1 St. Aloysius School Spanish III Preterite vs Imperfect: Part I Spanish has two past tenses: preterite and imperfect. Most verbs can be put into either tense, depending upon the meaning. In this lesson, you will learn to conjugate regular –ar verbs in the preterite and the imperfect. You will also learn the basic difference between the preterite and the imperfect, so that you can begin using them correctly. To conjugate regular -ar verbs in the preterite, simply drop the ending (-ar) and add one of the following: -é -aste -ó -amos -aron -aron To conjugate regular -ar verbs in the imperfect, simply drop the ending (-ar) and add one of the following endings: -aba -abas -aba -ábamos -aban -aban Compare the verb “hablar” conjugated in the preterite and the imperfect. P R E T E R I T E I M P E R F E C T hablé hablaste habló hablamos hablasteis hablaron hablaba hablabas hablaba hablábamos hablabais hablaban
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St. Aloysius School
Spanish III
Preterite vs Imperfect: Part I
Spanish has two past tenses: preterite and imperfect. Most verbs can be put into either tense,
depending upon the meaning. In this lesson, you will learn to conjugate regular –ar verbs in the
preterite and the imperfect. You will also learn the basic difference between the preterite and
the imperfect, so that you can begin using them correctly.
To conjugate regular -ar verbs in the preterite, simply drop the ending (-ar) and add one of the
following:
-é
-aste
-ó
-amos
-aron
-aron
To conjugate regular -ar verbs in the imperfect, simply drop the ending (-ar) and add one of the
following endings:
-aba
-abas
-aba
-ábamos
-aban
-aban
Compare the verb “hablar” conjugated in the preterite and the imperfect.
P R E T E R I T E I M P E R F E C T
hablé
hablaste
habló
hablamos
hablasteis
hablaron
hablaba
hablabas
hablaba
hablábamos
hablabais
hablaban
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Generally speaking, the preterite is used
for actions in the past that are seen as
completed. Use of the preterite tense
implies that the past action had a definite
beginning and definite end.
Juan habló de la una hasta las dos.
Juan spoke from one until two o’clock.
(Clearly stated beginning and end)
It is important to realize that the beginning and the end may not always be clearly stated.
Juan habló dos horas.
Juan spoke for two hours.
(Implied beginning and end)
Juan habló con la estudiante.
Juan spoke with the student.
(Implied beginning and end)
Generally speaking, the imperfect is used for
actions in the past that are not seen as
completed. Use of the imperfect tense
implies that the past action did not have a
definite beginning or a definite end.
Las chicas hablaban en inglés.
The girls used to speak in English.
(No definite beginning or end)
You have now learned the basic difference
between the preterite and the imperfect:
The preterite tells us specifically when an action took place.
The imperfect tells us in general when an action took place.
NOTE: Although this difference may appear simple, this is actually a complex topic, and you
will learn the finer points in later lessons.
Do Exercise A & B in the back of this packet.
Fr. Clint sayz: For the sake of
simplicity at this point,
translate the preterite as the
simple past: eg. I ate, drank,
looked, etc. Translate the
imperfect with “used to” or
“was”/”were”: eg. I used to
eat, I was drinking, we were
looking, etc. And sometimes you just have to eat some
chocolate!
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ER and IR verbs in the Preterite Tense
In the last lesson, you learned that the preterite is used for past actions that are seen as
completed. You also learned how to conjugate regular -ar verbs. In this lesson, you will learn
how to conjugate -er and -ir verbs, and become more familiar with the uses of the preterite.
As we have seen, to conjugate regular -ar verbs in the preterite, simply drop the ending (-ar) and
add one of the following:
-é
-aste
-ó
-amos
-aron
-aron
Now, to conjugate regular -er and -ir verbs in the preterite, simply drop the ending (-er or -ir)
and add one of the following:
-í
-iste
-ió
-imos
-ieron
-ieron
Here are all three regular preterite verb forms together:
hablar comer vivir
hablé comí viví
hablaste comiste viviste
habló comió vivió
hablamos comimos vivimos
hablaron comieron vivieron
hablaron comieron vivieron
Note: the nosotros forms for -ar and -ir verbs are the same in both preterite and present
tenses: hablamos, vivimos.
The preterite is used for actions that can be viewed as single events.
Ella caminó por el parque.
She walked through the park.
Ellos llegaron a las ocho.
They arrived at eight o'clock.
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The preterite is used for actions that were repeated a specific number of times, or occurred
during a specific period of time.
Ayer escribí tres cartas.
Yesterday I wrote three letters.
Vivimos allí por cuatro años.
We lived there for four years.
The preterite is used for actions that were part of a chain of events.
Ella se levantó, se vistió, y salió de la casa.
She got up, dressed, and left the house.
The preterite is used to state the beginning or the end of an action.
Empezó a nevar a las ocho de la mañana.
It began to snow at eight in the morning.
The above examples all fall within our general rule for using the preterite:
The preterite is used for past actions that are seen as completed.
