The Past - The Imperfect

Question 1

La semana pasada trabajé sesenta horas. Which tense & why?

Answer 1

Preterit, frozen in time, “Last week I worked sixty hours.”

Question 2

Las bailarinas descansaban.

Answer 2

The ballet dancers were taking a break. Past continuous.

Question 3

Anoche mi hermano lavó los platos. Which tense & why?

Answer 3

Preterit, frozen in time, “Last night my brother washed the dishes.”

Question 4

La mujer llevaba zapatos de piel de cocodrilo. Why imperfect?

Answer 4

Describing a person. “The woman was wearing cocodrile skin shoes. “

Question 5

what 3 verbs are irregular in the imperfect (and only 3)?

Answer 5

ir (to go), ser (to be) and ver (to see).

Question 6

conjugate ser in the imperfect

Answer 6

era, eras, era, éramos, erais, eran

Question 7

conjugate ver in the imperfect

Answer 7

veía, veías, veía, veíamos, veíais, veían

Question 8

conjugate ir in the imperfect

Answer 8

iba, ibas, iba, íbamos, ibais, iban

Question 9

conjugate regular -ir verb in the imperfect (sentir)

Answer 9

sent–ía, –ías, –ía, –íamos, –íais, –ían (same as -er verbs)

Question 10

Can also use imperfect to tell what?

Answer 10

to tell the time and the age someone of something was in the past.

Question 11

De joven, mi hermano siempre lavaba los platos. Which tense? why?

Answer 11

Imperfect, action suspended in the past, “As a young man, my brother would always wash the dishes.”

Question 12

De joven, yo trabajaba en una librería todos los sábados. Which tense & why?

Answer 12

Imperfect, action suspended in the past, “As a young man, I worked at a bookstore.”

Question 13

Miguel comía en la cocina.

Answer 13

Miguel was eating in the kitchen. Past continuous.

Question 14

Agustín tocaba el saxo en una banda de jazz

Answer 14

Agustín played the sax in a jazz band. Simple past.

Question 15

Sentían un profundo amor por sus hijos. Why imperfect?

Answer 15

Describing feelings, “They felt a deep love for their children.”

Question 16

conj

ugate regular -ar verb in the imperfect (hablar)

Answer 16

com–ía, –ías, –ía, –íamos, –íais, –ían (same as -ir verbs)

Question 17

Ayer fui a la biblioteca a estudiar. Which tense & why?

Answer 17

Preterit, frozen in time, “Yesterday I went to the library to study.”

Question 18

El domingo, jugué a fútbol con mis amigos. Which tense & why?

Answer 18

Preterit, frozen in time, “On Sunday, I played soccer with my friends.”

Question 19

Imperfect is used to describe 15 different types of things in the past, name them.

Answer 19

(i) people, (ii) animals, (iii) weather,
(iv) things, (v) places, (vi) situations,
(vii) sensations, (viii) feelings, (ix) emotions,
(x) moods, (xi) states of mind, (xii) events,
(xiii) scenes, (xiv) attitudes,(xv) convictions, etc.

Question 20

El calor era insoportable. Why imperfect?

Answer 20

Describing the weather or a situation, “The heat was unbearable. “

Question 21

Todos los sábados comía en casa de mis abuelos. Which tense & why?

Answer 21

Imperfect, action suspended in the past, “Every Saturday I had lunch at my grandparents’.”

Question 22

El sábado pasado comí en casa de mis abuelos. Which tense and why?

Answer 22

Preterit, frozen in time, “Last Saturday I had lunch at my grandparents’.”

Question 23

Tú no hablabas por teléfono.

Answer 23

You were not talking on the phone. Past continuous.

Question 24

what 2 things does imperfect narrate in the past?

Answer 24

(I) habitual or repeated actions or conditions in the past; and
(ii) on going actions in the past

Question 25

Las bailarinas comían una dieta rica en proteínas vegetales.

Answer 25

The ballet dancers ate a diet high in proteins. Simple past

Question 26

what type of expressions accompany the imperfect?

Answer 26

Expressions which free an action from a specific ending time, and in doing so, such an action remains suspended in the past eg

• de niño/a (as a child),
• de mayor (as an adult),
• todos los días (every day),
• mientras (while),
• siempre (always)

Question 27

Cuando tenía ocho años, me gustaba bailar como Michael Jackson.

Answer 27

telling the age someone was in the past, “When I was eight years old, I liked to dance like Michael Jackson. “

Question 28

Laura trabajaba en una agencia de viajes.

Answer 28

Laura worked at a travel agency. Simple past.

Question 29

Este fin de semana, leí una novela de quinientas páginas Which tense & why?

Answer 29

Preterit, frozen in time, “This weekend, I read a five hundred-page novel.”

Question 30

La casa tenía cinco habitaciones. Why imperfect?

Answer 30

Describing a place, “The house had five rooms.”

Question 31

¿Por qué gritabas tanto?

Answer 31

Why were you yelling so much? Past continuous.

Question 32

Eran las dos de la madrugada y no sabía dónde ir.

Answer 32

telling the time in the past, “It was two in the morning and I didn’t know where to go.”

Question 33

what type of expressions accompany the preterit?

Answer 33

Expressions which freeze time in the past eg ayer, la semana pasada, hace dos horas, el año pasado, etc

Question 34

Vosotros tomabais el sol en la terraza.

Answer 34

You guys were sunbathing on the terrace. Past continuous.

Question 35

Mi vecina dibujaba retratos de famosos para ganarse la vida.

Answer 35

My neighbour drew portraits of celebrities to make a living. Simple past.

Question 36

Ongoing actions in past (imperfect) can be expressed in English in 2 different ways. What are they?

Answer 36

(I) simple past eg worked, taught; or

(ii) past continuous eg was eating, were playing

Question 37

De niña, iba a la biblioteca a estudiar. Which tense & why?

Answer 37

Imperfect, action suspended in the past, “As a child, I used to go to the library to study.”

Question 38

what is the key difference between the preterit and the imperfect?

Answer 38

the former describes actions which are considered as completely finished, the latter describes actions which lasted for a while but whose ending is not specified. This is a very clear way to distinguish between the uses of these two tenses.

Question 39

De niño, siempre jugaba a fútbol con mis amigos Which tense & why?

Answer 39

Imperfect, action suspended in the past, “As a kid, I would always play soccer with my friends.”

Question 40

conjugate regular -ar verb in the imperfect (hablar)

Answer 40

habl–ar: –aba, –abas, –aba, –ábamos, –abais, –aban.

Question 41

Habían muchas personas en la calle. OR

Había muchas personas en la calle. WHICH is correct?

Answer 41

The second as “había”, the imperfect of haber, is used for both singular and plural, “There were a lot of people in the street.”

Question 42

De adolescente, siempre empezaba muchas novelas, pero nunca terminaba ninguna. Which tense & why?

Answer 42

Imperfect, action suspended in the past, “As a teenager, I began a lot of novels, but I never finished any.”

Question 43

What is the key thing which differentiates imperfect from preterit?

Answer 43

Never mention when the action starts or finishes