The Past - The Imperfect Flashcards
La semana pasada trabajé sesenta horas. Which tense & why?
Preterit, frozen in time, “Last week I worked sixty hours.”
Las bailarinas descansaban.
The ballet dancers were taking a break. Past continuous.
Anoche mi hermano lavó los platos. Which tense & why?
Preterit, frozen in time, “Last night my brother washed the dishes.”
La mujer llevaba zapatos de piel de cocodrilo. Why imperfect?
Describing a person. “The woman was wearing cocodrile skin shoes. “
what 3 verbs are irregular in the imperfect (and only 3)?
ir (to go), ser (to be) and ver (to see).
conjugate ser in the imperfect
era, eras, era, éramos, erais, eran
conjugate ver in the imperfect
veía, veías, veía, veíamos, veíais, veían
conjugate ir in the imperfect
iba, ibas, iba, íbamos, ibais, iban
conjugate regular -ir verb in the imperfect (sentir)
sent–ía, –ías, –ía, –íamos, –íais, –ían (same as -er verbs)
Can also use imperfect to tell what?
to tell the time and the age someone of something was in the past.
De joven, mi hermano siempre lavaba los platos. Which tense? why?
Imperfect, action suspended in the past, “As a young man, my brother would always wash the dishes.”
De joven, yo trabajaba en una librería todos los sábados. Which tense & why?
Imperfect, action suspended in the past, “As a young man, I worked at a bookstore.”
Miguel comía en la cocina.
Miguel was eating in the kitchen. Past continuous.
Agustín tocaba el saxo en una banda de jazz
Agustín played the sax in a jazz band. Simple past.
Sentían un profundo amor por sus hijos. Why imperfect?
Describing feelings, “They felt a deep love for their children.”
conj
ugate regular -ar verb in the imperfect (hablar)
com–ía, –ías, –ía, –íamos, –íais, –ían (same as -ir verbs)
Ayer fui a la biblioteca a estudiar. Which tense & why?
Preterit, frozen in time, “Yesterday I went to the library to study.”
El domingo, jugué a fútbol con mis amigos. Which tense & why?
Preterit, frozen in time, “On Sunday, I played soccer with my friends.”
Imperfect is used to describe 15 different types of things in the past, name them.
(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.
El calor era insoportable. Why imperfect?
Describing the weather or a situation, “The heat was unbearable. “
Todos los sábados comía en casa de mis abuelos. Which tense & why?
Imperfect, action suspended in the past, “Every Saturday I had lunch at my grandparents’.”
El sábado pasado comí en casa de mis abuelos. Which tense and why?
Preterit, frozen in time, “Last Saturday I had lunch at my grandparents’.”
Tú no hablabas por teléfono.
You were not talking on the phone. Past continuous.
what 2 things does imperfect narrate in the past?
(I) habitual or repeated actions or conditions in the past; and
(ii) on going actions in the past
Las bailarinas comían una dieta rica en proteínas vegetales.
The ballet dancers ate a diet high in proteins. Simple past
what type of expressions accompany the imperfect?
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)
Cuando tenía ocho años, me gustaba bailar como Michael Jackson.
telling the age someone was in the past, “When I was eight years old, I liked to dance like Michael Jackson. “
Laura trabajaba en una agencia de viajes.
Laura worked at a travel agency. Simple past.
Este fin de semana, leí una novela de quinientas páginas Which tense & why?
Preterit, frozen in time, “This weekend, I read a five hundred-page novel.”
La casa tenía cinco habitaciones. Why imperfect?
Describing a place, “The house had five rooms.”
¿Por qué gritabas tanto?
Why were you yelling so much? Past continuous.
Eran las dos de la madrugada y no sabía dónde ir.
telling the time in the past, “It was two in the morning and I didn’t know where to go.”
what type of expressions accompany the preterit?
Expressions which freeze time in the past eg ayer, la semana pasada, hace dos horas, el año pasado, etc
Vosotros tomabais el sol en la terraza.
You guys were sunbathing on the terrace. Past continuous.
Mi vecina dibujaba retratos de famosos para ganarse la vida.
My neighbour drew portraits of celebrities to make a living. Simple past.
Ongoing actions in past (imperfect) can be expressed in English in 2 different ways. What are they?
(I) simple past eg worked, taught; or
(ii) past continuous eg was eating, were playing
De niña, iba a la biblioteca a estudiar. Which tense & why?
Imperfect, action suspended in the past, “As a child, I used to go to the library to study.”
what is the key difference between the preterit and the imperfect?
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.
De niño, siempre jugaba a fútbol con mis amigos Which tense & why?
Imperfect, action suspended in the past, “As a kid, I would always play soccer with my friends.”
conjugate regular -ar verb in the imperfect (hablar)
habl–ar: –aba, –abas, –aba, –ábamos, –abais, –aban.
Habían muchas personas en la calle. OR
Había muchas personas en la calle. WHICH is correct?
The second as “había”, the imperfect of haber, is used for both singular and plural, “There were a lot of people in the street.”
De adolescente, siempre empezaba muchas novelas, pero nunca terminaba ninguna. Which tense & why?
Imperfect, action suspended in the past, “As a teenager, I began a lot of novels, but I never finished any.”
What is the key thing which differentiates imperfect from preterit?
Never mention when the action starts or finishes
