preterite vs imperfect verbs & direct object pronouns

Question 1

One-time events and completed actions that took place/started and finished at a specific moment in the past.

Mi hermano volvió a las 8. (My brother came back at 8:00.)

Ayer comí manzanas. (I ate some apples yesterday.)

Answer 1

Preterite Tense

Question 2

Completed actions that took place a specific number of times or happened during a certain time period.

Example:

La semana pasada fui de compras tres veces. (I went shopping three times last week.)

Anoche me desperté dos veces. (I woke up twice last night.)

Answer 2

Preterite Tense

Question 3

When you need to talk about actions that took place during a specific time period, but are not taking place
anymore.

Me leí ese libro en tres días. (I read that book in three days.)

Viví en Barcelona durante siete meses. (I lived in Barcelona for seven months.)

Answer 3

Preterite Tense

Question 4

With the imperfect when describing situations that changed overnight.

Estaba soltero hasta que un día conocí a María. (I was single until one day I met María.)

No quería tener hijos pero de un día para el otro cambié de opinión. (I did not want to have children, but I changed my mind overnight.)

Answer 4

Preterite Tense

Question 5

When describing actions that were part of a chain of events.

Me duché, desayuné y me fui al trabajo. (I took a shower, had breakfast and went to work.)

Abrió la carta, la leyó y la tiró a la basura. (He opened the letter, read it and threw it into the trash.)

Answer 5

Preterite Tense

Question 6

Anoche (last night)

Anoche me fui a la cama muy tarde (I went to bed very late last night)

Answer 6

Preterite Tense

Question 7

Anteanoche (the night before last)

Anteanoche no pude dormir (I couldn’t sleep the night before last)

Answer 7

Preterite tense

Question 8

Ayer (yesterday)

Ayer hizo mucho frío (It was very cold yesterday)

Answer 8

Preterite tense

Question 9

Anteayer
(the day before yesterday)

Terminé el curso anteayer (I finished the course the day before yesterday)

Answer 9

Preterite tense

Question 10

Ayer + [part of the day]
(yesterday [part of the day]…)

Ayer por la mañana fui al médico (I went to the doctor yesterday morning)

Answer 10

Preterite tense

Question 11

Desde el primer momento
(from the first moment)

Te amé desde el primer momento (I loved you from the first moment)

Answer 11

Preterite tense

Question 12

De repente (suddenly)

De repente lo entendí todo (I suddenly understood everything)

Answer 12

Preterite tense

Question 13

Durante + [period of time]
(for + period of time)

Estudié español durante cinco años (I learned Spanish for five years)

Answer 13

Preterite tense

Question 14

El otro día (the other day)

Lo vi el otro día (I saw him the other day)

Answer 14

Preterite tense

Question 15

Entonces (then)

No supe qué decir entonces (I did not know what to say then)

Answer 15

Preterite tense

Question 16

En aquel/ese momento (at that moment)

Lo entendí todo en aquel momento (I understood everything at that moment)

Answer 16

Preterite tense

Question 17

Hace + [period of time]
([period of time] ago)

Hace dos minutos terminé (I finished two minutes ago)

Answer 17

Preterite tense

Question 18

[Time period] + pasado/a
(last [time period])

Estuve en una fiesta el fin de semana pasado (I was at a party last weekend)

Answer 18

Preterite tense

Question 19

Un día (one day)

Era pobre hasta que un día me tocó la lotería (I was poor until one day I won the lottery)

Answer 19

Preterite tense

Question 20

Past actions that were not completed (i.e., actions that lasted in time).

Mi hermano descansaba. (My brother was getting some rest.)

Yo leía un libro. (I was reading a book.)

Answer 20

Past imperfect

Question 21

Describing people, things, places and
situations in the past.

La casa era grande y tenía tres balcones. (The house was big and had three balconies.)

El niño era muy guapo. (The boy was very handsome.)

Answer 21

Past imperfect

Question 22

To set the stage for another past action.

