EL PASADO EN ESPAÑOL: PARTE 1: El pretérito vs. el imperfecto

In Spanish, we use both the preterit and imperfect tenses to describe actions that took place in the past. The question is, how do we choose which tense to use?

Uses of the preterit tense (TAKING A POLEROID PICTURE): The preterit tense is used to indicate a completed action in the past.

IN PARTICULAR, WE USE THE preterit FOR:1. Completed actions stated as a simple fact.2. A list of events in the past without much detail (not setting the stage for a story,

just listing the facts).3. Actions which occurred at a specific moment in time/isolated actions.

Rosa escribió un texto a su novio. Rosa wrote a text to her boyfriend. This is preterit because Rosa has completed the specific action (writing a text).

Este fin de semana, vi a mis amigos el viernes. El sábado hice mucha tarea, y el domingo, ayudé a mi mamá con la cena. Last weekend I saw my friends on Friday. On Saturday I did a lot of homework, and on Sunday I helped my mom cook dinner. This is preterit because it shows completed actions as simple facts/list of past events without much detail.

Ana llegó tarde a la escuela. Ana arrived late to school.. This is preterit because it is an action that happened in a specific moment in time/isolated action.

Uses of the imperfect tense (SETTING THE STAGE/DESCRIPTIONS. THE CAMERA IS RECORDING…) The imperfect tense is used to indicate habitual actions in the past (“I always used to…”), an action that happened in the past but still is true or happening now, or an action that has no beginning or end time. It is also used to “set the stage” or “describe the situation” when you are telling a story.

IN PARTICULAR, WE USE THE IMPERFECT FOR:1. To express what “used to” happen, or happened repeatedly in the past. Words

like “nunca,” “siempre,” are used to show habits in the past (imperfect).

Siempre hacía mi tarea cuando era pequeño. I always did my homework when I was little.

This is imperfect because it describes something that used to happen repeatedly in the past

Cuando era niño, yo iba a la casa de mis abuelos cada verano. When I was a kid, I used to go to my grandparents’ house every summer.This is imperfect because it describes something that I “used to” do every summer. It also has no beginning or end time.

2. To describe characteristics of persons or things in the past. (descriptions)Tom era rubio y tenía los ojos azules. Tom was blonde and had blue eyes.

3. To describe a state of mind, feeling, emotion, physical condition or attitude in the past (specifically for past actions that do not have a beginning/end time and/or might still reach into the present moment).

María siempre quería ser doctor. María always wanted to be a doctorThis is imperfect because it describes a state of mind in the past that might still be true today. using the verb “querer.”

Ana estaba enferma ayer. Ana was sick yesterday. (physical condition that might still be true)

Mi papá estaba muy enojado anoche My dad was really mad last night. (emotion that might still be true)

4. To express time in the past .Eran las cinco cuando Paco llegó a su casa. It was five o’clock when Paco arrived home. (time)

5. To express a person’s age when an event took place.Cuando Elena tenía 5 años, fue a Disneyland. When Elena was 5 years old, she went to Disneyland.This is imperfect because it expresses the time of day in the past. ** notice that “she went” (fue) is preterit because it happened once/was an isolated event.

6. Setting the stage/scenery for a story (DESCRIPTION).Era un día muy bonita y los pájaros estaban cantando en el parque. Estaba andando por la calle cuando… It was a pretty day and the birds were singing in the park. I was walking down the street when…This is imperfect because it is setting the stage/scenery for my story. I am not just listing simple facts but instead giving details about an event.

7. To replace the past progressive (i.e. what was happening - was/were + “-ing”).Los pájaros cantaban The birds were singing.This is imperfect because it describes what was happening, using was/were + an “-ing” word (“singing”).

Using the preterit and imperfect together:Sometimes, as seen in the last example above, the preterit and imperfect can be used together. This most often happens when something WAS HAPPENING when another action interrupts it.

Mónica estaba estudiando cuando su novio le llamó por teléfono.Monica was studying when her boyfriend called her on the phone.

