Preterite vs. Imperfect

Question 0

Preterite clue words

Answer 0

Una vez
Ayer
Un día
Esta mañana
Cuando
De repente
El \_\_\_\_\_ pasado
Anoche
Anteayer

Question 1

Preterite is used when…

Answer 1

Completed action
Indicating the beg. or end of action
Action that happened at a specific 
     point in time
Well-defined action or event
Historical Facts
Special meaning verbs
Interrupting action (cuando)

Question 2

Imperfect is used when…

Answer 2

Repeated actions
Descriptions in the past (situation/
     scene)
5 descriptive verbs
Mental Process verbs
Emotional state
Simultaneous action (mientras)
Process over a period of time
Past progressive (Estaba+ando/iendo)

Question 3

Imperfect clue words

Answer 3

Siempre
Todos los días
Los sábados
Generalmente
Mientras
Todo el tiempo
A menudo
De vez en cuando
Muchas veces

Question 4

5 descriptive verbs in imperfect

Answer 4

Era (ser)
Estaba (estar)
Tenía (tener)
Hacía (hacer)
Había (haber)

Question 5

Meaning changers

Answer 5

Conocer: met (conocí)
Saber: found out (supe)
Tener: got, received (tuve)
Querer: tried (quise)
No querer: refused (no quise)
Poder: managed to (pude)
No poder: failed (no pude)

Question 6

Orthographics

Car, gar, zar

Answer 6

C>qu
G>gu
Z>c
***ONLY IN YO

Question 7

Base changers endings

Answer 7

e imos
iste isteis
o ieron

*no accents

Question 8

Andar

Answer 8

Anduv-

Question 9

Caber

Answer 9

cup-

Question 10

Estar

Answer 10

Estuv-

Question 11

Haber

Answer 11

Hub-

Question 12

Hacer

Answer 12

Hic-

***3rd person singular: hizo

Question 13

Poder

Answer 13

Pud-

Question 14

Poner

Answer 14

Pus-

Question 15

Querer

Answer 15

Quis-

Question 16

Saber

Answer 16

Sub-

Question 17

Tener

Answer 17

Tuv-

Question 18

Venir

Answer 18

Vin-

Question 19

Decir

Answer 19

Dij-

***drop i in and have dijeron not dijieron…

Question 20

Traer

Answer 20

Traj-

**drop i to make trajeron

Question 21

Producir

Answer 21

Produj-

**drop i in ieron to make produjeron

Question 22

Stem changers (3 guidelines)

Answer 22

Only ir verbs
e>i, o>u
Only in 3rd person

(If it has ñ before ir then it drops i’s to keep ñ)

Question 23

i>y verbs

Answer 23

Only er/ir verbs or -uir verbs
Only 3rd person
Accent all forms but ellos

Él: -yó
Ellos: -yeron

Ex. Caer, construir, creer, distribuir, huir, influir, leer, oír, poseer

Question 24

Only irregulars in imperfect…

Answer 24

Ser (era, eras, era, erámos, erais, eran)
Ir (iba, ibas, iba, íbamos, ibais, iban)
Ver (veía, veías, veía, veíamos, veíais,
veían)

Question 25

Regular -ar endings for Preterite

Answer 25

• é -amos
• aste -asteis
• ó -aron

Question 26

Regular -ir/er endings for Preterite

Answer 26

• í -imos
• iste -isteis
• ió -ieron

Question 27

Regular -ar endings for Imperfect

Answer 27

• aba -ábamos
• abas -abais
• aba -aban

Question 28

Regular -er/ir endings for Imperfect

Answer 28

• ía -íamos
• ías -íais
• ía -ían

Question 29

Captain SED

Answer 29

Preterite
(Completed
 Special meaning
 Exact time
 Date)

Question 30

SPIDER

Answer 30

Imperfect
(Simultaneous action
 Period of time
 Ing - Estar + ando/iendo
 Description
 Emotion
 Repeated)