Preterite vs Imperfect Quiz: The preterite is the past tense used to express an action completed at a definite time in the past. Also it is called the past absolute, past definite, or historical past. The preterite tense is used to express an action that was completed in the past.
The preterite of regular AR verbs is formed by dropping the infinitive ending and adding the following personal endings: e, aste, o, amos, aron.
The preterite of regular ER and IR verbs is formed by dropping the infinitive ending and adding the following personal endings: i, iste, io, imos, ieron.
Some common adverbial phrases that accompany the preterite are
- El año pasado: Last year
- Ayer: Yesterday
- Anteayer: The day before yesterday
- Anoche: Last night
- Hace dos dias: Two days ago
- Hace dos años: Two years ago
- La semana pasada: Last week
Imperfect tense
The Imperfect tense is much less commonly used in English than in Spanish. The word Imperfect means not perfect or incomplete. The Imperfect tense is used to express continuance, to express those actions in the past that are either customary or habitual.
A completed action/ rigid. Has a beginning and a disconnected action.
The Imperfect tense is used:
- An ongoing action vague/ general.
- Repeated action
- Habitual action
- Mental:
- Attitudes
- Desires
- Emotional states
- Description
- Location
- Date
- Time
- Appearance
- Physical condition
- Weather
- Age
Some common adverbial expressions that would indicate continuance and thus demand the use of the imperfect are:
- A veces: Sometimes
- De vez en cuando: sometimes/ from time to time.
- A menudo: Often
- Frecuentemente: Frequently
- Con frecuencia: Frequently
- Muchas veces: many times
- Cada año: Every year
- Cada dia: Every day
The Imperfect indicative tense is used to express customary or habitual past action. This corresponds to the English “used” followed by an infinitive
Yo comia alli cada dia. I used to eat there every year.
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