Preterit vs.

Imperfect
Which past tense should I use?

PRETERIT— (verbed; did verb)

You use a verb in the preterit when you want to express that the event that
occurred was ACPA. A Completed Past Action

So, it (obviously) must have happened in the PAST; it must be an ACTION;

and it must be completed at a SPECIFIC TIME or within a SPECIFIC PERIOD
OF TIME. ACPA!

IMPERFECT— (used to verb; was/were verbing)

So basically, you’d use the Imperfect any other time you want to talk about
something in the past…anything that is NOT a main event/main action.

 Now, what would be some examples of those “other times,” you

ask?

Use the Imperfect when you “set the scene,” because a description is
not an action, so it can’t be preterit. (The house was white. The sky was
grey. It was 9:00. The dog was cute. We were happy. Nothing “happened”
in those sentences.)

*How the Imperfect Past is Used*

The Imperfect is used to give background info/set the scene for a story:

~Habitual, Past Actions (Ongoing actions)

Antes de cumplir 12 años, me Before turning 12, I was a really

portaba muy bien. Tenía buenos good kid. (I behaved well.) I had
modales y era muy bien educado. good manners & was very polite.

~Age

Tenía 12 años cuando robé el primer I was 12 (IMP) when I stole (PRET--
coche (carro). ACPA) my first car.

~Weather

Hacía buen tiempo cuando me It was good weather (IMP) when they
arrestaron. arrested me. (PRET--ACPA)
~Time

Eran las dos de la tarde. It was 2:00 in the afternoon.

~Emotional State/Mood/Attitude/State of Mind

Mi amigo estaba nervioso porque el My friend was nervous because he

tenía miedo de la policía. was afraid (had a fear of) of the
police.

~What people were doing when something else occurred (was/were___ing)

Escondía en el guadarropa cuando I was hiding (IMP) in the closet when

me arrestaron. they arrested me (PRET).

When people “set a scene” describing what they were doing, what time it
was, or what was going on around them, you will use the IMPERFECT. For,
example, if you are about to tell a friend what happened to you in the mall
yesterday, you will begin by first describing the scene: where you were,
what was going on around you, what people were in the middle of doing.
This is all described in the Imperfect.

 When you begin to tell all of the exciting or frustrating things

which proceeded to happen, you will tell those in the
PRETERIT.

Some students find it helpful to use a Mnemonic Device such as this one to
remember the situations where one would use the Imperfect:

“Walker, Texas Ranger Drives Left Around All Pink Elephants.”

W Weather (Hacía frío. Llovía.)

T Time (Eran las diez de la noche.)
R Repeated (used to ___) /Ongoing Actions (was/were ___ ing)
(Iba al parque mucho.)/(Yo estudiaba cuando….)
D Date (Era el 18 de mayo.)
L Location (Estábamos en el parque.)
A Age (Ella tenía 18 años cuando…)
A Attitudes/Wants/Wishes (Quería aprender español.)
P Physical Appearance/Condition/Description
(Cuando era niño, Juan era bajo.)
E Emotional State/Mood/State of Mind
(Juan estaba contento. Yo estaba nerviosa.)

In all honesty, it’s pretty simple if you just remember this:

If it’s not a completed past action (or series of actions), then it can’t
be preterit!