The second past action will normally need the preterite. It’s usually used to say that someone was doing something (imperfect), when all of a sudden something happened (preterite).

In fact, it’s very common to see the imperfect of estar followed by the gerund in these contexts.

Yo dormía cuando el teléfono sonó. / Yo estaba durmiendo cuando el teléfono sonó. (I was sleeping when the telephone rang.)

Cuando empezó a llover estábamos en el parque. (We were in the park when it started raining.)

Answer 22

Past imperfect

Question 23

When you want to talk about repeated or habitual actions in the past.

De pequeño solía leer mucho. (I used to read a lot when I was a child)

Solía ir a casa de mis abuelos cada sábado. (I used to go to my grandparents’ house every Saturday.)

(Note that in Spanish you can just say “de pequeño” or “de joven” (When I was young). You don’t have to say, even though you can, “Cuando era pequeño” or “Cuando era joven.”)

Answer 23

Past imperfect

Question 24

When talking about someone’s age in the past.

Cuando tenía 10 años me rompí una pierna. (When I was 10 years old I broke my leg.)

Fui a los Estados Unidos cuando tenía 15 años. (I went to the United States when I was 15 years old.)

Answer 24

Past imperfect

Question 25

When telling the time or talking about time in the past.

Eran las 12:00 cuando llamaste. (It was 12:00 when you called.)

Era muy tarde cuando volví a casa. (It was very late when I came back home.)

Answer 25

Past imperfect

Question 26

A menudo (often)

De pequeño comía helado muy a menudo (I often ate ice cream when I was a child)

Answer 26

Past imperfect

Question 27

Algunas veces (at times)

Algunas veces mi madre no me dejaba comerlo (At times my mother would not let me eat it)

Answer 27

Past imperfect

Question 28

A veces (sometimes)

A veces escuchaba a los Beatles (Sometimes I listened to the Beatles)

Answer 28

Past imperfect

Question 29

Cada [time period] (every [time period]

Cuando era joven iba de fiesta cada día (I used to go partying every day when I was young)

Answer 29

Past imperfect

Question 30

Con frecuencia / frecuentemente (frequently)

Frecuentemente volvía a casa tarde (I frequently came back home late)

Answer 30

Past imperfect

Question 31

Casi nunca (almost never)

Casi nunca tenía dinero (I almost never had any money)

Answer 31

Past imperfect

Question 32

En aquel tiempo / en aquella época (at that time)

Era muy buen estudiante en aquel tiempo (I was a very good student at that time)

Answer 32

Past imperfect

Question 33

Mientras (while)

Tú estudiabas mientras yo limpiaba (You were studying while I was cleaning)

Answer 33

Past imperfect

Question 34

Muchas veces (many times)

Muchas veces no sabía qué responder (Many times I didn’t know what to answer)

Answer 34

Past imperfect

Question 35

Todas/os + [time period] (Every [time period]

De pequeño iba a la escuela todos los días (I used to go to school every day when I was a child)

Answer 35

Past imperfect

Question 36

Todo el tiempo (all the time)

Ella lloraba todo el tiempo (She used to cry all the time)

Answer 36

Past imperfect

Question 37

Soler (used to)

Solía terminar de trabajar a las 4 de la tarde. (I used to finish work at 4 p.m.)

Answer 37

Past imperfect

Question 38

Personal pronoun:

Yo

Answer 38

Direct object pronoun:

Me

Question 39

Personal pronoun:

Tu

Answer 39

Direct Object pronoun:

Te

Question 40

Personal Pronoun:

El / usted / ella

Answer 40

Direct object pronoun:

Lo / La

Question 41

Personal pronoun:

Nosotros

Answer 41

Direct object pronoun

Nos

Question 42

Personal pronoun

Vosotros

Answer 42

Direct object pronoun

Os

Question 43

Personal pronoun

Ellos / Ustedes / ellas

Answer 43

Los / las