1. Verbs That Change Meaning in the Preterite and the Imperfect
Page 90 – Chapter 2 Realidades 3

2. Verbs That Change in Meaning from Preterite to Imperfect Tenses
A few Spanish verbs have different meanings in the imperfect and the preterite tenses:
SABER
CONOCER
QUERER
NO QUERER
PODER

3. SABER Imperfect – “knew” ¿Sabías que el concierto empezaba tarde?
Did you know that the concert began late?
Preterite – “found out, learned”
Sí, supe ayer que empezaba tarde.
Yes, I found out that it began late.

4. CONOCER Imperfect – “knew (somebody)”
Pedro conocía muy bien a esa actriz.
Pedro knew that actress very well.
Preterite – “met (somebody) for the first time”
Luis la conoció el año pasado.
Luis met her last year.

5. QUERER Imperfect – “wanted to” Luis quería comprar las entradas hoy.
Luis wanted to buy the tickets today.
Preterite – “tried to, attempted to”
Yo quise comprarlas, pero me enfermé.
I tried to buy them but I got sick.

6. NO QUERER Imperfect – “didn’t want to”
No querían ver esa obra de teatro.
They didn’t want to see that play.
Preterite – “refused to”
No quisieron ver esa obra de teatro.
They refused to see that play.

7. PODER Imperfect – “was able to, could”
Ella podía aprender la letra de la canción.
She was able to learn the letter of the song.
Preterite – “managed to, succeeded in”
Ella pudo aprender la letra de esa canción.
She succeeded in learning the letter of that song.