The Preterit vs. The Imperfect

1
The Preterit vs. The Imperfect

• The Match of the Decade

2
Preterit
Imperfect
3
It aint over till its over

• Preterit describes completed events.
• Often, we use a word that indicates a time
  limitation.
• Ayer estuve enfermo.
• El año pasado jugué al fútbol.
• Mi gato murió.

• Imperfect describes past actions in process.
• Íbamos al cine cuando el carro descompuso.
• We were going to the movies when the car broke
  down. (We might still be going)
• Miraba la tele cuando mi novia llegó.
• I was watching T.V. when she arrived.

4
I was watching TV when she arrived.

• Lets look at this sentence a bit more closely
• Yo miraba la tele cuando ella llegó.
• If we drew a picture of these actions, they would
  look something like this
• x llegó
• m i r a b a
• The imperfect can describe an ongoing action that
  is interrupted by a finite (preterite) action.

5
When will it end?

• The preterit describes the beginning of an event.
• El niño empezó a llorar.
• The kid began to cry.
• Nos conocimos en Sacramento.
• We met in Sacramento.
• Me puse a tocar la guitarra.
• I sat down to play the guitar.

• The imperfect describes physical or emotional
  states in the past.
• Me dolía la cabeza.
• My head hurt (when did it stop hurting?)
• El maestro era feo.
• The teacher was ugly (ugly goes on and on)
• Su pelo era largo.
• His hair was long (for how long?)

6
Is he still talking?

• The preterit can describe a series of completed
  events.
• El maestro vio el gato, lo agarró y lo puso en la
  secadora.
• The teacher saw the cat, he grabbed and he put it
  in the dryer. (in that order)

• The imperfect describes a regularly occurring
  eventused to.
• Cuando era chico, jugaba al hopscotch.
• Used to play hopscotch.
• Todos los días íbamos al parque.
• Every day we would go to the park.
• Mi hermano siempre me pegaba.
• My brother always used to hit me.

7
He keeps going and going

• The great thing about the preterit is that its
  over.

• Describes circumstances in the past.
• Hacía calor (when did it stop?)
• Describes time in the past.
• Eran las cinco de la tarde.
• Describes age in the past.
• Tenía cinco años (when did he turn 6?)

8
Some verbs have different meanings in the
preterit and imperfect.

• Querer
• Quise entrar en la clase.
• I tried to enter the class.
• No quise hacer la tarea.
• I refused to do the HW.
• Conocer
• Lo conocí en clase
• I met him in class (first time).
• Poder
• Pude comprar un carro.
• I succeeded in buying the car.
• No pude levantarme.
• I failed to wake up.
• Saber
• Supe la verdad.
• I found out the truth.

• Querer
• Quería besarla.
• I wanted to kiss her (may not have tried.)
• Conocer
• Lo conocía en la escuela.
• I knew him in school. (over time)
• Poder
• Podía comprar el carro.
• I could buy the car (may not have tried).
• Saber
• Sabía la verdad.
• I knew the truth (dont mention when I found out.)

9
And more specifically

• Within the past categories that we have already
  mentioned, here are some things that the
  imperfect usually (there are exceptions)
  describes
• Weather
• Time
• Physical Appearance

• Emotional state
• Attitude
• Age
• Location