Evelyn Silva
Two weeks ago, I was teaching the uses of the imperfect. My students seemed to be confused and some frustrated because they couldn’t understand why Spanish language has two different tenses to narrate events in the past. Several of them stopped by after school and asked me the same question: but is it not the same?
In Spanish, deciding when to use preterite or imperfect can be one of the biggest challenges for every student. Practicing is never enough. That’s why I decided to create a handout, an easy way to describe the use of these tenses:
1. Preterit is used to list/express completed actions in the past.
2. Imperfect is used to describe habitual actions in the past.
PRETERITE
Refers to an action or state completed in the past. Usually, time expressions indicate that the action have been accomplished during an specific period of time in the past. Time expressions such as ayer, anteayer, anoche, la semana pasada, etc. help us to identify the use of preterite.
a) Ana bailó en el carnaval ayer.
b) Regresamos a la ciudad la semana pasada.
When we are listing series of sequential actions in the past. Adverbs like primero, después, entonces, etc., are often used to detail a sequence of actions.
Los hermanos García salieron de la casa de su abuela temprano en la mañana. Primero, recorrieron toda la ciudad con su amiga Ana. Después fueron a visitar a sus primos y comieron un rico almuerzo que preparó la tía Gertrudis. Ya por la noche, regresaron a la casa de sus padres para descansar.
IMPERFECT
Recalls a past action without indicating specifically when the even or the condition began or ended.
Describes an ongoing past action; a repeated (habitual) past action or a long-standing situation.
1. Age in the past: Carla tenía 3 años cuando (when) sus padres la llevaron a Disney.
2. Telling time in the past: Eran (it was…) las tres de la tarde cuando Ana llegó al parque.
3. Describing the weather in the past: Ayer hacía mucho frío y llovía.
4. Describing people, actions or situations in the past:
a) Mi abuela tenía el pelo largo cuando era joven. Ella compraba palomitas de maíz todas las tardes.
b) Había muchas personas en el parque ayer.
5. Feelings: Elena estaba feliz montando los carros chocones.
6. An action in progress in the past over an indefinite period of time:
a) Los jóvenes disfrutaban de las atracciones en el parque.
7. An action which was an habit in the past: Cada verano visitábamos San Salvador.
8. Two simultaneous actions in the past:
a) Yo comía golosinas mientras (while) mi hermano montaba en el carrusel.
9. An ongoing action in the past interrupted by another action which occurred in the past:
a) Montábamos en la rueda de Chicago cuando comenzó a llover.
