Imperfect or PreteritMrs. HuffSpanish 3
Preterit Tense• Remember your wheel and your
giant/Grant chart of conjugations?• Need a copy of that chart?
é amos
aste
ó aron
í imos
iste
ió ieron
Imperfect Tense• Remember what we JUST took at test
over last week?
aba ábamos
abas
aba aban
ía íamos
ías
ía ían
What’s the difference?
• Both the PRETERIT and the IMPERFECT are tense about things that already happened, so . . .what’s the difference??• Title your notes: Reasons to use
the Preterit or Imperfect
Make a chart on your paper . . .Preterit TensePast Tense
Imperfect Tense
Preterit Tense1. One-time action
• It happened, it’s over• I FELL down the stairs.
2. Definite beginning and definite ending• Starting time and ending time• I GOT DRESSED for school.
3. Narration (of what happened)• Telling a story/sequence of events• Then I WENT into the cafeteria.
4. Interrupting action• An action that interrupts another action in the
past• He was doing his homework when I CALLED.
Imperfect Tense1. Ongoing action
• A past action in progress (was/were)• I WAS SLEEPING on my couch at 8:00.
2. Repeated action• Happened often (used to)• She USED TO PLAY with dolls.
3. No definite beginning or end• No start time and no real ending• When I WAS A CHILD, . . . .
4. Time/Date/Age/Feeling/Description• All of those . . • When I WAS 10 years old, I WAS skinny.
5. Interrupted activity• An action that gets interrupted• He WAS DOING his homework when I called.
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