Past tense

Question 1

When is the imperfect tense used?

Answer 1

When talking about what used to happen (no specified time- habitual or repeated happenings), description and to say what was happening at a particular time.

Question 2

How is the imperfect formed?

Answer 2

-Ar:                       -Ir/Er:
aba                        ía
abas                      ías
aba                        ía
ábamos                íamos
abais                     íais               
aban                      ían

Question 3

How are ser and ir formed in the imperfect?

Answer 3

Ser:                      Ir:
era                       iba
eras                     ibas
éramos               íbamos
erais                    ibais
eran                     iban

Question 4

When is the imperfect continuous used?

Answer 4

Used to describe ongoing actions in the past and where an extra emphasis is required to stress the ongoing nature of the action.

Question 5

How is the imperfect continuous formed?

Answer 5

Imperfect of estar + gerund of the verb. E.g. Estaba hablando, Estabas viviendo etc.

Question 6

When is the preterite tense (past simple) used?

Answer 6

It is used when describing an action that has been completed OR an action which took place over a defined period of time.

Question 7

How is the preterite (past simple) formed?

Answer 7

- AR:    - ER/ IR:
é             í
aste        iste
ó             ió
amos       imos
asteis      isteis 
aron        ieron

Question 8

What happens to most ir verbs in the preterite?

Answer 8

They change in the third person plural and singular.

e- i ( ie in present) e- i (i in present) o-u (ue in present)

Question 9

Which verbs have a y in their third person verb forms in the preterite? (4)

Answer 9

Caer, leer, oir and verbs ending in uir.

Question 10

What happens to verb stem endings in c, g, z in the preterite?

Answer 10

C= Qu
G= Gu 
Z= Reverts back to yo form

Question 11

Dar and ver in the preterite?

Answer 11

Dar:                  Ver:
Di                      Vi
Diste                 Viste
Dio                    Vio
Dimos               Vimos
Disteis              Visteis
Dieron              Vieron

Question 12

Which two verbs are the same in the preterite?

Answer 12

Ser and Ir.
Fui
Fuiste
Fue
Fuimos
Fuisteis
Fueron

Question 13

Which verbs are in the preterite grave group? (10)

Answer 13

Estar (estuve, estuviste, estuvo, estuvimos, estuvisteis, estuvieron)
Andar (Anduve)
Caber- to fit (Cupe)
Hacer (Hice)
Poder (Pude)
Poner (Puse) con los compuestos (imponer, proponer, suponer)
Querer (Quise)
Saber (Supe)
Tener (Tuve) con los compuestos (mantener, obtener, sostener)
Venir (Vine)

Question 14

What are the endings for the preterite grave group?

Answer 14

Four of the endings are the same for the -er and -ir verbs. The endings for the first and third person singular are like those for -ar verbs but are unstressed and have no accent.

Question 15

What happens to verbs with the stem ending j in the third person plural?

Answer 15

They take on -eron as the ending.

Question 16

When is the perfect tense used?

Answer 16

To say what has happened and what someone has done in the recent past.

Question 17

How is the perfect tense formed?

Answer 17

Haber + the past participle (He, has, ha, habéis, hemos, han)

Question 18

What are the irregular past participles? (17-REVV MAC PHDD)

Answer 18

Abrir- Abierto
Cubrir- Cubierto
Descubrir- Descubierto
Decir- Dicho
Volver- Vuelto
Devolver- Devuelto
Disolver- Disuelto
Resolver- Resuelto
Escribir- Escrito
Describir- Descrito
Freír- Frito
Hacer- Hecho
Satisfacer- Satisfecho  (Satisfy) 
Morir- Muerto 
Poner- Puesto
Romper- Roto (Break)
Ver- Visto

Question 19

When is the pluperfect used?

Answer 19

To describe events that had happened before the other events expressed in the perfect. E.g. When we arrived, they HAD already FINISHED.

Question 20

How is the pluperfect formed?

Answer 20

Imperfect of haber + past participle.

Question 21

How is the future perfect formed?

Why is it used?

Answer 21

Future of haber (Habré, habrás, habrá, habréis, habremos, habrán) + past participle.

It is used to tell you what will have happened. E.g. They WILL HAVE FINISHED before we arrive.

Question 22

How is the conditional perfect formed?

Why is it used?

Answer 22

Conditional of haber (ra form as in habría as opposed to hubiera) + past participle.

To tell you what would have happened. E.g. They WOULD HAVE arrived.

Question 23

How is the past anterior formed?

Why is it used?

Answer 23

Preterite of haber (hube, hubiste, hubo, hubimos, hubisteis, hubieron) + past participle.

Mainly a literary tense but used after time expressions such as cuando (when), así que/ en cuanto ( as soon as ), no bien (no sooner), apenas (hardly) to say things like ‘had bought/eaten’. E.g. Hardly HAD WE ARRIVED when they finished (Apenas hubimos llegado cuando terminaron).