the imperfect tense (day 2) antes, siempre hacía mis compras en las mejores boutiques. sí, pero...

The imperfect tense(Day 2)

Antes, siempre hacía mis

compras en las mejores

boutiques.

Sí, pero con las rebajas que ofrecen

en este almacén . . .¡qué ganga!

El imperfecto• Is the imperfect tense used to describe past,

present, or future events in Spanish?

• How many irregular verbs are there in the imperfect tense? What are they?

• What are some of the uses of the imperfect tense? What do you use it to describe?

• The imperfect tense is one of the two simple past tenses in Spanish (the other is preterit).

• There are only 3 irregular verbs in the imperfect tense: ser, ir, and ver.

• The imperfect is used to describe repeated, habitual, or continuous actions in the past with no reference to the beginning or end.

• It can also describes events that were in progress, and characteristics or states of being in the past.

hablaba

The conjugation of -ar verbs

hablhabl

habl

hablabasaba

ábamos

aban

There are no irregular -ar verbs in the imperfect!

Notice the written

accent mark!

only on the nosotros form

Just as with other tenses, we always start with the stem of the verb.

hablar

Another way to remember the –ar endings:

Remember that all the conjugations contain “-aba”

• For tú, add s to the “aba” → -abas• For nosotros, add an accent and “mos” to the

“aba” → -ábamos• For ellos/ellas/Uds., add “n” to the “aba” → -aban

So, how would you conjugate the verbs tomar and mirar?

tom tom mir mir

tom mir

tom tom mir mir

abaabasaba

ábamos

aban

abaabasaba

ábamos

aban

comíacomcom

com

comíasía

íamos

íanAll forms have a written

accent over the í.

The conjugation of -er verbs

comer

escribíaescribescrib

escrib

escribíasía

íamos

ían

The conjugation of -ir verbs

All forms have a written accent over the í.

escribir

Notice that the conjugation of -ir verbs is identical to that of -er verbs.

Another way to remember the –er/-ir endings:

Remember that all the conjugations contain “-ía” (with an accent over the i)

• For tú, add s to the “-ía” → -ías• For nosotros, add “mos” to the “-ía” → -íamos• For ellos/ellas/Uds., add “n” to the “-ía” → -ían

So, how would you conjugate the verbs beber and salir?

beb beb sal sal

beb sal

beb beb sal sal

íaíasía

íamos

ían

íaíasía

íamos

ían

Preguntas

What are the differences between the –er and –ir verb endings?

There is no difference – they are the same!

What is the difference between the yo and él/ella/Ud conjugations in the imperfect?

There is no difference – they are the same!

eraerasera

éramos

eran

There are only three irregular verbs!

serNotice the

written accent mark!


ibaibasiba

íbamos

iban


irNotice the

written accent mark!


veíaveíasveía

veíamos

veían


All forms have a written accent over the í.

ver

This verb is only listed as an irregular verb because, like the yo form of the present tense, you don’t drop the “e”

The imperfect is always used to express age and time of day in the past:

Yo tenía quince años cuando aprendí a manejar.

Eran las diez cuando el tren llegó a la estación.

The use of the imperfect

I was fifteen years old when I learned to drive.

It was ten o’clock when the train arrived at the station.

While the preterit tense is used to describe actions viewed as completed, the imperfect is used to . . .

• Express ongoing actions and states in the past, without reference to their beginning or ending

• Express mental, physical, and emotional states in the past

• Describe scenarios and situations in the past

• Express indirect statements

• Express that which happened habitually


• Express anticipated/planned past actions

One of the classic uses of the imperfect is to describe our childhood habits and activities:

Expressing the habitual (used to, would)

Cuando yo era niño, yo . . .

. . . siempre estudiaba solo en mi cuarto.

. . . jugaba con mis amiguitos todos los días.


When I was a child, I . . .

. . . always studied (used to study) alone in my room.

. . . would play with my friends every day.


. . . comía cereal cada mañana.

. . . leía tebeos todo el tiempo.

. . . iba todos los veranos a Disneylandia con mis padres.


Cuando yo era niño, yo . . .When I was a child, I . . .

. . . used to eat cereal every morning.

. . . read comic books all the time.

. . . would go to Disneyland every summer with my parents.

Cuando era niño/a . . .

• Cuando eras niño/a, ¿qué hacían tú y tu familia para la Navidad?

Modelo:

• Cuando era niña, mi familia y yo íbamos a la iglesia para la Navidad. Luego, abríamos los regalos (gifts) y celebrábamos con una cena especial.


Pedro comía en ese restaurante todos los sábados.


Pedro used to eat at that restaurant every Saturday.

Of course, the imperfect is not limited to discussing childhood activities. Any habitual activities are expressed in the imperfect.

Ana iba de compras todo el tiempo.Ana used to go shopping all the time.

Time expressions which may signal habitual action (= probable use of the imperfect tense)

• a veces / algunas veces = sometimes

• de vez en cuando = from time to time

• a menudo = often

• muchas veces = many times

• frecuentemente = frequently

• generalmente / por lo general = generally

• mientras = while

• siempre = always

• todos los días, meses, años, etc. = every day, month, year

• todas las mañanas, noches, etc. = every morning, night

• cada día/noche/año, etc. = each day/night/year

The imperfect expresses something that was happening at a given time, without reference to its beginning or ending:

Expressing the ongoing (was . . . ing)

Roberto estudiaba en su cuarto.

Elena lavaba los platos en la cocina.

Ayer a eso de las cuatro yo leía el periódico mientras mi esposa miraba la tele.


Roberto was studying in his room.

Elena was washing the dishes in the kitchen.

Yesterday around four o’clock I was reading the newspaper while my wife was watching TV.