EXCEPTIONS TO IMPERFECT RULES:

- WEATHER- EMOTIONS, PHYSICAL CONDITIONS, STATE OF MIND, ATTITUDES

If you are ONLY stating a fact (no details, such as reading the weather report in the paper) OR if you think of the situation as A COMPLETED ACTION (FINISHED, no new discussion about it), you may use the PRETÉRITO.

ESTAR (pretérito) ESTAR (imperfecto)yo estuve estaba Examples of PRETÉRITO tú estuviste estabas Juan: ¿Por qué no fuiste al baile? él,ella, usted estuvo estaba (Why didn’t you go to the dance?) nosotros estuvimos estábamos María: Porque estuve cansada. ellos/ustedes estuvieron estaban (Because I was tired.)

WEATHER (pretérito) (imperfecto) Newspaper: Ayer, hizo 65 grados. hizo calor hacía calor (Yesterday it reached 65 degrees.) hizo frío hacía frío

Here is another way to remember:

¡A PRACTICAR!

¿El pretérito o el imperfecto? – ¡Escógelo, escríbelo, y defiéndelo!Translate each sentence below. Then, indicate the tense you used and state the rule you used to decide whether the verb(s) should be in the preterit or imperfect tense.

Modelo: It was nine o’clock. Regla: imperfecto/timeEran las nueve.

1.) She went home. Regla:

2.) Marisa arrived at three o’clock. Regla:

3.) We used to play soccer a lot. Regla:

4.) He was 25 years old. Regla:

5.) I saw an accident this morning. Regla:

6.) We didn’t go to the beach yesterday. Regla:

7.) We went to the beach every summer. Regla:

8.) They were studying when Carlos called. *Reglas:

pretérito/completed action

pretérito/completed action

imperfecto/ “used to” – habitual actionimperfecto/age

pretérito/completed action, specific moment in timepretérito/completed (action did not occur)imperfecto/habitual action

Interrupted action/-ing in the past

MÁS PRÁCTICA: ¿Pretérito o imperfecto?Choose whether each of the following statements would require using the preterit or imperfect tense in Spanish by circling “P” for preterit and “I” for imperfect:

1.)_______ I ran five miles yesterday. 2.) _______ It was four o’clock.3.) _______ He was reading the newspaper.4.) _______ She studied for two hours last night.5.) _______ We went to Canada every year in the summer.6.) _______ I used to ride my bike all day long.7.) _______ Wow! Was she angry! (she still might be angry)8.) _______You arrived at the hotel in the afternoon. 9.) _______The cat jumped out of the window. 10.) _______He was wearing a black leather jacket. 11.) _______ We lost the match.12.) _______ We were so sad. (we might still be sad)13.) _______ They vacationed in Hawaii last year.14.) _______They always used to vacation in Florida. 15.) _______They never arrived last night.16.) _______ Did you have to work last Saturday? 17.) _______ The dog ran after the mailman.

PIIPIIIPPIPIPIPPP

PARTE 2: EL IMPERFECTO

EL IMPERFECTO: El imperfecto de los verbos que terminan en “-ar”

Verb Endings: hablar – to talkYo -aba (Yo) hablabaTú -abas (Tú) hablabasÉl/Ella/Ud. -aba (Él/Ella) hablaba Nosotros -ábamos (Nosotros) hablábamos Ellos/Ellas/ -aban (Ellos/Ellas) hablabanUds.

El imperfecto de los verbos que terminan en “-er” e “-ir”

Verb Endings: tener – to have vivir – to liveYo -ía tenía vivíaTú -ías tenías vivíasÉl/Ella/Ud. -ía tenía vivíaNosotros -íamos teníamos vivíamosVosotros -íais teníais vivíaisEllos/Ellas/ -ían tenían vivíanUds.

El imperfecto de ser, ir, y ver:SER – to be IR– to go VER – to see

Yo era iba veíaTú eras ibas veíasÉl/Ella/Ud. era iba veíaNosotros éramos íbamos veíamosEllos/Ellas/Uds. eran iban veían

¡A PRACTICAR! Fill in the chart below with the imperfect endings.

