LESSON TRANSCRIPT

Verb Conjugation #23

Imperfect VS. Preterit

CONTENTS
2 INTRODUCTION
3 LESSON FOCUS
10 OUTRO

# 23
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 INTRODUCTION

Dylan: Bienvenidos a SpanishPod101.com.

Dylan: Buenos días, soy Dylan.

Carlos: Carlos here. Verb Conjugation Series #23 – “Imperfect versus Preterit”.

Dylan: Hey, everybody. How’s everybody doing? This is Dylan.

Carlos: What’s to go worldpod101 world, my name is Carlos.

Dylan: How are you today, Carlos?

Carlos: Good, good. Dylan, are you feeling better? I know you were feeling a little sick
last week.

Dylan: Well, I got a slight cough and my voice is a little different, so, you know…

Carlos: Well, I know I for one I’m glad to have you back.

Dylan: Thank you.

Carlos: But, seriously, we have an important lesson today and I couldn’t do it without
you.

Dylan: It’s nice to be appreciated.

Carlos: That it is, Dylan.

Dylan: So, what’s so important?

Carlos: Well, today we have a all-out cage mass between two foes.

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Dylan: What?

Carlos: That’s right. We mean censorship for the violence about the good down.

Dylan: Are you ok, Carlos?

Carlos: No, I’m fine. I’m just excited because today we have, drum off please… Okay,
fine. Even with the drum roll, today we have the Imperfect versus the Preterit.

Dylan: That was almost funny.

Carlos: It was funny to me.

LESSON FOCUS

Dylan: Okay. So, what three of a verbs are we using to flash out this competition?

Carlos: “Tratar” – “to try”, “saber” - “to know” and “decir” – “to say.”

Dylan: Good ones.

Carlos: Dylan, why do you think that the Imperfect and Preterit are so difficult for
people to learn?

Dylan: Well, think about it. Learning to distinguish the two so called Simple Past Forms
can be a little tricky for foreigners, especially for native speakers of English, since in
English there’s one simple past form.

Carlos: That makes sense.

Dylan: So, let’s think about this a bit. If I say “Vi un libro interesante en la librería” it’s
like saying “I saw an interesting book in the bookstore.”

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Carlos: I always see interesting books in the bookstore. You know, one thing I cannot
resist is processing books.

Dylan: Focus.

Carlos: Oh, oh, sorry.

Dylan: Notice how the action of the verb “vi” is complete and in the past. It’s an action
that has a defined beginning and end.

Carlos: So, that is the…

Dylan: Preterit Tense. And, of course, we’re talking about the Preterit Tense of the
Indicative Mood.

Carlos: Of course, of course.

Dylan: Now, now, Carlos…

Carlos: Yes.

Dylan: Listen to this example. Okay?

Carlos: I’m listening.

Dylan: “Veía un libro interesante en la librería”. In this case, we’re saying “I was looking
at an interesting book in the bookstore.” Here, the verb “veía” expresses the duration of
a past action. And we do not know when this action began or ended, we only know that
it happened before the present.

Carlos: All right. So, it definitely happened, we just don’t know the time for it.

Dylan: Kind of. So, we can distinguish these two, but it’s also really important to know
how these two forms are used in a single sentence.

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Carlos: Are we going back to the bookstore?

Dylan: Yes. For example, “Buscaba un libro en la librería, pero no lo encontré”. – “I was
looking for a book in the bookstore, but I didn’t find it.” Notice here how the action of
the verb “buscaba”, Imperfect, is interrupted, so to speak, by the action of the verb
“encontré” – “I was looking for the book in the bookstore, but I didn’t find it.”

Carlos: You know, I was just going to say that.

Dylan: Or, another example. “Viajaba por toda Latinoamérica cuando decidí escribir
una novela”. - “I was travelling all over Latin America when I decided to write a novel.”

Carlos: Aren’t you going to explain?

Dylan: I was waiting for you.

Carlos: Dylan, why mess up a good thing? Go right ahead.

Dylan: Okay, ok. So, here, the action of “viajar”, which is “travelling”, is interrupted by
the action of “decidí” – “I decided”. Notice how the first verb is in the Imperfect. And
there, it’s incomplete. While the second is in the Preterit and is complete.

Carlos: You know, I could see that. Things are getting clearer and clearer.

Dylan: They’ll be lot more clear when you hit the Verb Conjugation Section in the
Learning Center.

Carlos: All right. So, let’s learn how to conjugate these bad boys.

Dylan: Carlos, muy, muy fácil.

Carlos: Says you.

Dylan: For real.

