Transcript Preterite and Imperfect

Preterite and Imperfect Verbs
…the tricky past is present
The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.
- Lesley P. Hartley, The Go-Between, 1953
Uses for Preterite and Imperfect
Preterite
C
completed actions:
single actions or series of
actions
F
focus on beginning of
an action
F
focus on an actions
coming to an end
Imperfect
P
states
H
A
T
physical or emotional
C
O
W
continuing actions
ongoing situations
weather
habitual actions
age
time
Other situations
 Something was happening, when an action
‘interrupted’ it.
The ongoing action is imperfect, and the action that
‘interrupts’ is preterite.
 In a long narrative.
The part that seems to be descriptive, background
info is imperfect, while actions and specific events are
preterite.
Practice
While I was walking in
Florida, I saw a gator (el
caimán).
Mientras caminaba en
Florida, vi a un caimán.
(interruption of an ongoing action)
Practice
I left Florida, and went
to Belize. It was sunny
when I arrived!
Salí de Florida, y fui a
Belize. Hacía mucho
sol cuando llegué.
(action, weather, action)
Practice
It was four o’clock
when my mom
sent me an e-mail.
Eran las cuatro
cuando mi madre
me mandó un email.
She was sad, because
she missed (echar de
menos) me.
Estaba triste, porque me
echaba de menos.
(time, action, emotion, emotion)
Imperfect Formation
Regulares
Irregulares
escuchar
ir
yo escuchaba
nosotros
escuch‡bamos
tњ escuchabas
Ud. escuchaba
Ћl/ella
Uds.
ellos/ellas
escuchaban
nosotros
viv’amos
Uds.
ellos/ellas
viv’an
Uds.
ellos/ellas
iban
yo era
nosotros
Ћramos
Ud. era
Ћl/ella
Uds.
ellos/ellas
eran
nosotros
ve’amos
Uds.
ellos/ellas
ve’an
ver
nosotros
beb’amos
tњ beb’as
Ud. beb’as
Ћl/ella
Ud. iba
Ћl/ella
tњ eras
beber
yo beb’a
’bamos
ser
tњ viv’as
Ud. viv’a
Ћl/ella
nosotros
tњ ibas
vivir
yo viv’a
yo iba
yo ve’a
tњ ve’as
Uds.
ellos/ellas
beb’an
Ud. ve’a
Ћl/ella
Preterite Formation
Regular verbs
Irregular verbs
(no ТrulesУ, you must memorize them)
ser/ir
cantar
yo
cantЋ
tњ
cantaste
Ud.
cant—
Ћl/ella
nosotros
cantamos
Uds.
ellos/ellas
cantaron
nosotros
bebimos
Uds.
ellos/ellas
bebieron
fuimos
Uds.
ellos/ellas
fueron
yo
tuve
tњ
tuviste
Ud.
tuvo
Ћl/ella
nosotros
tuvimos
Uds.
ellos/ellas
tuvieron
nosotros
dormimos
Uds.
ellos/ellas
durmieron
dormir
vivir
yo
viv’
tњ
viviste
Ud.
vivi—
Ћl/ella
nosotros
tener
beber
yo
beb’
tњ
bebiste
Ud.
bebi—
Ћl/ella
yo
fui
tњ
fuiste
Ud.
fue
Ћl/ella
nosotros
vivimos
Uds.
ellos/ellas
vivieron
yo
dorm’
tњ
dormiste
Ud.
durmi—
Ћl/ella
Yolanda’s Scary Experience
QuickTime™ and a
H.263 decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Preterite and Imperfect - As you view this video of Yolanda’s surprising
experience as a hotel receptionist, write down as many preterite and imperfect
verbs as you hear. After the video, we will go through them together and
discuss why they were used.
Web Resource
More
s
Practice
Preterite and Imperfect Practice
http://www.colby.edu/~bknelson/exercises/superhombre.html
Grammar Help
Preterite vs. Imperfect
http://php.indiana.edu/~jsoto/PreteritoImperfecto.html
Online Verb Tutorial
http://www.studyspanish.com/verbs/index.htm