- ía

- ías

- ía

- íamos

- ían

- aba

- abas

- aba

- ábamos

- aban

- ía

- ías

- ía

- íamos

- ían

Write all the imperfect tense forms of the verbs below.

hablar comer escribirYo ______________ _____________ _______________Tú ______________ _____________ _______________Él/Ella/Ud. ______________ _____________ _______________Nosotros ______________ _____________ _______________Ellos/Ellas/Uds. ______________ _____________ _______________

llevar tener decidirYo ______________ _____________ _______________Tú ______________ _____________ _______________Él/Ella/Ud. ______________ _____________ _______________Nosotros ______________ _____________ _______________Ellos/Ellas/Uds. ______________ _____________ _______________

cantar querer vivirYo ______________ _____________ _______________Tú ______________ _____________ _______________Él/Ella/Ud. ______________ _____________ _______________Nosotros ______________ _____________ _______________Ellos/Ellas/Uds. ______________ _____________ _______________

hablabahablabashablabahablábamoshablaban

llevaballevabasllevaballevábamosllevaban

cantabacantabascantabacantábamoscantaban

comíacomíascomíacomíamoscomían

teníateníasteníateníamostenían

queríaqueríasqueríaqueríamosquerían

escribíaescribíasescribíaescribíamosescribían

decidíadecidíasdecidíadecidíamosdecidían

vivíavivíasvivíavivíamosvivían

ser ir verYo ______________ _____________ _______________Tú ______________ _____________ _______________Él/Ella/Ud. ______________ _____________ _______________Nosotros ______________ _____________ _______________Ellos/Ellas/Uds. ______________ _____________ _______________

eraeraseraéramoseran

ibaibasibaíbamosiban

veíaveíasveíaveíamosveían

PARTE 3: EL PRETÉRITO

Here are all the preterit forms or regular –ar, -er, and –ir verbs:

comprar = to buy (-ar endings: é, aste, ó, amos, aron)(Yo) compré (Tú) compraste (Él/Ella/Ud.) compró (Nosotros) compramos(Ellos/Ellas/Uds.) compraron

comer = to eat (-er endings: í, iste, ió, imos, ieron)(Yo) comí (Tú) comiste (Él/Ella/Ud.) comióNosotros) comimos(Ellos/Ellas/Uds.) comieron

vivir = to live (-ir endings: í, iste, ió, imos, ieron)(Yo) viví (Tú) viviste (Él/Ella/Ud.) vivió (Nosotros) vivimos(Ellos/Ellas/Uds.) vivieron

•–ar and –er verbs that have a stem change in the present tense do not have a stem change in the preterit.

encontrar – to find (ue): Encuentro dinero en la calle.Ayer, encontré dinero en la calle.

volver – to return (ue): Siempre vuelvo a casa a las cinco de la tarde.Ayer, volví a las seis de la tarde.

• in the preterit, verbs whose infinitive ends in –gar or –car have a spelling change in the yo form. All of their other preterit forms are regular.

pagar yo pagué sacar yo saquéllegar yo llegué buscar yo busquéjugar yo jugué tocar yo toqué

¡A PRACTICAR!

¡A PRACTICAR! Fill in the chart below with the preterit endings for REGULAR verbs.

- í

-iste

- ió

- imos

- ieron

- é

- aste

- ó

- amos

- aron

- í

-iste

- ió

- imos

- ieron

Write all the preterit tense forms of the verbs below.

