1

St. Aloysius School

Spanish III

Preterite vs Imperfect: Part I

Spanish has two past tenses: preterite and imperfect. Most verbs can be put into either tense,
depending upon the meaning. In this lesson, you will learn to conjugate regular –ar verbs in the
preterite and the imperfect. You will also learn the basic difference between the preterite and
the imperfect, so that you can begin using them correctly.

To conjugate regular -ar verbs in the preterite, simply drop the ending (-ar) and add one of the
following:

-é
-aste
-ó
-amos
-aron
-aron

To conjugate regular -ar verbs in the imperfect, simply drop the ending (-ar) and add one of the
following endings:

-aba
-abas
-aba
-ábamos
-aban
-aban

Compare the verb “hablar” conjugated in the preterite and the imperfect.

PRETERITE IMPERFECT
hablé hablaba
hablaste hablabas
habló hablaba
hablamos hablábamos
hablasteis hablabais
hablaron hablaban
 2

Generally speaking, the preterite is used

for actions in the past that are seen as
completed. Use of the preterite tense
implies that the past action had a definite
beginning and definite end.

Juan habló de la una hasta las dos.

Juan spoke from one until two o’clock.
(Clearly stated beginning and end)

It is important to realize that the beginning and the end may not always be clearly stated.

Juan habló dos horas.

Juan spoke for two hours.
(Implied beginning and end)

Juan habló con la estudiante.
Juan spoke with the student.
(Implied beginning and end)
Generally speaking, the imperfect is used for
actions in the past that are not seen as
completed. Use of the imperfect tense
implies that the past action did not have a
definite beginning or a definite end.
Las chicas hablaban en inglés.
The girls used to speak in English.
(No definite beginning or end)
You have now learned the basic difference
between the preterite and the imperfect:
Fr. Clint sayz: For the sake of
simplicity at this point,
translate the preterite as the
simple past: eg. I ate, drank,
looked, etc. Translate the
imperfect with “used to” or
“was”/”were”: eg. I used to
eat, I was drinking, we were
looking, etc.
And sometimes you just have to eat some
chocolate!

The preterite tells us specifically when an action took place.

The imperfect tells us in general when an action took place.

NOTE: Although this difference may appear simple, this is actually a complex topic, and you
will learn the finer points in later lessons.

Do Exercise A & B in the back of this packet.

 3

ER and IR verbs in the Preterite Tense

In the last lesson, you learned that the preterite is used for past actions that are seen as
completed. You also learned how to conjugate regular -ar verbs. In this lesson, you will learn
how to conjugate -er and -ir verbs, and become more familiar with the uses of the preterite.

As we have seen, to conjugate regular -ar verbs in the preterite, simply drop the ending (-ar) and
add one of the following:
-é
-aste
-ó
-amos
-aron
-aron

Now, to conjugate regular -er and -ir verbs in the preterite, simply drop the ending (-er or -ir)
and add one of the following:
-í
-iste
-ió
-imos
-ieron
-ieron

Here are all three regular preterite verb forms together:

hablar comer vivir

hablé comí viví
hablaste comiste viviste
habló comió vivió
hablamos comimos vivimos
hablaron comieron vivieron
hablaron comieron vivieron

Note: the nosotros forms for -ar and -ir verbs are the same in both preterite and present
tenses: hablamos, vivimos.

The preterite is used for actions that can be viewed as single events.

Ella caminó por el parque. Ellos llegaron a las ocho.

She walked through the park. They arrived at eight o'clock.
 4

The preterite is used for actions that were repeated a specific number of times, or occurred
during a specific period of time.

Ayer escribí tres cartas. Vivimos allí por cuatro años.

Yesterday I wrote three letters. We lived there for four years.

The preterite is used for actions that were part of a chain of events.
Ella se levantó, se vistió, y salió de la casa.
She got up, dressed, and left the house.

The preterite is used to state the beginning or the end of an action.

Empezó a nevar a las ocho de la mañana.
It began to snow at eight in the morning.

The above examples all fall within our general rule for using the preterite:
The preterite is used for past actions that are seen as completed.

ER and IR Verbs in the Imperfect Tense

As we saw above, you learned that the imperfect is used for past actions that are not seen as
completed. Use of the imperfect tense implies that the past action did not have a definite
beginning or a definite end. You also learned how to conjugate regular -ar verbs. In this lesson,
you will learn how to conjugate -er and -ir verbs, and become more familiar with the uses of the
imperfect.

