Spanish: Imperfect versus Preterite
From UniLang Wiki
In Spanish there are two past tenses, we call them the preterite and the imperfect tense, we'll now show you which tense to use at what moments and why.
Preterite Tense
For foreigners it might be difficult to know when to use the Imperfect tense and when to use the Preterite tense in Spanish. The preterite is a tense that is to be used when something takes place in the past and also ends in the past. It begins at a specific time in the past and also ends at a specific time in the past, although that might not be clearly stated in the sentence. But something did occur specifically in the past and is now over, it's a completed action.
A few situations when the preterite is to be used (note that all describe a completed action in the past):
- An action is a single (completed) event in the past.
- An action occurred during a specifc period of time
- An action was repeated a specific number of times
- An action was part of a bigger entity of events
- An action describes a beginning or an end.
- An action in the past that interrupts another action in the past
Some example sentences using preterite tense:
- I ran to the store = Corrí a la tienda.
- I walked for five minutes = Anduve durante cinco minutos
- I ate an apple = Comí una manzana
- We lived in that old house for only two weeks = Vivimos en aquella casa vieja durante sólo dos semanas
- I went to work, greeted my boss and sat down behind my desk = Me fui al trabajo, saludé a mi jefe y me senté detrás de mi escritorio.
- The airplane began it's descend at 6:00 am = El avión comenzó el descenso a las 6 de la mañana
- I was reading a book when Peter left for the store = Leía un libro cuando Pedro fue a la bodega
Imperfect Tense
The imperfect tense tells us when something occurred in general in the past, but no clear beginning or ending is implied, it might still be occuring and might already be occuring for a long time. Usually the imperfect can also be translated with "used to ..." or "was/were ...+ing".
A few situations when the imperfect is to be used (note that all describe an action in the past that is not seen as completed):
- To tell the time
- To tell your age
- To indicate a habit, something that was and maybe still is being repeated
- To describe characteristics of nouns
- To describe mental or physical state
- To create a scene for another action in the past
- An action that is occuring when another action interrupts it
Some examples using the Imperfect tense:
- At the time we felt comfortable = En aquel momento nos sentimos cómodos
- It was four o'clock = Eran las cuatro en punto
- She was fourteen years old = Ella tenía catorce años
- I was watching TV when my dad left the house (was watching is Imperfect, left is Preterit) = Estaba viendo la televisíon cuando mi padre salió de la casa
- He always read the newspaper in the morning = Siempre leía el periódico por la mañana
- His car reminded me of an old wreck I used to have. = Su coche me recordaba a un viejo cacharro que yo tenía
- I was feeling ill = Me sentía mal
- I was reading a book when Peter left for the store = Leía un libro cuando Pedro fue a la bodega
