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