Preterite vs Imperfect: Part IV

Notes:

1. The written lesson is below.
2. Links to quizzes, tests, etc. are to the left.

Here are all three regular preterite verb forms together:

Note: The nosotros forms for -ar and -ir verbs are the same in both preterite and present tenses: hablamos, vivimos.

[Review This Topic]

Here are all three regular imperfect verb forms together:

[Review This Topic]

Generally speaking, the preterite is used for actions in the past that are seen as completed, while the imperfect tense is used for past actions that did not have a definite beginning or a definite end.

Juan habló dos horas.
Juan spoke two hours.
(action completed)

Las chicas hablaban en inglés.
The girls used to speak in English.
(no definite beginning or end)

Another way to view this is that the preterite tells us specifically when an action took place, while the imperfect tells us in general when an action took place.

[Review This Topic]

The preterite is used in the following situations:

• For actions that can be viewed as single events
• For actions that were repeated a specific number of times
• For actions that occurred during a specific period of time
• For actions that were part of a chain of events
• To state the beginning or the end of an action

[Review This Topic]

The imperfect is used in the following situations:

• For actions that were repeated habitually
• For actions that “set the stage” for another past action
• For telling time
• For stating one’s age
• For mental states (usually)
• For physical sensations (usually)
• To describe the characteristics of people, things or conditions

[Review This Topic]

Ser, ir, dar and hacer are irregular in the preterite:

Note: This is not a typo; ser and ir do have identical conjugations in the preterite!

[Review This Topic]

There are only three irregular verbs in the imperfect:

[Review This Topic]

Some words and phrases indicate specific time frames, and therefore signal the use of the preterite.

ayer (yesterday)
anteayer (the day before yesterday)
anoche (last night)
desde el primer momento (from the first moment)
durante dos siglos (for two centuries)
el otro día (the other day)
en ese momento (at that moment)
entonces (then)
esta mañana (this morning)
esta tarde (this afternoon)
la semana pasada (last week)
el mes pasado (last month)
el año pasado (last year)
hace dos días, años (two days, years ago)
ayer por la mañana (yesterday morning)
ayer por la tarde (yesterday afternoon)

[Review This Topic]

Other words and phrases indicate repetitive, vague or non-specific time frames, and therefore signal the use of the imperfect.

a menudo (often)
a veces (sometimes)
cada día (every day)
cada semana (every week)
cada mes (every month)
cada año (every year)
con frecuencia (frequently)
de vez en cuando (from time to time)
en aquella época (at that time)
frecuentemente (frequently)
generalmente (usually)
muchas veces (many times)
mucho (a lot)
nunca (never)
por un rato (for awhile)
siempre (always)
tantas veces (so many times)
todas las semanas (every week)
todos los días (every day)
todo el tiempo (all the time)
varias veces (several times)

[Review This Topic]

-ar and -er verbs that change their stem in the present tense do not change in the preterite. They are conjugated just like other regular preterite verbs.

[Review This Topic]

-ir verbs that change their stem in the present tense do change in the preterite, but in a different way. They change e:i and o:u in the third person, singular and plural.

[Review This Topic]

There are a number of orthographic changing verbs in the preterite:

• Verbs that end in -gar change g to gu
• Verbs that end in -car change c to qu
• Verbs that end in -zar change z to c
• Verbs that end in -aer, -eer, -oír, -oer, and uir change ió to yó and ieron to yeron

[Review This Topic]

Here are three more verbs that are irregular in the preterite:

[Review This Topic]

Verbs that end in -ucir are irregular and conjugated as follows:

producir

produje
produjiste
produjo
produjimos
produjisteis
produjeron

[Review This Topic]

There are a number of verbs that are irregular in the preterite that follow a particular pattern. The pattern is that while their stems change, they all take the following endings:

-e
-iste
-o
-imos
-isteis
-ieron

Here are the verbs, along with their corresponding stem changes:

Exception: hacer (el/ella/usted hizo)

[Review This Topic]

Some verbs actually change meaning, depending upon whether they are used in the preterite or the imperfect. This is not surprising, since the difference in meaning can be traced back to the different way in which these two past tenses are used.

conocer

Conocí a Juan hace cinco años.

I met Juan five years ago.
(completed action)

En aquella época conocíamos muy bien la ciudad.

At that time we knew the city very well.
(no definite beginning or end)

querer

María quiso comprar la casa.

Maria tried to buy the house.
(completed action)

Juan quería comprar la casa.

Juan wanted to buy the house.
(no definite beginning or end)

no querer

María no quiso comprar la casa.

Maria refused to buy the house.
(completed action)

Juan no quería comprar la casa.

Juan did not want to buy the house.
(no definite beginning or end)

saber

María lo supo ayer.

Maria found out yesterday.
(completed action)

Juan sabía que María venía.

Juan knew that Maria was coming.
(no definite beginning or end)

poder

María pudo levantar la mesa.

Maria succeeded in lifting the table.
(completed action)

Juan podía participar en la manifestación.

Juan was able to participate in the demonstration.
(no definite beginning or end)

tener

María tuvo una carta de su mamá.

Maria received a letter from her mom.
(completed action)

Juan tenía un coche nuevo.

Juan used to have a new car.
(no definite beginning or end)

[Review This Topic]