Using El Pretérito Imperfecto to refer to a present action/future action Flashcards
El Pretérito Imperfecto
is used sometimes to express something that is/may be happening at the time of speaking or might/will be happening in the future
A present action
For example, in a conversation, if someone says:
Vaya, Alberto no está en casa…
Oh! Alberto is not at home…
The other speaker could reply:
No, Alberto tenía un partido de rugby, ¿no te lo dijo ayer?
No, Alberto has a rugby match, didn’t he tell you yesterday?
Despite using El Imperfecto (tenía) instead of El Presente (tiene), this is referring to what is happening in the present, at the moment of speaking, i.e. Alberto is at a rugby match at this moment.
This use of El Imperfecto shows that the speaker is trying to avoid some of the responsability for what is said.
It is as if the speaker is thinking: “This is the information I had / I heard / I’ve been told, so I assume that is what is happening.”
The same way as with the present, El Imperfecto can also be used to refer to something that will happen. For example:
Elena estará aquí esta noche, su avión aterrizaba a las nueve y media.
Elena will be here tonight, her flight lands at half past nine.
Él se reunía con el abogado mañana.
He is meeting the lawyer tomorrow.
The new tenants are moving today.
Los nuevos inquilinos se mudaban hoy.
My mother is going to the doctor this morning.
Mi madre iba al médico esta mañana.