To conjugate regular -ar verbs in the imperfect, simply drop the ending (-ar) and add one of the
following:
-aba
-abas
-aba
-ábamos
-aban
-aban

Now, to conjugate regular -er and -ir verbs in the imperfect, simply drop the ending (-er or -ir)
and add one of the following:
-ía
-ías
-ía
-íamos
-ían
-ían
 5

Here are all three regular imperfect verb forms together:

hablar comer vivir
hablaba comía vivía
hablabas comías vivías
hablaba comía vivía
hablábamos comíamos vivíamos
hablaban comían vivían
hablaban comían vivían

The imperfect is used for actions that were repeated habitually.

Almorzábamos juntos todos los días. Las señoras siempre charlaban por las
We would lunch together every day. mañanas.
The ladies would always chat in the
mornings.

The imperfect is used for actions that "set the stage" for another action.
Yo leía cuando entró mi papá.
I was reading when my papa entered. (Note that "entered" is preterite)

The imperfect is used for telling time and stating one's age.
Eran las siete de la noche. La niña tenía cinco años.
It was seven o'clock at night. The little girl was five years old.

The above examples all fall within our general rule for using the imperfect:
The imperfect is used for past actions that are not seen as completed.

Do Exercise C at the end of this packet.

 6

Seeing them all lined up!

Subject Translation AR Verb Tranlsation ER Verb Translation IR Verb Translation
Pronoun
Hablar Comer Vivir
Present Tense
Yo I Hablo I talk Como I eat Vivo I live
Tu You Hablas You talk Comes You eat Vives You live
El, ella S/he Habla s/he talks Come s/he eats Vive s/he lives
Nosotros We Hablamos We talk Comemos We eat Vivimos We live
Ustedes You-all Hablan You-all talk Comen You-all eat Viven You-all live
Ustedes They Hablan They talk Comen They eat Viven They live
Imperfect Tense
Yo I hablaba I was talking comía I was eating vivía I was living
Tu You hablabas You were comías You were vivías You were
talking eating living
El, ella S/he hablaba s/he was comía s/he was vivía s/he was
talking eating living
Nosotros We hablábamos We were comíamos We were vivíamos We were
talking eating living
Ustedes You-all hablaban You-all were comían You-all were vivían You-all were
talking eating living
Ustedes They hablaban They were comían They were vivín They were
talking eating living
Preterite
Yo I hablé I spoke comí I ate viví I lived
Tu You hablaste You spoke comiste You ate viviste You lived
El, ella S/he habló s/he spoke comió S/he ate vivió S/he lived
Nosotros We hablamos We spoke comimos We ate vivimos We lived
Ustedes You-all hablaron You-all spoke comieron You-all ate vivieron You-all lived
Ustedes They hablaron They Spoke comieron They ate vivieron They lived

El dia de los muertos!

 7

Ser, Ir, Dar & Hacer in the Preterite Tense…

In this lesson you will learn to conjugate four important verbs in the preterite tense: ser, ir, dar and hacer.

These four verbs are irregular; you must memorize them – there’s no easy way around it:

Ser (to be) Ir (to go) Dar (to give) Hacer (to do or make)

fui fui di hice

fuiste fuiste diste hiciste
fue fue dio hizo
fuimos fuimos dimos hicimos
fueron fueron dieron hicieron
fueron fueron dieron hicieron

Note: This is not a typo; ser and ir do have identical conjugations in the preterite!

To review some of the rules for using the preterite:

• The preterite is used for actions that can be viewed as single events.
• The preterite is used for actions that were repeated a specific number of times.
• The preterite is used for actions that occurred during a specific period of time.
• The preterite is used for actions that were part of a chain of events.
• The preterite is used to state the beginning or the end of an action.

… and in the Imperfect Tense!

Remember, the imperfect is used for past actions that are not seen as completed. Use of the imperfect tense
implies that the past action did not have a definite beginning or a definite end. The imperfect tells when -- in
general, an action occurred.

Good news! There are only three irregular verbs in the imperfect.
You must simply memorize them.

Ser (to be) Ir (to go) Ver (to look at or to see)

era iba veía
eras ibas veías
era iba veía
éramos íbamos veíamos
erais ibais veíais
eran iban veían

To review some of the rules for using the imperfect:

• The imperfect is used for actions that were repeated habitually.
• The imperfect is used for actions that "set the stage" for another action.
• The imperfect is used for telling time and stating one's age.

Do Exercise D at the end of this packet.

 8

Can there possibly be more on the preterite and imperfect?

Don’t forget and please remember, Spanish has two past tenses: preterite and imperfect. Most
verbs can be put into either tense, depending upon the meaning. The preterite tells
us specifically when an action took place. The imperfect tells us in general when an action took
place.