hablar comer escribirYo ______________ _____________ _______________Tú ______________ _____________ _______________Él/Ella/Ud. ______________ _____________ _______________Nosotros ______________ _____________ _______________Ellos/Ellas/Uds. ______________ _____________ _______________

llevar perder decidirYo ______________ _____________ _______________Tú ______________ _____________ _______________Él/Ella/Ud. ______________ _____________ _______________Nosotros ______________ _____________ _______________Ellos/Ellas/Uds. ______________ _____________ _______________

cantar correr vivirYo ______________ _____________ _______________Tú ______________ _____________ _______________Él/Ella/Ud. ______________ _____________ _______________Nosotros ______________ _____________ _______________Ellos/Ellas/Uds. ______________ _____________ _______________

habléhablastehablóhablamoshablaron

comícomistecomiócomimoscomieron

escribíescribisteescribióescribimosescribieron

llevéllevastellevóllevamosllevaron

perdíperdisteperdióperdimosperdieron

decidídecidistedecidiódecidimosdecidieron

cantécantastecantócantamoscantaron

corrícorristecorriócorrimoscorrieron

vivívivistevivióvivimosvivieron

trabajar vender salirYo ______________ _____________ _______________Tú ______________ _____________ _______________Él/Ella/Ud. ______________ _____________ _______________Nosotros ______________ _____________ _______________Ellos/Ellas/Uds. ______________ _____________ _______________

vendívendistevendióvendimosvendieron

trabajétrabajastetrabajótrabajamostrabajaron

salísalistesaliósalimossalieron

LOS VERBOS IRREGULARES EN EL PRETÉRITO: Of course, there are always some exceptions to the rule. In the preterit, there are some verbs that undergo a stem-change and also have some irregularities in their endings. Some of these verbs are:estar, hacer, poder, poner, querer, tener, venir, decir

Fortunately, these verbs do share some similarities so they will not bethat difficult to create and use in your everyday Spanish.

All of these verbs have a unique stem change in the preterit tense:estar estuv poner pus venir vinhacer hic querer quis decir dijpoder pud tener tuv andar anduv

This stem-change applies to all persons in the preterit tense. These verbs have a set of endings different from “regular” verbs:

Yo -e EJEMPLO: estuve en clase. Tú -iste EJEMPLO: Tuve un accidente en el carro.Él/Ella/Ud. -o Nosotros -imosEllos/Ellas/Uds. -ieron

Finally, three last verbs you should know in the preterit tense are: IR SER DAR

Yo fui fui diTú fuiste fuiste disteÉl/Ella Ud. fue fue dioNosotros fuimos fuimos dimosEllos/Ellas/Uds. fueron fueron dieron

¡Practicamos los verbos irregulares en el pretérito!Give the preterit stem for each of the following verbs: Tener _________ Hacer _________ Poder _________Poner _________ Querer ________ Estar _________Venir _________ Decir _________ Andar _________

Give the preterit endings that go with the above verbs. Yo ________ Nosotros ________Tú ________Él/Ella/Ud. ________ Ellos/Ellas/Uds. ________

tuvpusvin

hicquisdij

pudestuvanduv

eiste

o

imos

ieron

Write all six preterit tense forms of the following verbs:

estar hacer ponerYo ________________ ______________ ___________________Tú ________________ ______________ ___________________Él/Ella Ud. ________________ ______________ ___________________Nosotros ________________ ______________ ___________________Ellos/Ellas/Uds. ________________ ______________ ___________________

tener poder venirYo ________________ ______________ ___________________Tú ________________ ______________ ___________________Él/Ella Ud. ________________ ______________ ___________________Nosotros ________________ ______________ ___________________Ellos/Ellas/Uds. ________________ ______________ ___________________

andar querer decirYo ________________ ______________ ___________________Tú ________________ ______________ ___________________Él/Ella Ud. ________________ ______________ ___________________Nosotros ________________ ______________ ___________________Ellos/Ellas/Uds. ________________ ______________ ___________________

estuveestuvisteestuvoestuvimosestuvieron

hicehicistehizohicimoshicieron

pusepusistepusopusimospusieron

tuvetuvistetuvotuvimostuvieron

pudepudistepudopudimospudieron

vinevinistevinovinimosvinieron

anduveanduvisteanduvoanduvimosanduvieron

quisequisistequisoquisimosquisieron

dijedijistedijodijimosdijeron