Español 4 AP/IB Señorita Aldemir

 The preterite tense is used to indicate the beginning or the end of an action or event occuring in the past.  It may also narrate a complete event (that is, both beginning and ending in the past).  Comenzó a leer el libro.  He began to read the book.  Cesó a llover a las cuatro.  It stopped raining at 4 o’clock.  Carlos y Ana me visitaron ayer.  Carlos and Ana visited me yesterday.

 Conocer (to know)  to meet/begin to know  Saber (to know)  to find out/begin to know  Tener (to have)  to get or receive  Querer (to want)  to want to or not (final decision)  Poder (to be able to)  to manage/finally be able to  Lo conocí en Buenos Aires.  I met him in Buenos Aires.  ¿Cuándo supieron la verdad?  When did they find out the truth?  Tuve una carta de ella esta mañana.  I received a letter from her this morning.  No quiso hacerlo.  He refused to do it.  Pude convencerle.  I managed to convince him.

 The imperfect tense is used to indicate the continuance of a past action or event, or to describe a situation in past time.  Neither the beginning nor the end of the event or situation is indicated.

 To express what was happening, used to happen, or happened repeatedly in the past.  Los pájaros cantaban.  The birds were singing.  Vivíamos en esta calle.  We used to live on this street.  Miguel a menudo llegaba tarde.  Miguel often would arrive late.  To describe persons or things in the past.  Pedro era rubio y tenía los ojos azules.  Pedro was blonde and had blue eyes.  La sala estaba llena de gente.  The living room was full of people.

 To describe a state of mind in the past, with verbs such as creer, pensar, querer, and saber.  Creíamos que era importante.  We believed it was important.  Querían comprar un coche nuevo.  They wanted to buy a new car.  To express a time of day in the past.  Eran las ocho.  It was 8 o’clock.

 Use this construction to describe an action or event that began in the past and continued in the past.  “How long…?” = “¿Cuánto tiempo hacía que…? + the imperfect tense.  Hacía un mes que viajaban.  They had been traveling for a month.  ¿Cuánto tiempo hacía que dormían?  How long had they been sleeping?

 This construction is also used to describe an event that began in the past and continued in the past.  “How long…?” = “¿Desde cuándo…?” + the imperfect tense.  Viajaban desde hacía un mes.  They had been traveling for a month.  ¿Desde cuándo dormían?  How long had they been sleeping?

 Use the imperfect with the preterite to describe a situation that was going on (the imperfect) when an action or event occurred—that is,was begun or completed (the preterite).  Comíamos cuando nos llamó.  We were eating when he called us.

EL PRETÉRITOEL IMPERFECTO  Narrates a series of completed actions or events.  Indicates a limit of the action or event (either the beginning or the end).  Describes a situation  Indicates the continuance of an action or event (neither the beginning or the end).

EL PRETÉRITOEL IMPERFECTO Actions that started in the past and ended in the past. -Actions that happened once or a specific number of times in the past. -Onset of a feeling in the past. -2 or more actions in the same sentence: Series of consecutive events in the past or the Interruption of an (imperfect) action in progress  Repetitive action in past  -Ongoing action in past  -Age in the past  -Time in the past  -Descriptions/Setting the scene; (weather, time, etc.)  -2 actions in the same sentence: Going on at the same time (imperfect – mientras in between) or being interrupted by the preterite.

 Your preterite and imperfect cheat sheet.  Tell me why the sentences on the following slides use either the preterite or the imperfect.

 Yo fui al supermercado.  De repente, ocurrió un accidente.  Hacía sol todo el día.  Yo bailaba mientras mi hermana cantaba.  Una vez comimos en este restaurante.

Complete the following story by filling in the blanks with the imperfect or the preterit of the verbs in the parentheses. Ayer mientras yo (1)______(esperar) a mi amiga vi a Matt Damon. Yo ______ (estar) en un restaurante en Hollywood cuando un hombre(2)_______(entrar). El se sentó con otro hombre en una mesa cerca de mí. Luego, cuando Matt Damon se levantó para salir, de repente (3)______(levantarme). Yo le (4)___________(pedir) su autógrafo. El me lo (5) ______(dar). (6)_________(ser) un día excelente.

 Lee la página 101 para repasar esta información.  Completa los ejercicios A-D en pp Los ejercicios son para _________________.  El examen será el ___________________.  Para estudiar, repasa estos apuntes, el “cheat sheet” del pretérito v. el imperfecto, y el contento en p. 101 del texto.