Pretérito vs Imperfecto Día 1The preterite tense is often called the simple past. It’s equivalent to the –ed endings we use.

Hablo HabléI talk I talkedAbres AbristeYou open You opened

Pretérito vs Imperfecto Día 1

Yo Nosotros Tú Vosotros UstedÉl Ella

UstedesEllos Ellas

Preterite endings for -ar verbs

-é

-aste

-ó

-amos-asteis

-aron

Pretérito vs Imperfecto Día 1

Yo Nosotros Tú Vosotros UstedÉl Ella

UstedesEllos Ellas

Preterite endings for -er / -ir verbs

-í

-iste

-ió

-imos-isteis

-ieron

Pretérito vs Imperfecto Día 1The imperfect tense is used for habits or ongoing action. It’s equivalent to when we use “was” ____-ing, or when you talk about what you “used to” do something.

Hablo HablabaI talk I was talking OR I used to talkAbres AbríasYou open You were opening OR you used to

open

Just as with the SpongeBob example in the bellwork, imperfect implies an action in progress, or a habit.

Pretérito vs Imperfecto Día 1

Yo Nosotros Tú Vosotros UstedÉl Ella

UstedesEllos Ellas

Imperfect endings for -ar verbs

-aba

-abas

-aba

-ábamos-abais

-aban

Pretérito vs Imperfecto Día 1

Yo Nosotros Tú Vosotros UstedÉl Ella

UstedesEllos Ellas

Imperfect endings for -er / -ir verbs

-ía

-ías

-ía

-íamos-íais

-ían

Preterite VS Imperfect1. Use for single, past

events, or a specific moment in time.

2. Use for a list of sequential actions.

3. Use for actions that interrupt ongoing action.

4. Use for verbs referring to the senses (hands, feet, eyes, ears, nose, mouth)

1. Action(s) in progress in the past (ex: was running)

2. Repeated, habitual actions (used to)

3. Interrupted action4. Telling what the time,

weather, or age was5. Descriptions or

physical/mental state

Ways to think about preterite vs. imperfect

1. The Timeline---If you think about the whole set of events on a timeline, preterite are the points, imperfect are the things you have to block off.

Yo aprendí del pretérito (an event on the line)

Recibí mi libro del español (a moment in time)

Yo aprendía el español (ongoing action happening along the line)

Ways to think about preterite vs. imperfect

2. Beginning/Middle/End---If you think about the beginning or the end of an action, it is preterite. If you are only focused on the middle, it’s imperfect.Yo caminaba todos los días. (I used to walk

every day)—Obviously, you started walking and stopped at some point, but you don’t care about that right now. All the speaker cares about is that the middle part occurred (the walking, not the starting or stopping).

Ways to think about preterite vs. imperfect

2. Beginning/Middle/End---If you think about the beginning or the end of an action, it is preterite. If you are only focused on the middle, it’s imperfect.Yo caminé, ayer. (I walked yesterday)—The

focus here is on the completion of this action. For whatever reason, it is important to the speaker that the listener know the walking was completed. The focus in on completion (beginning and end).

Ways to think about preterite vs. imperfect

2. Beginning/Middle/EndYo caminaba mucho de niño, y un día un

serpiente estaba en el camino. (I walked a lot as a kid, and one day a snake was in the path.)—No one cares when the snake arrived nor when it left. They care the snake was in the middle of being in the road when you were in the middle of walking in that same road.

Ways to think about preterite vs. imperfect

3. Action vs. Non-action---If the verb implies an action, or a moment of choice (even the act of refusing to act), it’s probably preterite. If the verb implies no change from the status quo, it’s probably imperfect.

Exceptions exist (see next slides)

Ways to think about preterite vs. imperfect

3. Action vs. Non-action

Exceptions: when actions take imperfect• Habitual acts (participating in your habit is

the normal state of affairs, not a change)• Moments in time (if acts are caught in

progress and we’re told what was happening when the speaker saw them, most of those are imperfect, because the focus in on the middle of the act not the beginning nor end).

Ways to think about preterite vs. imperfect

3. Action vs. Non-action

Exceptions: when actions take imperfect• Future in the past (there’s no good

explanation, just the rule that when you discuss what was going to happen, you use imperfect).o This includes moments reporting what

someone said. If they said they were going to do something, you use imperfect for that future action.

Ways to think about preterite vs. imperfect

3. Action vs. Non-action

Exceptions: when non-actions take preterite• Change of status quo (for instance, most the

time belief is a non-action verb and represents a status quo, but if something happens and you come to belief, you are acting. Think about religious conversions. Something happens and in a moment your religion changes.

Ways to think about preterite vs. imperfect

3. Action vs. Non-action

Exceptions: when non-actions take preterite• Reactions (This is putting in a new status

quo. For instance, I don’t like tofu, but one time I found a restaurant where the tofu was good and liked it. 99% of the time, “gustar” takes imperfect, but since my liking was a reaction to a particular food and not a habitual feeling about that food, it would be preterite).

Ways to think about preterite vs. imperfect

3. Action vs. Non-action

Exceptions: when non-actions take preterite• Moments changing status quo (an example

of this would be when you talk about knowing a fact or person. Generally, knowledge is spoken of in imperfect, since it is a state rather than a moment, but if you find something out or if you meet someone, there is a moment that changes the status quo and that is preterite).

Ways to think about preterite vs. imperfect

3. Action vs. Non-action

Exceptions: when non-actions take preterite• Time limits (Ex: Yo estaba enojado. VS. Yo

estuve enojado por dos horas. In the 2nd sentence, you have a definite start and end, so it must be preterite. It’s a point along a timeline. This is different from things like “when I was a child…” where the start and end aren’t really defined and the focus is your habit).

Ways to think about preterite vs. imperfect

4. Completed vs. Incomplete---If you speak of a past event, and treat it as completed within the time you discuss, it’s preterite. If you think of a past event thinking it was incomplete within the time period you’re talking about, it’s imperfect.Comí la cena. (Yesterday, I ate supper.)—You’re

talking about a completed act, viewing it as completed. It’s done. It’s preterite.

Ways to think about preterite vs. imperfect

4. Completed vs. IncompleteCuando éramos niños, pensábamos que nunca

ibamos a crecer. (When we were little, we thought we’d never grow up.)—You’re talking about when you were little, and for the entire period you’re discussing, that act was incomplete. This way of thinking has, probably, ended by now, but within the period you’re discussing, your view is that it was incomplete.

Ways to think about preterite vs. imperfect

5. Advancing Action vs. DetailsThe verbs of a story can be divided into two

kinds. • Verbs that advance the action (preterite). “I

walked down the street”• And verbs that don’t advance the action,

but add flavor (imperfect). “I was going to the store, when a cat attacked me.” The story isn’t about the going, it’s about the cat attack. The going is flavoring.