El Pasado
Speaking in the past with the preterite and imperfect
When you finish this page, you should be able to say:
I can name the two simple past tenses in Spanish.
I can give a general overview of how each is used.
I can choose between the preterite and imperfect in simple examples that match the acronyms.
General Info
Spanish has 2 simple past tenses. "Simple" here means that you use 1 verb, not a compound verb (like had eaten or was eating).
One is called the preterite (el pretérito) and the other is called the imperfect (el imperfecto).
They have distinct uses and are sometimes translated differently in the past.
The rule of thumb to fall back on if you forget all the details of this lesson is
If the action happened a countable number of times, use the preterite. Otherwise, default imperfect.
Words that usually indicate the preterite is needed (specific times)
Ayer: Yesterday
De repente: Suddenly
Un día: One day
Una vez, dos veces, etc. : One time, two times, etc
Otra vez: Again
Anoche: Last night
La semana pasada; el verano pasado: Last week, Last summer
Por <tiempo>: For an amount of time
Esta mañana: This morning
A la una; A las dos: At a specific time
Words that usually indicate the imperfect is needed (vague times)
Siempre: Always
Used to and Would (implied by imperfect ending)
Generalmente, Típicamente, Normalmente, Frecuentemente: Generally, Typically, Normally, Frequently
Muchas veces, A menundo: Often
De vez en cuando: Once in a while
Mientras: While
Todos los días, Cada día: Every day, Each day
On (Mondays, Tuesdays, etc): Los (lunes, martes, etc)
Look at Hablar: Preterite vs Imperfect
Hablar: Preterite
Yo hablé : I spoke (at a specific moment), I did speak
Tú hablaste: You spoke, you did speak
Ella, él, usted habló: She, he, you (formal) spoke, did speak
Nosotros hablamos: We spoke, we did speak
Ellos, ustedes hablaron: They spoke, they did speak
Hablar: Imperfect
Yo hablaba: I used to/would speak, I spoke (habitually)
Tú hablabas: You used to/ would speak; You spoke (habitually)
Ella, él, usted hablaba: She, he, you (formal) would/used to speak, spoke (habitually)
Nosotros hablábamos: We used to/would speak, we spoke (habitually)
Ellos, ustedes hablaban: They, you all used to/would speak, spoke (habitually)
Sometimes, even though the translation of the verb is the same in English for both Spanish past tenses, the context of the sentence drives whether to use the preterite or imperfect. If it is stated or implied that the action occured a countable number of times (once, twice, etc), use the preterite. If it is implied that the action occurred over and over again, but no one's counting, then use the imperfect.
I went camping last Sunday. Yo acampé el domingo pasado.
I ate breakfast today. Hoy, desayuné.
We visited Mexico 3 times. Visitamos México 3 veces.
All of a sudden, it started raining. De repente, empezó a llover.
She got mad. Ella se enojó. / Ella se puso enojada.
They didn't arrive on time. Ellos no llegaron a tiempo.
They were there for 5 minutes. Estuvieron allí por 5 minutos.
I used to go camping on Sundays. Yo acampaba los domingos.
I normally ate breakfast. Normalmente desayunaba.
We visited Mexico every Christmas. Visitábamos México cada Navidad.
It rained often. Llovía mucho.
She was angry with him. Ella estaba enojada con él.
They were there... Estaban allí.
ACRONYMS to Help Choose between them
Scanned_20180320-0802.pdfConcerning preterite action verbs:
Used for specific, countable actions with clear beginnings and endings.
On a time line of your life, these are the DOTS that show what happened at a specific point.
Concerning "was/were":
Only put "was" into the preterite if you are referring to how an event went (It was great! It was boring...) or how someone REACTED emotionally to something else that just happened. (He ripped her paper and she was furious.)
Concerning "had":
"Had" will only be in the preterite if 1) you are referring to a moment that someone had to do something (Where did Diego go? I don't know... He had to leave. ¿Dónde está Diego? Yo no sé... Se tuvo que ir.) or 2) You are referring to the moment that someone obtained something.
Concerning Health:
Health is usually imperfect, unless you are referring to the beginning of the situation: (He got sick... He recovered...He improved...)
Scanned_20180320-0802.pdfConcerning imperfect action verbs:
Used for repetitive, habitual, ongoing, endless past actions with no clear beginning or end. They happened multiple times, but no one knows or is saying how many times or for how long.
On a time line of your life, these would be hard to figure out how to illustrate since no one knows exactly when the actions happened.
Concerning "was/were":
Was/Were will almost always be imperfect. Unless you are doing what is stated to the left, you will use the imperfect.
Concerning "had":
"Had" will almost always be in the imperfect. Tener expressions (like tener hambre, tener años, tener frío) will also almost always be in the imperfect.
THE LETTER H also stands for HEALTH
The same rules apply for Emotions: Use the imperfect unless you are referring to the beginning of the emotion/health status.
Weather: Preterite or Imperfect?
Weather is often said to be an imperfect idea, but there are many times when weather events should be preterite.
It's imperfect when it's background information or a description.
It was snowing when we woke up. It was raining hard.
It's preterite when it's an event.
It snowed last night. It rained during the parade.
Activity: Preterite or Imperfect weather?
Yesterday, it snowed.
Yesterday, it was snowing.
It was raining, so we decided to watch a movie.
While we were watching fireworks, it rained.
Last night, it hailed.
It was sunny and hot.
It was windy and chilly.
The wind howled during the storm.
The weather was nice.
Self-check
If you already can recognize preterite and/or imperfect forms, see if you can tell which verb to use yet. If not, do this in class with the teacher.
Preterite and Imperfect in the same sentence
When something was in progress, or happening (often an -ing idea in English), and something else happened in the midst of that progress (interrupting it), then we will have both imperfect and preterite verbs.
Note that these sentences will have 2 complete ideas in the past tense and they will be joined with a conjunction like "when" or "so." (We were sleeping when the tornado came. I was running late, so I didn't get a shower. Everyone was screaming; therefore, the teacher gave us detention.)
The imperfect part will be that ongoing action (I was running, We were eating, They were taking a test, It was snowing)
The preterite will be the action that happened (interrupted) at one point during the ongoing action.
The preterite action MIGHT STOP the imperfect action from continuing (I was typing the last sentence of my essay when my battery died.) But, it might not affect the ongoing action at all (The pizza was hot when I took a bite. ---The pizza didn't stop being hot just because I took I bite. / It was raining, so I decided to stay inside. --My decision to stay inside did not literally interrupt the rain.)
We can use a visual tool to represent these sentences: a double sided arrow shows that the action was happening before and after the preterite event took place. We write the imperfect sentence on the arrow. The DOT represents the 1 time action that happened at some point . We draw a dot and a line segment leading away from the dot. We write the preterite sentence on that line segment. See below.
Scanned_20180320-0843.pdfScanned_20180320-0846.pdfScanned_20180320-0904.pdfWarning
Just because you have 2 complete ideas in a sentence does not automatically mean you'll have 1 imperfect and 1 preterite idea.
If both ideas are ongoing, endless, or with no clear beginning or end, both ideas will be imperfect. See the illustration to the left.
On the other hand, if both ideas are clearly specific moments in the past, then both will be preterite.
Activity B: Preterite or Imperfect? Why?
It was winter.
He got frustrated.
He was frustrated.
She left.
Everyone used to swim here.
It was midnight.
When I was 10 years old...
She fell ill last year.
She was sick for a long time.
She was sick for 10 days.
It was a cloudy and cold day.
It rained yesterday.
It was raining, so we didn't go.
We were walking when the dog broke his leash.
Suddenly, she realized that...
You always used to sleep with that bear.
You fell asleep while you watched TV again.
We typically cooked our own meals.
They would drive by every night, shouting.
They drove down my driveway one night.
Some verbs change meaning in the preterite
This isn't random. It goes back to the idea that the preterite is for a specific moment in the past. If you put these particular verbs in the preterite, it must be referring to the BEGINNING of that action, which in most cases changes the English translation.
Imperfect:
Querer: Wanted/Loved
Saber: Knew (info)
Conocer: Knew (a person)
Tener: Had
Poder: Could
No querer: Didn't want/love
No poder: Couldn't
Ir a + infinitive : was going to do something
Preterite:
Querer: Tried (to)
Saber: Found out (info)
Conocer: Met (a person)
Tener: Received/Got
Poder: Tried and succeeded
No querer: Refused
No poder: to fail (after attempting)
ir a + infinitive: went to do something
Marcos always wanted a motorcycle. One day, he tried to ride his friend's. Marcos siempre quería una motocicleta. Un día, quiso montar la de su amigo.
Marcos knew that a helmet was required. After his accident, he found out why. Marcos sabía que se requería un casco. Después de su accidente, supo por qué.
Marcos knew many people who had motorcyles. One day, he met his idol. Marcos conocía a muchas personas con motocicletas. Un día, conoció a su ídolo.
Marcos wasn't afraid of anything. One day, he had to prove it. Marcos no tenía miedo a nada. Un día, él tuvo que probarlo.
Marcos used to have a skateboard. He got it for Christmas when he was 10. Marcos tenía una patineta. La tuvo (obtuvo) en la Navidad cuando tenía 10 años.
Marcos could skateboard very well. He tried to backflip and succeeded! Marcos podía andar en patineta muy bien. ¡Pudo voltearse al revés!
Marcos didn't want to injure himself. When a friend dared him to (idk what), he refused. Marcos no quería lastimarse. Cuando un amigo le retó (no sé qué), él no quiso.
Marcos couldn't do a varial flip. He tried 4 times and failed. Marcos no podía hacer un varial flip. Trató 4 veces pero no pudo.
Marcos was going to try one more time. Marcos iba a intentarlo una vez más. VS Marcos went to try it one more time. Marcos fue a intentarlo una vez más.
Activity C: Choose between the preterite and imperfect
1. Yo (conocí/conocía) a Harry Styles en el concierto.
2. (Conocía/Conocí) a su hermano por varios años antes de que se fue.
3. Yo por fin (pude/podía) comunicar con Simón en italiano.
4. Aunque la maestra me lo explicó 5 veces, yo no (podía, pude) solucionar el problema en el exámen.
5. Yo no (pude/podía) ir al partido porque yo tenía mucha tarea.
6. Yo siempre (supe/sabía) que él era un gran hombre.
7. Hace tres semanas (supe/sabía) que mi abuelo se murió.
8. Yo nunca (quise/quería) lastimarte.
9. Yo siempre (quise/quería) acompañar a mi hermano mayor.
10. Yo (fui/iba) a buscar a Rafael en el parque pero él no estaba allí.
11. Yo (fui/iba) a comprar nuevos tenis este fin de semana, pero es más importante comprarle una llanta nueva a mi carro.
12. (Tuve/Tenía) que limpiar la casa. (Explain your choice)
Graded Activity:
Make your own imperfect vs preterite poster. Include the infinitives, an imperfect/preterite section, what the verbs mean in each past tense, a clearly expressed example sentence showing the difference in meaning and an illustration to support the verb meaning for each.
Grade: 100 Silver Points
Content: Is the project complete and does it follow directions, including all required components? 30
Communication: Are the sentences easy to understand? Do the pictures reflect what the sentences are saying? Is the student using the preterite and imperfect verbs the way they are meant to be used to get the meaning across? 40
Accuracy: Are conjugations correct? Is there subject/verb agreement? Are spelling errors and punctuation errors very minimal? Are other grammatical rules followed that we´ve learned so far? 20
Neatness: Is the paper free of wrinkles, smears, and tears? Is the space used well? Is the handwriting legible? Are the drawings neat? 10