Pretérito v. Imperfecto SAFE WATERS

Let’s review the preterite! -AR -ER/-IR é amos í imos aste asteis iste isteis ó aron ió ieron *Don’t forget about JUICE!

When to use the preterite… Now that you have mastered conjugating verbs in the preterite tense, you must learn when to use it. Usually, the preterite tense is used when talking about actions that were completed in the past at a specific point in time. The acronym SAFE will help you to remember the types of situations that require the preterite tense!

Specific instance or number of instances; completed S Ejemplo: Paco me llamó ayer. Paco called me yesterday. Le llamó tres veces. He called him three times. S

Action that interrupts ongoing events Ejemplo: Mi mamá tocó la puerta mientras yo dormía. My mom knocked on the door while I was sleeping.

F Focus on beginning or ending of an action Ejemplo: Llovió a las seis y media en punto. It rained at exactly 6:30. La fiesta terminó a las once. The party ended at 11:00. F

Enclosed amount of time (timeline) e Ejemplo: Los árabes controlaron mucho de España por más que 700 años. The Arabs controlled much of Spain for over 700 years. e

Let’s review the imperfect! -AR -ER/-IR aba ábamos ía íamos abas abais ías íais aba aban ía ían *Don’t forget that ser, ver, and ir are irregular!

When to use the imperfect… Now that you have mastered conjugating verbs in the imperfect tense, you must learn when to use it. Usually, the imperfect tense is used when talking about actions that were ongoing or repeated in the past. The acronym WATERS will help you to remember the types of situations that require the imperfect tense!

Weather Ejemplo: Llovía. It was raining. W

A Age Ejemplo: Cuando tenía tres años, quería ser bombera. When I was three, I wanted to be a firefighter.

Time Ejemplo: Eran las cuatro. It was 4:00. t

Emotion/Attitude Ejemplo: Estaba muy emocionada. I was very excited. E

Repeated action; continuous r Ejemplo: Yo visitaba a mi abuela cada verano. I visited my grandma every summer. r

Setting/Location and Description s Ejemplo: Los estudiantes estaban en la clase de historia. The students were in history class. s

Una rima Imperfect happened more than once, preterite was not repeated, imperfect was still happening, preterite was completed.