Download The Imperfect

Mr. Rodriguez
Spanish III
The Imperfect
The imperfect, like the preterit, is used to describe actions that took place in the
past. On the other hand, just like prepositions that have the same meaning, “por and
para”, or verbs, like “ser & estar”, the imperfect and preterit could also have different
meanings. It is important to distinguish the use of the two tenses. Not conjugating the
verb in the right tense could send the wrong idea to the listener.
Examples: Me gustó el pastel.  I liked the cake.
Me gustaba el pastel  I used to like cake (but I no longer do)
El fue un gran hombre.  He was a great man (while he was living, now
he is dead)
El era un gran hombre.  He was a great man at some point. (he is no
longer a great man or you no longer know about him)
Uses:
1. Background for another past action.
2. Time.
3. Age.
4. To make a description.
5. Habitual actions.
6. Actions that were not completed.
Ex:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Conjugations:
Regular Verbs
Hablar
Yo
Tú
El
Nosotros
Vosotros
Ellos
Irregular Verbs
Ser
Yo
Tú
El
Nosotros
Vosotros
Ellos
Comer
Ir
Vivir
Ver