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Carlos: Okay. So, let’s have it.

Dylan: “Tratar”.

Carlos: “To try.”

Dylan: “Yo trataba”.

Carlos: “I was trying.”

Dylan: “Tú tratabas”.

Carlos: “You were trying.”

Dylan: “Él trataba”.

Carlos: “He was trying.”

Dylan: “Nosotros tratábamos”.

Carlos: “We were trying.”

Dylan: “Vosotros tratabais”.

Carlos: “You all were trying.”

Dylan: “Ellos trataban”.

Carlos: “They were trying.” You know, Dylan, how about some examples with “tratar” in
the Imperfect Tense?

Dylan: Since you ask nicely…

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Carlos: Cool.

Dylan: “Trataba de decirte que ella era hombre, pero no me creíste”.

Carlos: “I was trying.” Wait. “I was try”…

Dylan: You were trying to translate. Here. “I was trying to tell you that she’s a man, but
you didn’t believe me.”

Carlos: Well, that’s nasty. Yes, no comment, no comment. I am not doing talking
about that. Let’s move on.

Dylan: That sounded like a comment. “Tratábamos de llegar a tiempo, pero no

pudimos”.

Carlos: You know, I even am not trying for that last one.

Dylan: “We tried to arrive on time, but we were unable to.”

Carlos: “Tico” time, huh?

Dylan: Yes, “tico” time, exactly.

Carlos: Okay. Now, what about “saber”?

Dylan: “Saber”.

Carlos: “To know.”

Dylan: “Yo sabía”.

Carlos: “I knew.”

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Dylan: “Tú sabías”.

Carlos: “You knew.”

Dylan: “Él sabía”.

Carlos: “He knew.”

Dylan: “Nosotros sabíamos”.

Carlos: “We knew.”

Dylan: “Vosotros sabíais”.

Carlos: “You all knew.”

Dylan: “Ellos sabían”.

Carlos: “They knew.” Okay. Now, what about “saber” in the Imperfect Tense?

Dylan: Are you kidding me? Have a catalogue of examples.

Carlos: Where do you? Like, what kind of paper is it printed on the list though?

Dylan: “Sabía que ibas a decirme eso”.

Carlos: “I knew you were going to say that to me.”

Dylan: Nicely done.

Carlos: Oh, but my brain hurts.

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Dylan: All right. “Decir”.

Carlos: “To say.”

Dylan: “Yo decía”.

Carlos: “I used to say.”

Dylan: “Tú decías”.

Carlos: “You used to say.”

Dylan: “Él decía”.

Carlos: “He used to say.”

Dylan: “Nosotros decíamos”.

Carlos: “We used to say.”

Dylan: “Vosotros decíais”.

Carlos: “You all used to say.”

Dylan: “Ellos decían”.

Carlos: “They used to say.”

Dylan: Let’s finish this off. Let’s put “decir” in context with some examples of it in the
Imperfect Tense.

Carlos: Sure, why not?

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Dylan: “Mi abuela siempre decía ‘donde comen dos, comen tres’”. – “My grandma
always used to say where two people eat, three people eat.”

Carlos: What does that mean? Like, seriously?

Dylan: Not surely, but she liked to say it.

Carlos: No, but like, I don’t understand. Like, where two people eat, three people eat. I
just…

Dylan: Yes, it’s like if there’s food for two, there’s food for three. You can share, trick
and share.

Carlos: That’s not true at all. If it’s a little food, you can’t like feed three people. All
right. How about an example that makes a little more sense, not so abstract and why
not?

Dylan: “¿Que me decías?” – “What were you saying?”

Carlos: I was saying that your last example made no sense or what so ever. Oh, wait.
That was your example.

Dylan: That is an example. “¿Que me decías?”

Carlos: Okay. Thank you.

Dylan: You noticed the difference, Carlitos?

Carlos: ¡Sí, profe!

Dylan: Good. Because you know there’s a quiz.

OUTRO

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Carlos: Lucky for me I have premium membership. So, I have access to premium
audio. Sweet.

Dylan: Isn’t that free for you since you’re an employee?

Carlos: Exactly. That’s the luck aspect.

Dylan: I see.

Carlos: No, I’m telling you. The Learning Center has answered many, many, many
questions for me.

Dylan: That’s great for you. But, what about our audience?

Carlos: Well, they’re welcomed to ask us questions in the forum or to post a comment.
We’re always there.

Dylan: You need to get out more.

Carlos: You think I don’t know that?

Dylan: Okay. Let’s close it up for today. ¡Hasta luego!

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