Preterite vs. Imperfect Two tenses that refer to the past

In English In English, you can use the simple past tense for actions in the past, whether they were completed or not. To emphasize that an action was in progress, you use the past progressive tense. (Pedro was swimming) To talk about repeated or habitual actions in the past we use phrases like used to or always.

In Spanish In Spanish there are two tenses that refer to the past, the preterite and the imperfect. Here is how each tense is used

Preterite Use the preterite tense to describe an action or series of actions completed in the past. Aquel día, Pedro fue a la playa y jugó al voleibol playero. *notice the use of Aquel día to specify that the action took place on one specific day (not ongoing) That day Pedro went to the beach and played beach volleyball

Imperfect Use the imperfect for ongoing actions or states of being in the past without focusing on their beginning or end. Always use the imperfect to say what time it was or what the weather was like in the past. Elena siempre iba a la playa cuando hacía buen tiempo.

Imperfect continued Notice the use of the word siempre to indicate that the action was repeated or habitual. Elena always used to go to the beach when the weather was nice.

Sometimes we use both! Use the imperfect to tell what was going on in the background. Use the preterite for the interrupting action or main event Yo nadaba cuando Pedro llegó a la playa. I was swimming when Pedro arrived.

Which tense would you use in Spanish to say the following? While Albert and Susan were driving the jet ski, Susan fell. Karina went to look for snacks while Gustavo was watching the sunset. I was preparing the canoe when my nephew put on his life jacket You saw a bird when we were walking on the path