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The Imperfect tense - Spanish’s other past tenseHow to use it and how it differs from the preterite.
Preterite tense review● What is the preterite tense and what
do we describe with it?o The preterite tense is one of the two past
tenses in Spanish. We use the preterite tense to talk about completed events in the past. We can also use the preterite to talk about the start or end of an event. We traveled to California for Christmas. They began to eat at 6:00.
o The other past tense is called the imperfect...
Forímation of the Imperfect tense in Spanish
● There are two sets of endings.o AR verbs
o ER and IR verbs
-aba -ábamos
-abas -abais
-aba -aban
-ía -íamos
-ías -íais
-ía -ían
Examples:HABLARhablaba, hablabas, hablaba, hablábamos, hablabais, hablaban
COMERcomía, comías, comía, comíamos, comíais, comían
VIVIRvivía, vivías, vivía, vivíamos, vivíais, vivían
Irregular preterite verbs in Spanish
● There are only 3 irregular verbs with the imperfect tense: ir, ser, ver
● IR - to goo iba, ibas, iba, íbamos, ibais, iban
● SER - to beo era, eras, era, éramos, erais, eran
● VER - to seeo veía, veías, veía, veíamos, veíais, veían
Use the Imperfect tense to...1. Indicate an action or state viewed as being in
progress in the past. It answers the question, "what was going on?"
2. Indicate a customary or repeated action or state in the past; repeated actions.
3. Describe a physical, mental, or emotional state in the past.
4. Indicate time or date in the past.5. It is used to give a person’s age in the past.6. To give descriptions in the past or paint a
background scene in the past (including describing the weather).
When using the imperfect, the exact times when events took place is not important. To be specific about when a past event occurred, use the preterite tense.
1.Actions “in progress” in the past
Examples:Yo cantaba mi canción favorita.I was singing my favorite song.
Estábamos muy cansados.We were (feeling) very tired.
2.Customary or repeated actions in the past
Examples:Cada verano mi familia iba a Disneylandia.
Every summer, my family would go to Disneyland.
Ella siempre tocaba el piano después de la escuela.
She always played the piano after school.
3.Describing physical, mental, or emotional states in the past
Examples:Tú sentías muy triste la semana pasada.
I was feeling really sad last week.
Yo estaba muy confundido en la clase de cálculo.
I was really confused in calculus class.
4.Indicating time or date in the past
Examples:Eran las siete y media de la mañana.
It was 7:30 in the morning.
Era viernes, nueve de junio.It was Friday, June 9th.
5.Describing a person’s age in the past
Examples:Señor Yates tenía diez años en 1989.
Señor Yates was 10 years old in 1989.
6.Giving background descriptions in the past
Examples:La ciudad era vieja y sucia.The city was old and dirty.
La fiesta era muy divertida y la comida estaba buena.
The party was really fun and the food was good.
Practice with the imperfect tense (AR)
1. Yo _____ (hablar) por teléfono con amigos.
2. Tú _____ (acampar) en el bosque.
3. Él _____ (estudiar) para el examen en la clase de biología.
4. Ella _____ (hornear) un pastel en la cocina.
5. Usted _____ (nadar) en el lago.
6. Nosotros ____ (dibujar) en nuestros cuadernos.
7. Ellos _____ (dar) un paseo en el parque.
8. Ellas _____ (pasar) una tarde (afternoon) con mi familia.
Practice with the imperfect tense (ER/IR)
1.Yo _____ (leer) revista
2.Tú _____ (correr) para mantenerte saludable
3.Él _____ (divertirse) con amigos
4.Ella _____ (comer) muchas frutas de niña
5.Usted _____ (tener) un picnic
6.Nosotros _____ (hacer) mucho ejercicio en el gimnasio.
7.Ustedes _____ (vivir) en Tucson
8. Yo _____ (escribir) un informe toda la noche
Preterite or Imperfect?● You want to describe how you were feeling
last week.● You are describing something you liked to do
when you were younger.● You are talking about what you did at 2:00
yesterday.● You are telling your friend where you went for
dinner last night.● You are talking about a place you used to go
every spring break on vacation.● You are saying when you finished your
homework.● You are saying what time it was when you
got home yesterday.
Preterite or Imperfect?Last summer, I went to Mexico with my family. Everyone was very excited when we arrived at the airport. While my mother was checking the luggage and my father was handling the tickets, my little sister Mary ran away. My parents dropped everything and tried to catch her, but she ducked behind the counter. Finally a manager grabbed her and brought her back to us. She was crying because she was sad that she was leaving her dog for two weeks. Everyone comforted her and, finally, she smiled and boarded the plane.
