How to Distinguish tenses Flashcards
1
Q
What tense is Preterite?
A
Past
2
Q
What tense is Imperfect?
A
Past
3
Q
How to tell if a tense is Preterite?
A
Something happened and its done.
- To tell of something that happened once — Fui ayer a la tienda. (I went to the store yesterday.) Escribí la carta. (I wrote the letter.)
- To tell of something that happened more than once but with a specific end — Fui ayer a la tienda seis veces. (I went to the store six times yesterday.) Leyó el libro cinco veces. (He read the book five times.)
- To indicate the beginning or end of a process — Tuvo frío. (He got cold.) El huracán se terminó a las ocho. (The hurricane was over at 8.)
4
Q
How to tell if a tense is Imperfect?
A
- To tell of past habitual or repeated actions — Iba a la tienda. (I used to go to the store.) Leíamos los libros. (We would read the books.) Lavaban las manos. (They would wash their hands.) Escribía muchas cartas. (I wrote many letters.)
- To describe a condition, mental state or state of being from the past — Había una casa aquí. (There used to be a house here.) Era estúpido. (He was stupid.) No te conocía. (I didn’t know you.) Quería estar feliz. (He wanted to be happy.) Tenía frío. (He was cold.)
- To describe an action that occurred over an unspecified time — Lavaban los manos. (They were washing their hands.) Cuando José tocaba el piano, María comía. (While José was playing the piano, María was eating.)
- To indicate time or age in the past — Era la una de la tarde. (It was 1 p.m.) Tenía 43 años. (She was 43 years old.
5
Q
How to tell if a tense is subjunctive?
A
the mood of the verb expresses either the speaker’s attitude toward the verb or describes how it is used in the sentence.
It expresses facts that are contrary to reality.
- It expresses doubt that something is or will be a fact.
- It expresses how a person feels about a possible action or state of being.
- It expresses a wish, intent or command for a possible action or state of being.
