Preterite vs Imperfect in Spanish

How to Choose the Right Past Tense

Understanding when to use the preterite and when to use the imperfect is one of the most important and sometimes confusing parts of learning Spanish. Both describe actions in the past—but they do so in different ways, depending on context and intention.

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💡 Key Difference:

• Imperfect = ongoing, habitual, descriptive
• Preterite = completed, specific, interrupting

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🟣 When to Use the Imperfect

Use the imperfect tense to describe past actions that are ongoing, habitual, or part of the background information.

✅ Common Uses:

• Habitual actions: things that used to happen regularly
• Ongoing actions: no clear beginning or end
• Background descriptions: time, age, weather, physical appearance
• Emotions & mental states: feelings, beliefs, desires
• Simultaneous actions: multiple things happening at once

🗣️ Examples:

• Siempre íbamos al parque los domingos.
  (We always used to go to the park on Sundays.)
• Cuando era niño, tenía un perro.
  (When I was a child, I had a dog.)

⏱️ Common Time Expressions:

• Siempre – always
• Todos los días – every day
• Muchas veces – many times
• Con frecuencia – frequently
• De vez en cuando – from time to time

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🔵 When to Use the Preterite

Use the preterite tense to describe actions that are completed, specific, or interrupted another action.

✅ Common Uses:

• Completed actions: clear beginning and end
• Isolated actions: happened once or a specific number of times
• Series of actions: events that move the story forward
• Interrupting actions: something that suddenly happened

🗣️ Examples:

• Ayer comí una pizza entera.
  (Yesterday I ate a whole pizza.)
• El teléfono sonó mientras estudiaba.
  (The phone rang while I was studying.)

⏱️ Common Time Expressions:

• Anoche – last night
• Ayer – yesterday
• Anteayer – the day before yesterday
• Hace dos días – two days ago
• El año pasado – last year
• El otro día – the other day

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🤔 Preterite or Imperfect?

In Spanish, the preterite is the action, and the imperfect is the situation.

Native Spanish speakers often focus more on the context and details—the situation—rather than just the action itself. That’s why the imperfect is so commonly used: it sets the scene, describes emotions, and explains what was happening around the main events. The preterite tells you what happened, while the imperfect helps you understand what was going on.

It all comes down to the perspective:

Situation	Imperfect	Preterite
Description	✅	❌
Habit	✅	❌
Completed action	❌	✅
Series of actions	❌	✅
Interrupted action	✅ (interrupted)	✅ (interrupting)

✅ Practice: Preterite or Imperfect?

Click to reveal the correct answers!

1. Cuando era niño, ______ (vivir) en una casa muy grande.

✅ **vivía** – imperfect (background/ongoing)

2. Ayer, mi hermana ______ (comprar) un vestido nuevo.

✅ **compró** – preterite (completed action)

3. Mientras yo ______ (leer), mi hermano ______ (jugar) con el perro.

✅ **leía** / **jugaba** – both imperfect (simultaneous actions)

4. El año pasado ______ (viajar) a México con mi familia.

✅ **viajé** – preterite (specific time)

5. Siempre ______ (ver) películas los domingos por la tarde.

✅ **veíamos** – imperfect (habitual action)

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