Download Preterite vs Imperfect

Past Tense
Preterite
Imperfect
Preterite vs Imperfect
Preterite conjugation

Regular Verb Endings:
___-ar__ _
-é
-amos
-aste
-asteis
-ó
-aron
____-er/-ir___
-í
-imos
-iste -isteis
-ió -ieron
Preterite conjugation
Irregular Yo

Yo spelling changes:
 -car
 -gar
 -zar
-qué
-gué
-cé
Otros verbos
–car
acercarse (to come near, approach)
buscar (to look for)
arrancar (to pull out, start (engine)
chocar (to crash)
colocar (to place, put)
complicar (to complicate)
comunicar (to communicate)
criticar (to criticize, critique)
dedicar (to dedicate, devote)
educar (to educate)
embarcarse (to board, go on board)
marcar (to dial, mark)
equivocarse (to make a mistake)
masticar (to chew)
fabricar (to make, manufacture)
pescar (to fish)
justificar (to justify, give a reason for)
platicar (to chat)
practicar (to practice)
secar (to dry)
explicar (to explain)
sacar (to take out, remove, receive [grades])
Otros verbos
–gar
agregar (to add)
ahogarse (to drown)
apagar (to turn off)
cargar (to carry, load)
castigar (to punish)
despegar (to take off, peel off)
pagar (to pay)
pegar (to hit, glue)
tragar (to swallow)
llegar (to arrive)
encargar (to put in charge, order [goods])
Stem changers
colgar (ue) (to hang up)
fregar (ie) to wash dishes, scrub)
negar (ie) (to deny)
regar (ie) (to water plants)
jugar (ue) (to play a game, sports)
rogar (ue) (to beg)
Otros verbos
–zar
almorzar (to eat lunch)
abrazar (to hug)
aterrizar (to land)
cruzar (to cross)
comenzar (ie) (to begin)
empezar (ie) (to begin)
especializarse en (to specialize in, major in)
garantizar (to guarantee)
gozar (to enjoy)
lanzar (to throw)
rezar (to pray)
realizar (to carry out, attain, realize)
tranquilizar (to calm down)
tropezar (ie) (to trip, stumble)
utilizar (to use, make use of)
Preterite Irregular Conjugation
-uve group

andar- to walk
–

tener- to have
–

anduve, anduviste, anduvo, anduvimos, anduvisteis, anduvieron
tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvisteis, tuvieron
estar- to be
–
estuve, estuviste, estuvo, estuvimos, estuvisteis, estuvieron
Preterite Irregular Conjugation
I group

hacer- to do, to make
–

venir- to come
–

hice, hiciste, hizo, hicimos, hicisteis, hicieron
vine, viniste, vino, vinimos, vinisteis, vinieron
querer- to want
–
quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisisteis, quisieron
Preterite Irregular Conjugation
J group

traer- to bring
–

decir- to have
–

traje, trajiste, trajo, trajimos, trajisteis, trajeron
dije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, dijisteis, dijeron
traducir- to translate
(all -ucir verbs like conducir to drive)
–
traduje, tradujiste, tradujo, tradujimos, tradujisteis, tradujeron
Preterite Irregular Conjugation
supe, pu-, pu- group

saber- to know
–

poner- to put
–

supe, supiste, supo, supimos, supisteis, supieron
puse, pusiste, puso, pusimos, pusisteis, pusieron
poder- to be able
–
pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudisteis, pudieron
Preterite Irregular Conjugation
Other Verbs

caber- to fit
–

cupe, cupiste, cupo, cupimos, cupisteis, cupieron
satisfacer–
satisfice, satisficiste, satisfizo, satisficimos, satisficisteis, satisficieron
Preterite Irregular Conjugation

Ser- to be
and
ir- to go.
(You know which verb it is by using context of the sentence)
fui
fuimos
fuiste fuisteis
fue
fueron
Dar and Ver
dar- to give
di
dimos
diste
disteis
dio
dieron
ver- to see
vi
vimos
viste
visteis
vio
vieron
Preterite Stem Changers



