Notes
Forms
- Preterite regular: -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -aron (-ar); -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -ieron (-er/-ir). Yo spelling changes: busqué, llegué, empecé. Leer and oír use y: leyó, oyeron.
- Preterite irregular: stems tuv-, estuv-, pud-, pus-, sup-, vin-, hic-, quis-, dij-, traj- with -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -ieron (-eron after j). Ser/ir: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fueron.
- Imperfect: -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -aban (-ar); -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -ían (-er/-ir). Irregular: ser (era), ir (iba), ver (veía).
Choosing the tense
- Imperfect: habits (íbamos cada verano), descriptions, age, time, weather, feelings and ongoing actions (mientras estudiaba).
- Preterite: completed actions, sequences, events with a stated limit (estudié dos horas), changes and reactions.
- In a story, the imperfect sets the scene and the preterite moves the plot forward. An ongoing action in the imperfect is often interrupted by a preterite: Dormía cuando sonó el teléfono.
Meaning changes
- Conocer: knew / met. Saber: knew / found out. Querer: wanted / tried (refused if negative). Poder: could / managed to.
Topics in this unit
Each topic has its own short notes and practice.
Practice
Verbs ending in -zar change z to c before e in the yo preterite form.
"Todos los días" shows a habit, so the imperfect (jugábamos, with an accent) is correct.
An ongoing action that is interrupted uses the imperfect; entró is the preterite interruption.
Conocer in the preterite means "met".
Negative poder in the preterite means "failed to"; the imperfect would only describe ability in general.
Describing the past (age, owning a pet, its name) calls for the imperfect: era, tenía, se llamaba.
Free response
Write your answer first, then open the scoring guide.
Free-response question
Lee: "Cuando Marta tenía ocho años, vivía en un pueblo pequeño. Todos los días caminaba a la escuela con su perro. Un día, mientras caminaba, vio un gato en un árbol. Lo bajó y lo llevó a casa."
(a) Identify two verbs in the imperfect and explain why each is imperfect.
Show the answer and scoring guide
Tenía gives her age in the past, and vivía describes where she lived (background). Caminaba is also imperfect because it shows a habit ("todos los días") and an ongoing action.
Check off the points you earned:
(b) Explain why vio and bajó are in the preterite.
Show the answer and scoring guide
They are completed events that move the story forward: Marta saw the cat, then took it down. They happen at one point in time and interrupt the ongoing walk.
Check off the points you earned:
(c) Write two Spanish sentences about your childhood: one that uses the imperfect and one that uses the preterite.
Show the answer and scoring guide
Example: De niño, yo jugaba al fútbol con mis primos cada fin de semana. Un día, me rompí el brazo.
Check off the points you earned: