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Preterite vs. Imperfect Start next lesson

1. Uses
30 questions

2. Useful Phrases
25 questions

3. Verbs That Are Always Preterite

21 questions

4. Irregular Preterite Review

32 questions

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5. Comprehensive Review 1 Ad By Sponsor

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6. Comprehensive Review 2
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7. Comprehensive Review 3
28 questions

8. Comprehensive Review 4
26 questions

9. Extra Practice 1
14 questions

10. Extra Practice 2

13 questions

11. Extra Practice 3

14 questions

Conjugation Drill

Explanation
Many students have trouble knowing when to use the preterite tense or
the imperfect tense, as they both refer to actions in the past. There are
several general rules you can follow to know when to use one tense or
another. Additionally, many Spanish phrases tend to be used only with
the preterite or only with the imperfect, so memorizing them is very
helpful! In this article, we’ll take a look at the general uses of both tenses,
as well as helpful “trigger” phrases.

Pair Work
One way this pair of tenses is often used is to talk about an ongoing
action or event that was interrupted in the past. In such case, the
interrupted action is given in the imperfect tense, while the
interrupting action is given in the preterite.

For example:

EXAMPLES

Caminaba por el centro cuando me encontré con el

hermano de mi mejor amiga.
I was walking downtown when I ran into my best friend's
brother.

Lourdes y Marco hablaban del examen cuando llegué a

clase.
Lourdes and Marco were talking about the test when I got to
class.

The Preterite
Generally, the preterite is used for completed actions (actions that have
definite beginning and end points.) These can be actions that can be
viewed as single events, actions that were part of a chain of events,
actions that were repeated a very specific number of times, or actions
that specifically state the beginning and end of an action.

Check out these examples:

EXAMPLES

Fui al baile anoche.

I went to the dance last night.

Caminé al mercado, compré unos plátanos, y regresé a

casa.
I walked to the market, bought some bananas, and returned
home.

Te llamó tres veces.

He called you three times.

Hablé con mi madre de las dos hasta las tres.

I spoke with my mother from two o’clock until three o’clock.

Useful Phrases that Trigger the Preterite

There are many helpful words and phrases that indicate specific time
frames, therefore signaling that the preterite should be used. Here are a
few:

SPANISH ENGLISH SPANISH ENGLISH

the other
una vez one time el otro día
day

ayer yesterday entonces then

the day
the night
anteayer before anteanoche
before last
yesterday

ayer por
yesterday ayer al yesterday
la
morning mediodía at noon
mañana

ayer por la
anoche last night last night
noche

esta this
this morning esta tarde
mañana afternoon

la
el mes
semana last week last month
pasado
pasada

el año en ese at that

last year
pasado momento moment

ayer por yesterday hoy por la this

la tarde afternoon mañana morning

hace
(two) years hace (dos) (two) days
(dos)
ago días ago
años

el
last la semana
(lunes) last week
(Monday) pasada
pasado

durante desde el from the

for (three)
(tres) primer first
centuries
siglos momento moment

Verbs that are Preterite by Nature

Some verbs used to talk about events with a very definite beginning and
end are almost always used in the preterite. Here are a few examples.

SPANISH ENGLISH SPANISH ENGLISH

to
casarse to get married graduarse
graduate

cumplir to turn a
llegar to arrive
años certain age

darse
to realize morir to die
cuenta de

to be
decidir to decide nacer
born

descubrir to discover salir to leave

The Imperfect
The imperfect tense is generally used for actions in the past that do not
have a definite end. These can be actions that are not yet completed or
refer to a time in general in the past. It can also be used to talk about:

actions that were repeated habitually

actions that set the stage for another past tense event
time and dates
a person’s age in the past
characteristics
mental or physical states

Check out these examples:

EXAMPLES

Cuando era niña, jugaba con muñecas.

When I was a child, I used to play with dolls.

Los chicos hablaban en español.

The boys were speaking in Spanish.

Estaba durmiendo cuando el teléfono sonó.

I was sleeping when the telephone rang.

Cuando tenía tres años, era muy pequeño.

When he was three years old, he was very small.

Useful Phrases that Trigger the Imperfect

Here are some helpful words and phrases that often signal that a verb
should be used in the imperfect.

SPANISH ENGLISH SPANISH ENGLISH

a menudo often frecuentemente frequently

rara vez rarely a veces sometimes

generalmente usually siempre always

algunas
at times mientras while
veces

so many
tantas veces todos los años every year
times

many
cada día every day muchas veces
times

todas las every all the

todo el tiempo
semanas week time

con almost
frequently casi nunca
frecuencia never

mucho a lot nunca never

por lo general generally todos los días every day

de vez en once in a
por un rato for a while
cuando while

en aquella at that several

varias veces
época time times

Ready to study some more grammar? Check out these articles!

Sequence of Tenses in Spanish

Irregular, Spelling Changes, and Stem-Changing Preterite Verbs
Verbs that Change Meaning in the Preterite
Spelling Changes in the Preterite
Irregular Verbs in Spanish
-ER Verbs
-IR Verbs
-AR Verbs

Ready to practice?
Master Preterite vs. Imperfect with our interactive video
lessons.

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