Spanish Notes for Preterite and Imperfect

Preterite Imperfect
 Has a specific beginning and end  Past actions that do not have a beginning or an end
 The action occurred one time  The action was occurring (in progress) in the past
 Interrupted something going on  Happened many times
 Described a condition
Key words: Key words:
 Ayer (yesterday)  A menudo (often)
 Anteayer (the day before yesterday)  A veces (sometimes)
 Anoche (last night)  Cada día (everyday)
 Desde el primer momento (from the first moment)  Cada semana (every week)
 Durante dos siglos (for two centuries)  Cada mes (every month)
 El otro día (the other day)  Cada ano (every year)
 En ese momento (at that moment)  Con frecuencia (frequently)
 Entonces (then)  De vez en cuando (from time to time)
 Esta mañana (this morning)  En aquella época (at the time)
 Esta tarde (this afternoon)  Frecuentemente (frequently)
 La semana pasada (last week)  Generalmente (usually)
 El mes pasado (last month)  Muchas veces (many times)
 Hace dos días (two days ago)  Mucho ( a lot)
 Hace dos años (two years ago)  Nunca (never)
 Ayer por la mañana (yesterday morning)  Por un rato ( for awhile)
 Ayer por la tarde (yesterday afternoon)  Siempre (always)
 Pasado/a  Tantas veces (so many times)
 Ante  Todos las semanas (every week)
 Todos los días (every day)
 Todo el tiempo (all the time)
 Varias veces (several times)
 Mientras
-ar -er, -ir -ar -er, -ir
Yo -é -í Yo -aba -ía
Tú -aste -iste Tú -abas - ías
Él, Ella, Usted -ó -ió Él, Ella, Usted -aba - ía
Nosotros/as -amos -imos Nosotros/as -ábamos - íamos
Vosotros/as -asteis -isteis Vosotros/as -abais -íais
Ellos, Ellas, Ustedes -aron -ieron Ellos, Ellas, Ustedes -aban - ían
 The preterite tells us specifically when an action took place.  The imperfect tells us in general when an action took place.
 For actions that can be viewed as single events  For actions that were repeated habitually
 For actions that were repeated a specific number of times  For actions that "set the stage" for another past action
 For actions that occurred during a specific period of time  For telling time
 For actions that were part of a chain of events  For stating one's age
 To state the beginning or the end of an action  For mental states (usually)
 For physical sensations (usually)
 To describe the characteristics of people, things or conditions
IRREGULAR VERBS: IRREGULAR VERBS:
Ser/Ir Dar Hacer Ser Ir Ver
Yo Fui Di Hice Yo Era Iba Veía
Tú Fuiste Diste Hiciste Tú Eras Ibas Veías
Él, Ella, Usted Fue Dio Hizo Él, Ella, Usted Era Iba Veía
Nosotros/as Fuimos Dimos Hicimos Nosotros/as Éramos Íbamos Veíamos
Vosotros/as Fuisteis Disteis Hicisteis Vosotros/as Erais Ibais Veíais
Ellos, Ellas, Ustedes Fueron Dieron Hicieron Ellos, Ellas, Ustedes Eran Iban Veían