preterite vs. imperfect. el pretÉrito y el imperfecto if we are talking about the past, how can we...
TRANSCRIPT
PRETERITE VS.
IMPERFECT
EL PRETÉRITO Y EL IMPERFECTO
If we are talking about the past, how can we decide which past tense to use?
This Venn Diagram sets up the basics…
PAST
PRETERITE IMPERFECT
-one time action
-completed event
-ongoing actions
-events that used to happen
However, there are more detailed reasons when you would use one versus the other
Remembering these acronyms will help you really understand all the detailed differences:
PRETERITE:
IMPERFECT:
EL PRETÉRITO Y EL IMPERFECTO
BOLTS
UBOAT
B—beginning or end of an actionO—one timeL—lightning fast!T—transitionsS—series of events
EL PRETÉRITO
Ejemplosempezar/comenzar—to begin/to startEl hombre empezó a llorar. (The man began to cry.)
Yo empecé a comer. (I started to eat.)
terminar—to end/to finishLos estudiantes terminaron las pruebas. (The students
finished the quizzes.)
BEGINNING OR END OF AN ACTION
B
O
L
T
S
EjemplosYo fui a la tienda la semana pasada. (I went to the store last week.)
Nosotros vimos la película anoche. (We saw the movie last night.)
ONE TIME ACTION/EVENT
B
O
L
T
S
EjemplosYo estudiaba cuando llegó mi amigo. (I was studying when my friend arrived.)
De repente, ¡el enemigo apereció a la puerta!
(Suddenly, the enemy appeared at the door!)
LIGHTNING FAST! (SUDDENLY)
B
O
L
T
S
*interruption
EjemplosPrimero me desperté y entonces me duché. (First I woke up and then I showered.)
Luego, el principe y la princesa se casaron. (Later, the prince and princess got married.)
TRANSITIONS (FIRST, THEN)
B
O
L
T
S
EjemplosSara cenó, hizo la tarea y se acostó. (Sara ate dinner, did her homework and went to bed.)
Fuimos de compras, compramos la ropa y regresamos a casa.
(We went shopping the day, bought clothes and went home.)
SERIES OF EVENTS
B
O
L
T
S
anocheayeranteayerun díala semana pasadael mes pasadoel año pasadoel lunes pasado
SOME KEY TRIGGER WORDS FOR THE PRETERITE
last nightyesterday
day before yesterdayone daylast weeklast monthlast yearlast (Monday, Tuesday, etc….)
luegodespuésentoncesde repenteinmediatamente
MORE TRIGGERS FOR THE PRETERITE
thenafter (afterwards)then, after thatsuddenlyimmediately
U—“used to”B—background informationO—ongoing actionsA—ageT—tiempo (time and weather)
EL IMPERFECTO
EjemplosYo siempre jugaba al fútbol cuando era niño.
(I would always play/I always played soccer when I was a kid.)
Mi hermano iba a la primaria de Greenman.
(My brother used to go to Greenman Elementary.)
USED TO DO SOMETHING
U
B
O
A
T
EjemplosEl príncipe era muy valiente. The prince was very brave.
Había mucha gente allí. There were a lot of people there.
*había = there was/there were (past of “hay”; from “haber”)
BACKGROUND INFO
U
B
O
A
T
EjemplosElla estudiaba mientras yo tomía una siesta.
She was studying while I was taking a nap.
Nosotros jugábamos fútbol cuando empezó a llover.
We were playing soccer when it started to rain.
ONGOING ACTIONS
U
B
O
A
T
EjemplosRemember we use the verb TENER to
talk about age!Yo era muy bajo cuando tenía 4 años. I was really short when I was four.
Mis primos tenían 6 y 8 años. My cousins are 6 and 8 years old.
AGE (LA EDAD)
U
B
O
A
T
EjemplosEran las dos cuando llegamos. It was 2:00 when we arrived.
Hacía frío y llovía. It was cold and raining.
TIEMPO (TIME AND WEATHER)
U
B
O
A
T
siemprenuncaUsualmentenormalmentecada (año, verano)todos los díasmientraslos lunesgeneralmentecon frecuencia
SOME KEY TRIGGER WORDS FOR THE IMPERFECT
alwaysnever
usuallynormallyeach/every (year, summer)every day
whileon…(Mondays)generally
frequently
VERB ENDINGS: PRETERITE
-AR -ER/-IR
é
aste
ó
amos
asteis
aron
í
iste
ió
imos
isteis
ieron
VERB ENDINGS: IMPERFECT
-AR -ER/-IR
aba
abas
aba
ábamos
abais
aban
ía
ías
ía
íamos
íais
ían
1. hablaba _____
2. dije _____
3. fueron _____
4. iban _____
5. veías _____
6. di _____
7. comíamos _____
8. comimos _____
9. tuviste _____
10. eras _____
11. hizo _____
12. trabajaba _____
PRACTICA: PARTE 1
I
P
P
I
I
P
I
P
P
I
P
I
hablar; él/ella
decir; yo
ir/ser; ellos
ir; ellos
ver; tú
dar; yo
comer; nosotros
comer; nosotros
tener; tú
ser; tú
hacer; él/ella
trabajar; yo/él/ella
Choose whether the following statements would be considered preterite or imperfect in Spanish:
I went to the store last night.
She used to play with dolls.
They would always eat early.
We cooked dinner at 5:00.
You made cookies yesterday.
When I was 5, I ate cookies every day.
PRACTICA: PARTE 2
PRETERITE
IMPERFECT
IMPERFECT
PRETERITE
PRETERITE
IMPERFECT
1. Yo ________________ (ir) a la tienda anoche. _____2. Ella ________________ (jugar) con las muñecas
cuando era niña. _____3. Ellos siempre ________________ (comer) temprano.
_____4. Nosotros ________________ (preparar) la cena a las
cinco. _____5. Tú ________________ (hacer) galletas ayer. _____6. Cuando yo ________________ (tener) 5 años,
________________ (comer) las galletas todos los días. _____
PRACTICA: PARTE 3fui O
jugabaU
comíanO
preparamosO
hiciste Otenía
A / Ucomía