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El pretrito y el imperfecto, juntos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJsGR erw1QU Los voladores (Something else I will NEVER do!)

el pretrito vs. el imperfecto


El pretrito marks a fixed moment or quantity in time: last night for 3 years 1847 once

El imperfecto was taking place, was happening in the past, but the starting and ending points arent mentioned or arent important.

time line
Naci mi hermano. [once] Empec la escuela en la clase de la Seorita Gordon [once]. Cambi a una nueva escuela [once]. Mi ta Brbara se cas.

..Cuando yo era nia --When I was a kid.. [when did I start? when did I stop?]

Speakers point of view


If the speaker sees the action, or the time period as completed, the preterit will be used. Fui a Los Angeles en 1998. The trip is completed, 1998 is long gone. This can be used to sum up a situation or condition that is viewed as a whole unit, and no longer exists.

Cindy S. fue mi mejor amiga.


She was my best friend. She no longer is. The friendship is over. I dont even know where she is. Contrast that with: En el colegio, mis amigos eran Lisa, Anna, Joe, Dee, Bob, Reva y Erin. These people were my friends throughout high school. Some were my friends before, some still are (thanks to the wonders of FB.) Its a warm fuzzy memory as opposed to the bitter memory of Cindy S.

El imperfecto
The speaker explains what was happening; the starting and ending points or duration either arent known or dont matter. Vivan en una casa en el desierto. They were living / used to live in a house in the desert. (When? for how long?) (They dont live there anymore but the house, or at least the desert, still exist.) The speaker is emphasizing the repetitive nature of an action [would always, used to. etc] Todos en el grupo llevaban pantalones cortos anaranjados. Everyone in the group would wear / used to wear orange shorts.

Describing age, weather, physical condition, emotional states


Tena 38 aos.

Estaba cansado y aburrido.

No era muy inteligente.

Something to keep in mind:


When describing somethingdid these conditions exist before your arrival or participation? Did they continue after you left?

El ao pasado vivmos en un apartamento que era pequeo.

If you were to translate.


Pretrito o imperfecto4th page in actividades en clase section in the back of the packet.

2+ verbos en el pasado
When you have more than 2 verbs in the past tense in one sentence, there are a few conditions that usually exist.

Knowing this conditions will help you to write longer and more sophisticated sentences en espaol.

2+ pretritos
A sentence with 2 or more preterit verbs will be a list or series of actions.

Qu hiciste hoy por la maana?

Me despert a las 5:50 pero no me levant hasta las 6:05.

Fui a la cocina, tom caf y prepar mi desayuno.

Me duch, me vest, prepar mi almuerzo, bes a mi esposo, busqu mis cosas para el trabajo y sal de mi casa a las 7:25.

2 imperfectos
Often indicates that 2 actions were happening at the same time in the past.

The word MIENTRAS [while, meanwhile], which may start the sentence or come between the 2 actions, is a big hint.
Ella dorma mientras su amiga limpiaba la casa. Mientras vivan en Costa Rica trabajaban en un hotel de ecoturismo. If the word mientras isnt present, youre probably dealing with 2 types of descriptions, or something else from the DATAWA list. Cuando ellas eran nias nunca llevaban vestidos. Haca fro en mi oficina ayer pero ella tena calor.

1 pretrito + 1 imperfecto
The imperfect indicates an action that WAS HAPPENING when the preterit INTERRUPTED.

Anoche comamos cuando t llegaste.

El corra cuando un perro lo atac.


we dont know when the action started interruption completed action we dont know for how long the action was going on

Qu pasaba? Qu ocurra? Qu pas? Qu ocurri?


esquiar caer

La persona esquiaba y despus cay.

The person was skiing (action in progress) and then fell (once, since action.)

lavar romper (to break)

l lavaba los platos pero rompi dos.

He was washing the dishes (in progress) but he broke two (completed action.)

comer dormirse

El perrito / el cachorro coma y se durmi.

The puppy was eating (in progress) and fell asleep (once, completed.)

Una actividad creativa, en grupos


Find the people with the same scenario. This is something that happened to one or all of you last year, so its in the past. Write the story, using the pretrito or the imperfecto, You should have at least 5 sentences and include the following: pretrito: when an action started, when it ended, how long it lasted, the fact that it happened only once

imperfecto: D description A age T time A action in progress (-ing) W weather reference to the day, time and place A actions repeated, habits where this happened description of the weather, place Hand them in when done; make and the people involved sure everyones name is on description of what was happening them. (acts in progress) what happened (completed actions) the end of the story

Next class
Extra episodio 9 vocab If you were going to translate, which form would you use?--HANDOUT

Ricitos de Oro y los tres osos


Pongan las oraciones en el orden correcto: rase una vez una nia muy curiosa. Un da, mientras caminaba por el bosque (the woods), encontr una casa muy bonita. En la casa vivan tres osos. Mientras los osos no estaban. Los osos la asustaron (scared her). Entr en el dormitorio de los osos. Mientras ella dorma entraron los osos. La nia se levant y sali corriendo de la casa. Tena sueo. Busc una cama. La nia entr en la casa. Se acost. Vio que una cama era muy grande, otra era muy pequea y la otra era perfecta. Encontraron a la nia dormida en la cama.

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