Frequently the ongoing action is interrupted by another abrupt or completed action that is expressed, of course, in the preterit:

Roberto estudiaba en su cuarto cuando el teléfono sonó.

Elena lavaba los platos en la cocina cuando alguien tocó a la puerta.

The use of the imperfectExpressing the ongoing (was . . . ing)

Roberto was studying in his room when the phone rang.

Elena was washing the dishes in the kitchen when someone knocked at the door.

Frequently the ongoing action is interrupted by another abrupt or completed action that is expressed, of course, in the preterit:

Conversábamos con el dependiente cuando Lourdes entró en la joyería.

Las chicas salían de la tienda cuando Jorge las vio.

The use of the imperfectExpressing the ongoing (was . . . ing)

We were talking with the clerk when Lourdes entered the jewelry store.

The girls were leaving the store when Jorge saw them.

¿Qué pasaba ayer cuando empezó a nevar…?

1. ¿Dónde estabas cuando empezó a nevar?

2. ¿Qué hacías tú cuando empezó a nevar?

3. ¿Qué hacía tu familia cuando empezó a nevar?

Modelo: Ayer cuando empezó a nevar, yo

estudiaba en mi casa. Mi esposo trabajaba en la

computadora y mi perro Max dormía.

Expressing mental, physical and emotional statesAlicia estaba contenta durante el

concierto.

Nos sentíamos mal después de comer allí.


Alicia was happy during the concert.

We felt sick after eating there.

De niño yo siempre creía en Santa Claus.As a child I always believed in Santa Claus.

Los estudiantes no querían estudiar aunque sabían que era necesario.

The students didn’t want to study even though they knew that it was necessary.

Describing scenarios and situations

Era un día triste. Hacía muy mal tiempo y llovía. Yo leía en mi cuarto y esperaba una llamada telefónica. Anita practicaba el piano en la sala y los niños jugaban a la pata coja en el garaje.


It was a sad day. The weather was very bad and it was raining. I was reading in my room and waiting for a telephone call. Anita was practicing the piano in the living room and the children were playing hopscotch in the garage.

Siempre a la moda.

• Yesterday you went to a fashion show by Giovani the famous Italian designer. Your friend couldn’t go and wants to know what the best models wore. Describe what they wore by conjugating the verbs in imperfecto.

La mejor modelo femenina (1) __________________ (llevar) una falda larga de seda que (2) __________________ (tener) unas floras también de seda. La falda (3) __________________ (ser) de color negro y las flores (4) __________________ (ser) de colores diferentes. La falda (5) __________________ (combinar) con una blusa de manga larga también de seda. La modelo (6) __________________ (ir) con unas sandalias negras de Pepe muy elegantes.

llevabatenía

eraeran

combinaba

iba

El modelo masculino más elegante (7) __________________ (llevar) un saco de color gris. El saco (8) __________________ (combinar) con una corbata roja y una camisa blanca. La camisa (9) __________________ (ser) de algodón pero la corbata (10) __________________ (ser) de seda. El modelo (11) __________________ (tener) un sombrero de lana muy elegante y se (12) __________________ (ver) (verse = he looked) muy bien.

llevabacombinaba

era

eratenía

veía

Expressing indirect statements

Carlos dijo que Juan venía a mi casa a las ocho.

Los agentes afirmaron que los espías hablaban muy bien el inglés.

El volante policíaco representa que el delincuente era bajo y cojeaba un poco.


Carlos said that Juan was coming to my house at eight o’clock.

The agents affirmed that the spies spoke English very well.

The police flyer states that the criminal was short and limped somewhat.

Expressing anticipated/planned past actions

Alicia dijo que salía el viernes próximo para Europa

Jorge iba a llamar a su novia, pero se olvidó.


Alicia said that she was leaving next Friday for Europe.

Jorge was going to call his girlfriend, but he forgot.

Note that the formula ir + a + infinitive can be used in the imperfect to express “was going to” in the past.

2. Habitual action

1. Age and time of day in the pastYo tenía treinta años cuando me casé.

Overview of the use of the imperfect

I was thirty years old when I got married.

Eran las tres cuando Hugo llegó.It was three o’clock when Hugo arrived.

De niño, yo siempre comía cereal.As a child, I always used to eat cereal.

Íbamos al parque con frecuencia.We would go to the park frequently.

Hablábamos español en nuestra casa.We spoke Spanish in our house.

3. Ongoing action

4. Description—setting the scene


Carlos leía el periódico mientras su hijo cortaba el césped.Carlos was reading the newspaper while his son was mowing the lawn.

Era un día muy lúgubre. El cielo estaba nublado y llovía a cántaros.

It was a very gloomy day. The sky was cloudy and it was raining cats and dogs.

5. Mental, physical, and emotional states

6. Indirect statements


Juan pensaba que necesitaba más dinero del que tenía para el viaje.

Juan thought that he needed more money than he had for the trip.

Pancho dijo que su hermano vendía su coche.Pancho said that his brother was selling his car.

7. Anticipated/planned actionsYo iba a hacer mi tarea, pero no pude hacerla.I was going to do my homework, but I failed to do it.

Top 4 Principles of Imperfect:

The imperfect is used for

a) actions and states in progress at some focused point in the past,

b) habitual past actions,

c) repetitious past actions,

d) anticipated/planned past actions.

Cuentos de Hadas

• Reading fairy tales in Spanish is a fun way to practice the uses of preterit and imperfect tenses.

• Next we’re going to read a story to see examples of these tenses!

the imperfect tense (day 2) antes, siempre hacía mis compras en las mejores boutiques. sí, pero...

Documents

irregular verbs

irregular ar verbs

imperfect tenseday

ethe imperfect

verbs beber

verbs tomar

present tense

preterit tense