ER and IR Verbs in the Imperfect Tense
As we saw above, you learned that the imperfect is used for past actions that are not seen as
completed. Use of the imperfect tense implies that the past action did not have a definite
beginning or a definite end. You also learned how to conjugate regular -ar verbs. In this lesson,
you will learn how to conjugate -er and -ir verbs, and become more familiar with the uses of the
imperfect.
To conjugate regular -ar verbs in the imperfect, simply drop the ending (-ar) and add one of the
following:
-aba
-abas
-aba
-ábamos
-aban
-aban
Now, to conjugate regular -er and -ir verbs in the imperfect, simply drop the ending (-er or -ir)
and add one of the following:
-ía
-ías
-ía
-íamos
-ían
-ían
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Here are all three regular imperfect verb forms together:
hablar comer vivir
hablaba comía vivía
hablabas comías vivías
hablaba comía vivía
hablábamos comíamos vivíamos
hablaban comían vivían
hablaban comían vivían
The imperfect is used for actions that were repeated habitually.
Almorzábamos juntos todos los días.
We would lunch together every day.
Las señoras siempre charlaban por las
mañanas.
The ladies would always chat in the
mornings.
The imperfect is used for actions that "set the stage" for another action.
Yo leía cuando entró mi papá.
I was reading when my papa entered. (Note that "entered" is preterite)
The imperfect is used for telling time and stating one's age.
Eran las siete de la noche.
It was seven o'clock at night.
La niña tenía cinco años.
The little girl was five years old.
The above examples all fall within our general rule for using the imperfect:
The imperfect is used for past actions that are not seen as completed.
Do Exercise C at the end of this packet.
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Seeing them all lined up!
Subject
Pronoun
Translation AR Verb Tranlsation ER Verb Translation IR Verb Translation
Hablar Comer Vivir
Present Tense Yo I Hablo I talk Como I eat Vivo I live
Tu You Hablas You talk Comes You eat Vives You live
El, ella S/he Habla s/he talks Come s/he eats Vive s/he lives
Nosotros We Hablamos We talk Comemos We eat Vivimos We live
Ustedes You-all Hablan You-all talk Comen You-all eat Viven You-all live
Ustedes They Hablan They talk Comen They eat Viven They live
Imperfect Tense Yo I hablaba I was talking comía I was eating vivía I was living
Tu You hablabas You were
talking
comías You were
eating
vivías You were
living
El, ella S/he hablaba s/he was
talking
comía s/he was
eating
vivía s/he was
living
Nosotros We hablábamos We were
talking
comíamos We were
eating
vivíamos We were
living
Ustedes You-all hablaban You-all were
talking
comían You-all were
eating
vivían You-all were
living
Ustedes They hablaban They were
talking
comían They were
eating
vivín They were
living
Preterite Yo I hablé I spoke comí I ate viví I lived
Tu You hablaste You spoke comiste You ate viviste You lived
El, ella S/he habló s/he spoke comió S/he ate vivió S/he lived
Nosotros We hablamos We spoke comimos We ate vivimos We lived
Ustedes They hablaron They Spoke comieron They ate vivieron They lived
El dia de los muertos!
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Ser, Ir, Dar & Hacer in the Preterite Tense… In this lesson you will learn to conjugate four important verbs in the preterite tense: ser, ir, dar and hacer.
These four verbs are irregular; you must memorize them – there’s no easy way around it:
Ser (to be) Ir (to go) Dar (to give) Hacer (to do or make)
fui fui di hice
fuiste fuiste diste hiciste
fue fue dio hizo
fuimos fuimos dimos hicimos
fueron fueron dieron hicieron
fueron fueron dieron hicieron
Note: This is not a typo; ser and ir do have identical conjugations in the preterite!
To review some of the rules for using the preterite:
• The preterite is used for actions that can be viewed as single events.
• The preterite is used for actions that were repeated a specific number of times.
• The preterite is used for actions that occurred during a specific period of time.
• The preterite is used for actions that were part of a chain of events.
• The preterite is used to state the beginning or the end of an action.
… and in the Imperfect Tense! Remember, the imperfect is used for past actions that are not seen as completed. Use of the imperfect tense
implies that the past action did not have a definite beginning or a definite end. The imperfect tells when -- in
general, an action occurred.
Good news! There are only three irregular verbs in the imperfect.
You must simply memorize them.
Ser (to be) Ir (to go) Ver (to look at or to see)
era iba veía
eras ibas veías
era iba veía
éramos íbamos veíamos
erais ibais veíais
eran iban veían
To review some of the rules for using the imperfect:
• The imperfect is used for actions that were repeated habitually.
• The imperfect is used for actions that "set the stage" for another action.
• The imperfect is used for telling time and stating one's age.
Do Exercise D at the end of this packet.
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Can there possibly be more on the preterite and imperfect? Don’t forget and please remember, Spanish has two past tenses: preterite and imperfect. Most
verbs can be put into either tense, depending upon the meaning. The preterite tells
us specifically when an action took place. The imperfect tells us in general when an action took
place.
Some words and phrases indicate specific time frames, and therefore signal the use of the