Stem changes occur in –ir verbs only.
Stem changes occur in él/ella/Ud. and
ellos/ellas/Uds only.
Stem changes are:
–
–
e
o
i
u
Preterite Stem Changers
sentir (ei, i) (to feel)
advertir (ei, i) (to warn)
convertir (ei, i) (to convert)
convertirse (ei, i) (to become)
divertir (ei, i) (to amuse)
mentir (ei, i) (to lie)
divertirse (ei, i) (to amuse oneself)
preferir (ei, i) (to prefer)
sentir (ei, i) (to feel, be sorry)
sentirse (ei, i) (to feel)
dormir (ue, u) (to sleep)
morir (ue, u) (to die)
dormirse (ue, u) (to fall asleep)
Preterite Stem Changers
servir (i, i) (to serve)
repetir (i, i) (to repeat)
despedir (i, i) (to fire someone)
pedir (i, i) (to ask for, request)
conseguir (i, i) (to get, obtain)
vestirse (i, i) (to dress oneself)
despedirse de (i, i) (to say good-bye to)
medir (i, i) (to measure)
seguir (i, i) (to continue)
vestir (i, i) (to dress)
reír (i, i) (to smile)
sonreír (i, i) (to laugh)
freír (i, i) (to fry)
Preterite conjugation
i to y change (not –uir)

Verbs that end in –er or –ir whose stem ends
in a vowel, change i to y in the 3rd person
forms, él/ella/Ud. and ellos/ellas/Uds only.
leer
leí
leíste
leyó
leímos
leistéis
leyeron
caerse (to fall down), creer (to believe), oír (to hear), poseer (to posess)
Preterite conjugation
-uir verbs (not –guir verbs)
Verbs ending in –uir also change i to y.
(Note: there are no accents on tú, nosotros, y
vosotros)
concluir- (to conclude)
concluí
concluimos
concluiste
concluisteis
concluyó
concluyeron

Preterite conjugation
Other –uir Verbs
atribuir (to attribute)
construir (to build)
contribuir (to contribute)
distribuir (to distribute)
huir (to flee)
incluir (to include)
Translation

The English Translation for the preterite is:
Yo hablé- I spoke
Preterite Trigger Words:
ayer
una vez
entonces
cuando
hace # años que ...
la semana pasada
el mes/año pasado
anteayer
luego
de repente
anoche
Preterite Uses:







Specific Action
Happened Once
Specific Point in Time
Sequential Actions
Narration (AKA telling a story)
Interrupting Action
Beginning or End of an action in past
Imperfect Regular Verb Endings:
__-ar__
-aba
-ábamos
-abas
-abais
-aba
-aban
-er/-ir_ _
-ía -íamos
-ías -íais
-ía -ían
Imperfect 3 irregular verbs:
__ir__
iba íbamos
ibas ibais
iba
iban
__ser__
era éramos
eras erais
era
eran
__ver__
veía veíamos
veías veíais
veía veían
Imperfect Translation

The English Translation for the imperfect is:
Yo hablaba-
I used to speak
I was speaking
I would speak
I spoke
Imperfect Trigger Words:
algunas veces
muchas veces
a menudo
frecuentemente
mientras
cada (día, año, etc.)
generalmente
todos los días
siempre
a veces
de vez en cuando
los lunes/los martes
Imperfect Uses:








Repeated Action
Continuous Action
Habitual Actions (aka “Used to”)
Descriptions/ Physical Appearance/ Emotional
State
Background Info
Day/Date/Weather/Age
2 Actions Occurring at the Same Time
An ongoing action interrupted by another action
(2nd action is preterite)
Comparing Usage
Preterite







Specific Action
Happened Once
Specific Point in Time
Sequential Actions
Narration (AKA telling a
story)
Interrupting Action
Beginning or End of an
action in past








Imperfect
Repeated Action
Continuous Action
Habitual Actions (aka “Used to”)
Descriptions/ Physical
Appearance/ Emotional State
Background Info
Day/Date/Weather/Age
2 Actions Occurring at the Same
Time
An ongoing action interrupted by
another action (2nd action is
preterite)
Preterite vs Imperfect:
verbs that change meaning
Verb
Preterite
Imperfect
Conocer
Conocí- I met
(to know a person or place)
Conocía- I knew
saber
Supe- I found out
(to know a fact or
how to do something)
Sabía- I knew
pensar
(to think)
Pensaba- I thought
Pensé- It dawned on me
I realized
poder
Pude- I managed
(to be able, can)
Podía- I could
I was able
Preterite vs Imperfect:
verbs that change meaning
Verb
Preterite
Imperfect
no poder
(to not be able)
No pude- I couldn´t (failed to)
No podía- I couldn´t
(a specific effort and
(No reference to specific
failure implied)
effort or failure)
querer
(to want)
Quise- I tried
Quería- I wanted
no querer
(to not want)
No quise- I refused
No quería- I didn´t
want to
tener
(to have)
Tuve- I got
Tenía- I had
Preterite vs Imperfect:
verbs that change meaning
Verb
Preterite
tener que
(to have to...)
Tuve que...- I had to...
costar
(to cost)
Costó- It cost
(and I bought it
Imperfect
Tenía que...- I was
supposed to...
Costaba- It cost
(implies that I didn´t buy it)