Past Tense - Imperfect Vs. Preterite Flashcards
Hablar into preterite:
Yo hablé Tú hablaste El/Ella/Usted habló Nosotros hablamos Vosotros hablasteis Ellos/Ustedes hablaron
Hablar into imperfect:
Yo hablaba Tú hablabas El/Ella/Usted hablaba Nosotros hablábamos Vosotros hablabais Ellos/Ustedes hablaban
When should you use preterite?
For actions in the past that are seen as completed and linked to the present. Use of preterite implies the past action had a definite beginning and definite end. The beginning and end are not necessarily clearly stated, only implied.
When should you use imperfect?
For actions in the past that are not seen as completed. Specifically those without a definite beginning or end.
Situations that are covered by this rule include actions that were habitually repeated (lunching every day), set the stage for another action (I was eating when …) and telling time/age (It was 7 o’clock/she was five years old).
Preterite tells us SPECIFICALLY when an action took place
Imperfect tells us GENERALLY when an action took place
Give an example of each for Juan and Andrea speaking together in the past.
Juan y Andrea hablaban en español (imperfect, they used to speak in spanish)
Juan y Andrea hablaron por cinco minutos. (preterite, they spoke for five minutes)
Comer into preterite:
Yo comí Tú comiste El/Ella/Usted comió Nosotros comimos Vosotros comisteis Ellos/Ustedes comieron
Vivir into preterite:
Yo viví Tú viviste El/Ella/Usted vivió Nosotros vivimos Vosotros vivisteis Ellos/Ustedes vivieron
-ar verb endings - preterite:
é aste ó amos asteis aron
-er and -ir verb endings are the same for preterite, list them:
í iste ió imos isteis ieron
-ar verb endings - imperfect:
Note: this is the verb ending for estar, which is regular in the imperfect tense
aba abas aba ábamos abais aban
-er and -ir verb endings are the same for imperfect, list them:
ía ías ía íamos íais ían
The verb ‘ir’ is irregular in the IMPERFECT, conjugate it:
iba ibas iba íbamos ibais iban
The verb ‘ir’ is irregular in the PRETERITE, conjugate it:
fui fuiste fue fuimos fuisteis fueron
The verb ‘estar’ is irregular in one of the two past tenses but not the other. Name the irregular tense and conjugate:
PRETERITE estuve estuviste estuvo estuvimos estuvisteis estuvieron
The verb ‘ser’ is irregular in the PRETERITE, conjugate it:
fui fuiste fue fuimos fuisteis fueron
