• They refused to see that movie.
PODER
• Imperfect – “was able to, could”
• Ella podía ir al concierto con sus amigas
• She was able to go to the concert with her
friends.
• Preterite – “managed to, succeeded in”
• Ella pudo aprender a tocar la canción.
• She succeeded in learning how to play the song.
TENER
• Imperfect – “had”
• Nosotros teníamos un coche rojo.
• We used to have a red car.
• Preterite – “received”
• María tuvo una carta de su mamá.
• María received a letter from her mom.