Chapter 9 - The Imperfect Tense; Preterite vs. Imperfect; Double Object Pronouns; Uses of "se" Flashcards
What is the imperfect tense?
The imperfect tense is the verb form used in Spanish to talk about ongoing actions or conditions in the past.
Specifically:
- What one used to do habitually:
Todos los días, desayunaba a las ocho y luego caminaba a la escuela.
- To describe an action in progress in the past:
Vivíamos en Asuncion con mi prima Enedina y sus padres. - To tell time in the past:
Por lo general, eran las diez de la noche cuando comíamos. - To describe emotional or physical conditions in the past:
Todos estábamos muy contentos y nadie se enfermó ese año. Nos sentíamos muy afortunados. - To describe ongoing weather conditions in the past:
Llovía mucho en Paraguay en esa epoca. - To tell someone’s age in the past:
Enedina tenía quince años ese año.
How do you form an imperfect indicative verb?
Take the verb stem and add the corresponding imperfect stem endings.
What are the imperfect stem endings for -AR verbs?
aba
abas
aba
ábamos
abais
aban
What are the imperfect stem endings for -ER and -IR verbs?
ía
ías
ía
íamos
íais
ían
Conjugate the verb “ir” into the imperfect indicative tense:
ir:
iba
ibas
iba
ibamos
ibais
iban
Conjugate the verb “ser” into the imperfect indicative tense:
ser:
era
eras
era
éramos
erais
eran
Conjugate the verb “ver” into the imperfect indicative tense:
veía
veías
veía
veíamos
veíais
veían
Do present tense stem changing verbs carry their stem change over into the imperfect tense?
No; no verbs have stem changes in the imperfect, and there are only 3 irregular verbs at all in the imperfect: ir, ser, and ver.
What is the imperfect form of “hay”?
“había”
What are the ideal differences between the preterite and the imperfect?
The preterite is used to express “completed and over” actions.
The imperfect is used to express actions and conditions in the past that are seen as habitual or ongoing.
General guidelines for using the preterite against the imperfect:
- Relates a completed past action or series of completed past actions.
Comimos en ese restaurante la semana pasada.
We ate in that restaurant last week.
- Focuses on the beginning or end of a past event.
La cena comenzó a las nueve, pero no terminó hasta medianoche.
Dinner started at nine, but it didn’t end until midnight.
- Relates a completed past condition that is viewed as completely over and done with at this point in time (usually gives a time period associated with the condition).
Manuel estuvo enfermo por dos semanas, después de comer en ese restaurante, pero ahora está bien.
Manuel was sick for two weeks after eating in that restaurant, but now he is well.
- Relates an action that interrupted an ongoing action.
Ya comíamos el postre cuando por fin Miguel llegó al restaurante.
We were eating dessert when Miguel finally arrived at the restaurant.
General guidelines for using the imperfect against the preterite:
- Describes habitual or routine past actions.
Comíamos en ese restaurante todos las semanas.
We used to eat/ate in that restaurant every week.
- Focuses on the duration of the event in the past, rather than its beginning or end.
Cenábamos desde las nueve hasta medianoche.
We were eating from 9 until midnight.
- Describes past conditions (such as time, weather, emotional states, age, and location) that were ongoing at the time of description (no focus on the beginning of end of that condition).
El restaurante era famoso por su comida latinoamericana y estábamos muy contentos con los platos que pedimos.
The restaurant was famous for its Latin American food and we were very happy with the plates that we ordered.
- Describes ongoing background events in the past that were interrupted by another action.
Ya comíamos el postre cuando por fin Miguel llegó al restaurante.
We were eating dessert when Miguel finally arrived at the restaurant.
Here are some context words typically used with the preterite:
de repente - suddenly por fin - finally ayer - yesterday la semana pasada - last week el mes pasado - last month el año pasado - last year una vez - once dos veces - twice
Here are some context words typically used with the imperfect:
generalmente - generally por lo general - generally/usually normalmente - normally todos los días/meses/años - every day/month/year todas las semanas - every week frecuentemente - frequently típicamente - typically
What is a double object pronoun?
When you used both direct object pronouns and indirect object pronouns in a sentence.
Preparé la comida para ti.
I prepared for for you.
Te la preparé.
I prepared it for you.
Organicé un almuerzo especial para ellos.
I organized a special breakfast for them.
Se lo organicé.
I organized it for them.
