Preterit and Imperfect We need both of these verbs to do a good job of telling what happened in the past. The preterit tells us what actually took place and the imperfect adds important details so we can understand why things might have happened.

Preterit: use your English to help you use the preterit by translating In English the regular endings of this verb are –ed endings: I climbed, I walked… When you add that ending to the verb in English it makes the action completed and in the past In Spanish the regular endings are: – -ar verbs like caminar: caminé, caminaste, caminó, caminamos, caminaron – -er/-ir verbs like comer: comí, comiste, comió, comimos, comieron – When you add these endings to the verbs in Spanish, it makes the action completed and in the past as well.

Preterit: conceptual approach Use the preterit when you want to talk about – Completed actions – One-time events – Sequences – beginnings and endings (AT what time something took place)

Preterit: contextual approach Use the Preterit when you use words like these to talk about actions in the past: Ayer, anteayer… A las 3:00 (when something happened AT a certain time) El mes pasado, la semana pasada, el verano pasado… De repente (all of a sudden) Un día… (one day…)

Imperfect: translation approach Use English to help you remember when to use the imperfect. If you need to say “was doing” or “used to do” something in Spanish, you need to add these endings to regular verbs: -ar: aba, abas, aba, ábamos, aban -er/ir: ía, ías, ía, íamos, ían Irregulars: ser-era…,ir-iba…,ver-veía…

Imperfect: conceptual approach Use the imperfect when you want to talk about… – Habitual, repetitive actions in the past – Describing people, places, events, physical and mental states – Simultaneous actions (lots of things going on at the same time) – Ongoing actions (interrupted by the preterit)~~/ – To say what time it was, the date, age – To describe the weather

Imperfect: contextual approach Use the imperfect when you use words like these to talk about what the past was like: – Todos los días – Generalmente – Usualmente – Constantemente – Frecuentemente – Cada día

Preterit vs Imperfect Preterit Translate: put Spanish endings on that equal “-ed” in English Concept: When you want to talk about completed actions or one-time events... Context: With words like ayer, la semana pasada, un día… Imperfect Translate: put Spanish endings on that equal “was doing” or “used to do” in English. Concept: When you want to talk about things you did all the time, descriptions of people or places, time/date/age/weather… Context: With words like todos los días, generalmente, siempre…

Extra Pret and Imp conjugation practice and Pret vs Imp practice &division=verbs&language=spanish &division=verbs&language=spanish hp/exam-preparation/online-practice- exercises hp/exam-preparation/online-practice- exercises