Preterite vs. Imperfect

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Preterite vs. Imperfect

• Comparing Uses
• Mariel

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PRETERITE USES
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Preterite Uses

• Indicate completed action in the past.
• Ayer fui a la tienda.
• Yesterday I went to the store.

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Preterite Uses

• Indicate a series of completed actions in the
  past.
• Esta mañana me desperté, fui a la tienda, compré
  un refresco y lo bebí.
• This morning I woke up, went to the store, bought
  a soft drink, and drank it.

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Preterite Uses

• Indicate the beginning of an action or condition.
• A las seis de la mañana, mis vecinos
• empezaron a gritar y me dio dolor
• de cabeza.
• At 6 a.m. my neighbors started to
• yell and it gave me a headache.

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Preterite Uses

• Indicate ending of an action or condition.
• La fiesta terminó a las 2 a.m.
• The party ended at 2 a.m.

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Preterite Uses

• Sum up a past action, condition, or opinion.
• Nevó todo el día ayer. Fue un día horrible. No me
  gustó estar en casa.
• It snowed all day yesterday. It was a horrible
  day, I didnt like staying at home.

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IMPERFECT USES
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Imperfect Uses

• Set up a continuous background or a scenario in
  which events or actions occur in the past. This
  includes telling time, indicating age, and
  describing weather in the past.
• Eran las siete de la mañana. Hacía
• sol y no llovía.
• It was seven oclock a.m. It was
• sunny and it wasnt raining.

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Imperfect Uses

• Describe mental, emotional, or physical states or
  conditions in the past.
• Yo pensaba que mis llaves estaban
• en la mesita de noche.
• I thought that my keys were on the
• nightstand.

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Imperfect Uses

• Describe actions and events that were in progress
  in the past without emphasis on when they started
  or ended.
• Corría rápidamente en el parque.
• I was running very fast in the park.

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Imperfect Uses

• To describe repetitive or habitual past actions
  what one used to do.
• Almorzábamos juntas todos los sábados.
• We used to eat lunch together every Saturday.

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Imperfect Uses

• Use with ir a infinitive to anticipate what
  was going (would) happen.
• Iba a viajar a Teotihuacán pero tuve que
  trabajar.
• I was going to travel to Teotihuacán but I had to
  work.

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GAME 1. English Game2. Spanish Game
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1. English Game Directions

• Read the sentence.
• Decide if it shows a use of the preterite or
  imperfect tense.
• Click to find out the correct answer!
• Good Luck!

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English Game

• I arrived at school at 730 a.m.

Preterite Tense! (Indicates a completed action in
the past)
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English Game

• It was 8 a.m. It was a cold morning and the sun
  was hiding behind the clouds.

Imperfect Tense! (Sets up a continuous
background with time and weather)
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English Game

• I went to school yesterday. I was worried because
  I had three tests.

Preterite Tense! (Sums up a past condition and
opinion.)
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English Game

• I used to run in the park every day.

Imperfect Tense! (Describes a repetitive or
habitual action)
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English Game

• I was driving to work in my car.

Imperfect Tense! (Describes an action that was
in progress in the past without emphasis on
when it started or ended)
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2. Spanish Game Directions

• Read the sentence.
• Chose the correct tense.
• Click to find out the correct answer!
• Good Luck!

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Spanish Game

• Esta noche, estudié con mi amiga, comí con mi
  familia, y me duché.

Preterite tense! (Indicates a series of completed
actions in the past) This night, I studied with
my friend, I ate with my family, and I showered.
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Spanish Game

• Escuela terminó a la 215 p.m., luego comí a las
  3 p.m.

Preterite tense! (Indicates the endings of
actions or conditions) School finished at 215
p.m., then I ate at 3 p.m.
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Spanish Game

• Se preocupó sobre la prueba.

Imperfect tense! (Describes a mental state or
condition in the past) I was worried about the
quiz.
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Spanish Game

• Mi hermana empezó cantar en la ducha a las siete
  de la mañana.

Preterite tense! (Indicates the beginning of an
action or condition) My sister began to sing in
the shower at seven in the morning.
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Spanish Game

• Iban a escuchar la música pero tuvieron que leer
  los libros.

Imperfect tense! (Ir a Infinitive to
anticipate what was going to (would) happen)
They were going to listen to the music but they
had to read the books.