Imperfect Tense is the other PAST tense used in Spanish. How is it different from Preterite?

Imperfect Tense Imperfect Tense is used to describe on-going or habitual actions done in the PAST. Ex. Yo aprendía el español. I used to learn (was learning) Spanish.

She ran to school yesterday. completed action done in the past She used to run to school everyday. ongoing action, no definite beginning or end

Forming the Imperfect Tense of Regular Verbs -AR, -ER and -IR

Imperfect Tense Regular –AR Verbs hablar=to speak hablaba=I was speaking hablabas=you (inf.) were speaking hablaba=He,she, you (form.) was/were speaking hablábamos=we were speaking hablaban=they/you-all were speaking

Imperfect Tense Regular -ER Verbs aprender=to learn aprendía=I was learning aprendías=you (inf.) were learning aprendía=He,she, you (form.) was/were learning aprendíamos=we were learning aprendían=they/you-all were learning

Imperfect Tense Regular -IR Verbs vivir=to live vivía=I was living vivías=you (inf.) were living vivía=He,she, you (form.) was/were living vivíamos=we were living vivían=they/you-all were living

Imperfect Tense can be translated one of two ways in English.

Imperfect Tense -ing in the past Ex. We were writing. or “used to” Ex. We used to write. There is no term for “used to.” It is understood in the Imperfect Tense.

Imperfect Tense Yo corrí. Yo corría. Remember, using the Imperfect is different than the Preterite. Both are past tenses…but… COMPLETED ON-GOING I ran VS I used to/was going to run. Yo corrí. Yo corría. So, “used to” or “-ing” in the past, usually triggers the Imperfect Tense.

Imperfect Tense Typical Phrases Most of the time, the following phrases indicate the need for the Imperfect Tense.

Typical Phrases associated with the Imperfect Tense: 1. everyday= todos los días 2. generally= generalmente 3. often= a menudo 4. everyweek= toda la semana 5. every year= todo el año 6. every night= toda la noche 7. always= siempre 8. every (day of the week)= todos los _______ 9. while= mientras

Imperfect Tense Vamos a practicar. Escribe en español: 1. Sara used to/was working with Sam every Tuesday. 2. Was she writing her homework often for class? 3. Were we studying French on Saturday’s? 4. They were working and we were sleeping everyday in class.

Irregular Verbs in the Imperfect Tense There are only three! 

Imperfect Tense ir=to go iba=I was going ibas=you (inf.) were going iba=he,she,you (formal) was/were going íbamos=we were going iban=they,you-all were going

Imperfect Tense ser=to be era=I was eras=you (inf.) were era=he,she,you (formal) was/were éramos=we were eran=they,you-all were

Imperfect Tense Examples of ser in Imperfect Tense: 1) I was nice while I was in school. Yo era simpática mientras yo estaba en escuela. (continuously, no beginning or end) 2) Were you-all teachers? ¿Eran profesores, Uds.?

Imperfect Tense ver=to see veía=I used to see veías=you (inf.) used to see veía=he,she,you (formal) used to see veíamos=we used to see veían=they,you-all used to see