el imperfecto

pretrito
the preterite is used for actions in the past that are seen as
completed
tells us specifically when an action took place
Juan habl dos horas.
 Cundo se usa el pretrito?
Una accin en el pasado:
Yolanda sali de la casa
Yo te llam por telfono
Los espaoles ganaron la guerra.
Un estado, si el principio, el punto final, o Ia duracin son mencionados.
David y Lorena hablaron durante dos horas.
El seor Suarez fue presidente de este banco hasta 1997.
Una reaccin emocional [no solamente una emocin]
Cuando yo vi a mi amiga, me alegr.
Bernardo se enoj porque perdi su billetera
 imperfecto
the imperfect tense is used for past actions that did not have a
definite beginning or a definite end
tells us in general when an action took place

Las chicas hablaban en ingls.

 Usos del imperfecto
For actions that can be viewed as single events
For actions that were repeated a specific number of times
For actions that occurred during a specific period of time
For actions that were part of a chain of events
To state the beginning or the end of an action
 Usos del imperfecto
For actions that were repeated habitually
For actions that "set the stage" for another past action
For telling time
For stating one's age
For mental states (usually)
For physical sensations (usually)
To describe the characteristics of people, things or conditions
 Frases con pretrito
specific time frames
ayer (yesterday) el mes pasado (last month)
esta manana (this morning) eI ano pasado (last year) un da (one
anteayer (the day before yesterday) day)
esta tarde (this afternoon) hace dos dias, aos (two days, years
ago)
anoche (last night)
en ese momento (at that moment)
la semana pasada (last week)
ayer por la manana (yesterday
desde el primer momento (from morning)
the first moment)
entonces (then)
ayer por la tarde (vesterday afternoon)
 Frases con pretrito
repetitive, vague or non-specific time frames

a menudo (often) todas las semanas (every

muchas veces (many times) week)
a veces (sometimes) cada mes (every month)
mucho (a lot) todos los dfas (every day)
cada da (every day) cada ao (every year)
siempre (always) todo el tiempo (all the time)
cada semana (every week) frecuentemente
(frequently)
varias veces (several times)