Apuntes: The 2 PAST tenses Imperfecto y Pretrito

1.) El IMPERFECTO
Propsito / (Purpose):
Describe past tense events that do not have a clear beginning and end.
I.E. Use when you are not sure when the action started happening,
or when / if it ever stopped.

Verbos -AR
Root of verb + -aba -abamos
-abas -abis
-aba -aban

The following situations in English call for the use of imperfecto:

-

Telling what USED TO happen (i.e, what WOULD HAPPEN

repeatedly in the past, like a habit or normal routine)
Mi familia siempre coma jamn para Navidad
(My family would (always) eat ham for Christmas). o:
(My family always used to eat ham for Christmas)

- Providing BACKGROUND INFORMATION to a story

** Isnt clear when the action started or stopped.
Belle era una chica inteligente que viva en la Francia.
( Belle was an intelligent girl who lived in France.)

Verbos -ER y -IR

Root of verb + -a -amos
-as -ais
-a -an

SOLO 3 IRREGULARES!
SER

era
eras
era

ramos
erais
eran

(Used to be was etc.)

-

Telling what you WERE DOING WHILE something else was

SIMULTANEOUSLY GOING ON
Yo estudiaba mientras t dormas.
(I studied / was studying while you slept / were sleeping.)

* Mientras = while

IR

(Used to go, was going etc.)

VER

- Telling what you WERE DOING when INTERRUPTED

by a preterite tense event
Yo estaba durmiendo cuando t me llamaste.
(I was sleeping when you called me.)
Carlos escriba un mensaje de texto cuando el coche lo choc.
( Carlos was writing a text message when the car struck him.)
- AGE is always imperfect
Cuando yo tena seis aos, viva en Ecuador.
(When I was six, I lived in Ecuador).
- TIME is always imperfect
Eran las cinco y media de la tarde cuando llegu a casa.
(It was five-thirty in the afternoon when I arrived/ got home.)

iba bamos
ibas ibais
iba iban

vea
veamos
veas veais
vea
vean

(Used to see, was seeing, etc.)

**** NO STEM CHANGING en el
imperfecto! (Qu fcil!)

2.) EL PRETRITO
Propsito / Purpose:
Describe past tense events that have a clear beginning and end .
I.E. If you use the pretrito, you are implying that this action is DONE
taking place.
The following situations in English call for the use of pretrito:
- Telling about an event that happened ONCE in the past, or IN
ONE MOMENT
Yo fui al bosque nuboso y mont a caballo.
(I went to the cloud forest and rode a horse).

implies that this was a one-time occurrence. You didnt used to go

and ride; you went one time and rode the horse that one time. It is also
implied that the event is over. (If you wrote the same sentence but with verbs in
the imperfecto tense, it would imply that you always used to go there and always used
to ride a horse there. Verb tense changes everything!!)

- Telling about an event that pushes the storys plot or action closer
to the end.
El principe encontr a Cenicienta, se le puso el zapato, y le dijo, Te
queda perfectamente!
(The prince found Cinderella, put on the shoe, and said.)

These are all one time / in one moment actions, PLUS, they move the
storys plot along toward the end as opposed to telling background (not
major action) details. Third, they are all COMPLETED actions It is
clear when they started and that they have now ended. The story has
moved on. (If you wrote the same sentence but with verbs in the imperfecto tense, it
would imply that he always found her [like as a habit of the past], always used to put
on her shoe, and always used to say - these are not the intended meanings for the
context. Verb tense changes everything!)

You should already know these endings and all of their irregulars!

-AR verbs
Root of verb + -
-amos
-aste -asteis
-
-aron
-ER y -IR verbs
Root of verb + -
-iste
-i

-imos
-isteis
-ieron

IRREGULARES!
These have their own conjugations:

SER
& IR

fui
fuiste
fue

fuimos
fuisteis
fueron

(Was / Went)
VER

vi
viste
vio

vimos
visteis
vieron

(Saw)
The verbs below have irregular roots, and
their own set of endings:
ANDAR anduvDECIR dijESTAR estuvHACER hic- (hiz- 3ps)
PODER pudPONER pusQUERER *quisSABER *supTENER tuvTRAER trajVENIR vin* = in preterito, the meaning of verb changes:
(quise = I tried to [NOT I wanted to!!!])
(supe = I found out [NOT I knew!!!!])

The above irregulars take the following

conjugated endings w/
NO accents:
- e
-imos
- iste -isteis
- o
-ieron / -eron (if theres a j)

Prctica con Pretrito vs Imperfecto

Parte A - Break the sentence down in the following steps:
1. Identificar los verbos
(underline them)

2. Escribir infinitivos

3. Decidir Pretrito o imperfecto

4.) Traducir (Translate)

Ejemplo: - The brothers used to fight because they both loved the princess. But she married a frog.
- The brothers used to fight because they both loved the princess. But she married a frog.
pelearse
amar
casarse
imperfecto (used to)
imperfecto (background
pretrito (one time
info/ unclear beg. & end)

se peleaban

amaban

action)

se cas

Los hermanos se peleaban porque los dos amaban a la princesa. Pero ella se cas con una rana.
1.) They went to the mountains last Saturday, and they camped for two days.

2.) They went to the mountains every Saturday, where they would camp.

3.) He was afraid of bears (osos) when he was a child.

4.)

Vanesa came late to school yesterday because she slept until nine in the morning.

Parte B
- Identificar los verbos

- Decidir Preterito o imperfecto (Por qu?)

- Traducir

Ejemplo: El rey era simptico, por eso l decidi perdonar el guerrero cuando l perdi la guerra.
1.)

Yo miraba la tele cuando tu me llamaste.

2.) Cuando yo era un nio, mi familia y yo bamos a la playa todos los veranos.

3.) Cuando yo tena trece aos, mi familia y yo fuimos a San Jos, y estuvimos all dos semanas.

4.) Mi madre era muy trabajadora toda la vida.