Transcript 10.1 The imperfect tense

Preterite vs. Imperfect Uses
10.1 The imperfect tense
Repaso Rápido
 You have learned that the preterite is one past tense to express
actions and reactions that can be counted a specific number of
times, including one time implied.
 The imperfect is another past tense that is used to express
actions that can’t be counted.
 Habitual actions: “used to” (would=used to)
 Actions in progress: was/were + verbing
 The imperfect is also used to express non-action in the past.
 circumstances (time; background weather; what existed)
 descriptions in the past: (age; physical descriptions;
feelings as opposed to reactions)
Formation
of
the
Imperfect
10.1 The imperfect tense
 All but three verbs are regular in the imperfect.
That means no stem changes.
 To form the imperfect, just drop the –ar, -er, and
–ir infinitive endings and add the imperfect
endings.
10.1 The imperfect tense
cantar
beber
escribir
yo
cantaba
bebía
escribía
tú
cantabas
bebías
escribías
cantaba
bebía
escribía
SINGULAR
Ud. / él / ella
PLURAL
nosotros/as
cantábamos bebíamos escribíamos
vosotros/as
cantabais
bebíais
escribíais
Uds. / ellos / ellas
cantaban
bebían
escribían
10.1 The imperfect tense
¡ATENCIÓN!
 Verbs that end in –er and –ir have the same endings
in the imperfect.
 All forms of –er and –ir verbs in the imperfect carry an
accent mark on the first “í” of the ending.
 The first “á” of the nosotros ending for –ar verbs must
carry an accent mark.
You have
memorize
only three
irregular
10.1toThe
imperfect
tense
verbs in the imperfect tense!
ir
ser
ver
yo
iba
era
veía
tú
ibas
eras
veías
iba
era
veía
nosotros/as
íbamos
éramos
veíamos
vosotros/as
ibais
erais
veíais
Uds. / ellos / ellas
iban
eran
veían
SINGULAR
Ud. / él / ella
PLURAL
10.1 The imperfect tense
 El imperfecto of “hay” (there is/there are) is
había (there was; there were; there used to be).
Había un hombre en la iglesia.
There was one man in the church.
Había muchos hombres en la iglesia.
There were many men in the church.
 The word “habían” does not exist !
Special
meanings
10.1 The imperfect tense
Verb
Tener
Conocer
Saber
Poder
Querer
No querer
Preterite meaning
got
met
found out
managed to
tried to
refused to
Imperfect meaning
had
knew
knew
was able to (could)
wanted to
didn’t want to
10.1 The imperfect tense
 Notice that the imperfect of these special verbs
retains the original meaning of the verb infinitive to
express a state of mind or being in the past
(circumstance).
 The preterit changes the meaning into a countable
action.
 Por ejemplo:
Poder (imperfect) was able to; could = had the
ability to do something
Poder (preterit) manged to; = had the opportunity
to do something and did it
10.1 The imperfect tense
¡INTÉNTALO! Indica la forma correcta de cada verbo en
el imperfecto.
1. Yo _____ (hablar, correr, vivir, ir)
2. Tú _____ (nadar, beber, venir, ser)
3. Usted _____(caminar, hacer, asistir, ver )
4. Nosotras _____ (tomar, poner, dormir, ir)
5. Ellos _____(viajar, querer, salir, ser)
6. Ella _____ (dar, tener, pedir, ver)