El pret

1
El pretérito, el imperfecto y el pluscuamperfecto
2
When do we use the preterit in Spanish?

• The pretérito indicates
• I. A single eventFui a España el año pasado - I
  went to Spain last year.  
• Visité Barcelona el sábado - I visited
  Barcelona on Saturday.
• II. One or more events or actions that began and
  ended in the pastFui a España - I went to Spain.
• Visité unos museos - I visited some museums.
• III. An event that occurred, interrupting another
  action...cuando me dijeron la verdad - ... when
  they told me the truth. ...cuando mi hija nació -
  when my daughter was born.
• IV. Changes in an existing physical or mental
  state at a precise moment or for a particular
  isolated causeTuve miedo cuando vi el perro - I
  was scared when I saw the dog.

3
When do we use the imperfect in Spanish?

• The imperfecto is used for
• A habitual or repeated actionIba a España cada
  año - I went (used to go) to Spain every year.
• Visitaba mucho la Sagrada Familia - I
  often visited la Sagrada Familia.
• II. An ongoing action with no specified
  completionIba a España - I was going to Spain.
• Visitaba unos museos - I was visiting
  museums.
• III. Description/background information set the
  scene of how things were or what was happening
  when there was an interruptionVivía en Costa
  Rica cuando... - I was living in Costa Rica
  when...
• Estaba en mi cama cuando... - I was in
  bed when...
• IV. General description of physical or mental
  states of beingTenía miedo de los perros - I was
  afraid of dogs.
• V. Expression of the time of day or age in the
  pastEran las cinco de la mañana - It was five
  a.m.
• Era sus cumpleaños tenía doce años - It
  was his birthday he was twelve.

4

• Thus the imperfecto is normally used for
  descriptions of the past, while the pretérito
  narrates specific events.
• In addition, the imperfecto often sets the stage
  for an event expressed with the pretérito.

5
Compare the following passages

• Imperfecto
• Cuando tenía dieciocho años, quería ser
  arquitecto. Me gustaba mucho la obra de Antoni
  Gaudí y esperaba comprender su genio.When I was
  eighteen, I wanted to be an architect. I really
  liked Antoni Gaudí's work and I hoped to
  understand his genius.
• Pretérito
• Decidí estudiar en España e hice los formularios
  de inscripción, pero las universidades no me
  admitieron. Conocí a un pintor y comencé a
  estudiar con él.I decided to study in Spain and
  filled out the application forms, but the
  universities did not admit me. I met a painter
  and started studying with him.

6
Key words and phrases

• The following list of key words and phrases may
  help you figure out whether to use imperfecto or
  pretérito.
• Imperfecto normalmente, de vez en cuando, antes
  (formerly), todos los días, los lunes, los
  martes, etc.
• Pretérito una vez, dos veces, tres/cuatro/etc.
  veces, muchas veces, ayer, un día, el lunes, de
  repente (suddenly, all of a sudden).

7
When do we use the imperfect in Spanish?

• The pluperfect (aka past perfect) is used to
  indicate an action in the past that occurred
  before another action in the past. The latter can
  be either mentioned in the same sentence or
  implied.
• Examples
• Ya había salido (cuando tú llamaste).
• I had already left (when you called).
• No habían comido (antes de hacer su tarea). 
• They hadn't eaten (before doing their homework).
• Fui al mercado por la mañana ya había ido al
  banco.
• I went to the store this morning I had already
  gone to the bank.