Some words and phrases indicate specific time frames, and therefore signal the use of the
preterite.

ayer ............................................................ yesterday esta mañana .......................................... this morning

anteayer ............................. the day before yesterday
anoche ....................................................... last night
desde el primer momento ...... from the first moment
durante dos siglos .......................... for two centuries
el otro día ............................................ the other day
en ese momento................................ at that moment
entonces........................................................then, so
esta tarde ............................................ this afternoon
la semana pasada ....................................... last week
el mes pasado .......................................... last month
el año pasado ...............................................last year
hace dos días, años ....................two days, years ago
ayer por la mañana ..................... yesterday morning
ayer por la tarde ....................... yesterday afternoon

Other words and phrases indicate repetitive, vague or non-specific time frames, and therefore signal the use of
the imperfect.

a menudo .......................................................... often muchas veces .........................................many times

a veces ..................................................... sometimes
cada día .................................................... every day
cada semana ........................................... every week
cada mes ............................................... every month
cada año .................................................. every year
con frecuencia ..........................................frequently
de vez en cuando .......................... from time to time
en aquella época ..................................... at that time
frecuentemente .........................................frequently
generalmente .................................................usually
mucho................................................................ a lot
nunca ............................................................... never
por un rato ................................................ for awhile
siempre .......................................................... always
tantas veces ....................................... so many times
todas las semanas ................................... every week
todos los días ............................................ every day
todo el tiempo ........................................ all the time
varias veces ......................................... several times

Some of these are more obvious than others. The sure-fire way to learn these is to practice, practice, practice!

Do exercise E at the end of this packet.

Wow… there is so much more to learn about the preterite

and imperfect… but, alas, it will have to wait for a future
date…
 9

Some Verbs to Practice with:

A Vocabulary List
 10

Preterite and Imperfect Exercises

Nombre:
Fecha:
Clase

Exercise A:
Complete the following chart by filling in the correct word.

Hablar Perfect Preterite Imperfect

1st Person, Singular

2nd Person, Singular

3rd Person, Singular

1st Person, Plural

2nd Person, Plural

3rd Person, Plural

 11

Exercise B
Translate the following.

1. The animals were eating food. 11. María amaba a sus hermanos y
hermanas.

2. We used to like the pretty girl.

12. Me comí la carne con pan.

3. He loved her.
13. Ella me llamó por teléfono ayer.

4. My mother and father loved my

brother. 14. Hablabamos con el sacerdote en la
iglesia.

5. Your grandfather was a handsome

boy. 15. ¿Cuentabas Ud. el dinero ayer?

6. We used to visit grandmother on 16. ¿Cuántos dulces que comiste?

Sunday.

17. El profesor preparó la comida para los

7. How many tacos did you eat? estudiantes.

8. She studied Spanish all day. 18. Los niños comieron en la cafetería.

9. They used to walk to school with 19. Mis hermanos tenían amigas bonitas.
Alex.

20. Se comió cinco pollos cada día. Y así,

10. Lupe likes to look at boys. él es muy groso.
 12

Exercise C:

Vivir Perfect Preterite Imperfect

1st Person, Singular

2nd Person, Singular

3rd Person, Singular

1st Person, Plural

2nd Person, Plural

3rd Person, Plural

Translate each of the following:

1. You lived .....................................................................................................................

2. She was living ..............................................................................................................

3. We are living ...............................................................................................................

4. They live ......................................................................................................................

5. You-all were living ......................................................................................................

6. I lived ..........................................................................................................................

7. She lives ......................................................................................................................

8. The child was living .....................................................................................................

9. Mother used to live ......................................................................................................

10. My friend lives.............................................................................................................

 13

Comer Perfect Preterite Imperfect

1st Person, Singular

2nd Person, Singular

3rd Person, Singular

1st Person, Plural

2nd Person, Plural

3rd Person, Plural

Translate:

1. He eats .............................................................................................................................

2. You-all ate .......................................................................................................................

3. We were eating ................................................................................................................

4. They eat tacos. .................................................................................................................

5. I was eating ham ..............................................................................................................

6. I used to eat ......................................................................................................................

7. My friend was eating the tostada ......................................................................................

8. We eat ..............................................................................................................................

9. They used to eat ...............................................................................................................

10. You were eating ...............................................................................................................

 14

Hablar Perfect Preterite Imperfect

1st Person, Singular

2nd Person, Singular

3rd Person, Singular

1st Person, Plural

2nd Person, Plural

3rd Person, Plural

Translate:

1. I talk ................................................................................................................................

2. We are talking ..................................................................................................................

3. She used to talk ................................................................................................................

4. You-all talked ..................................................................................................................

5. They were talking ............................................................................................................

6. I am talking to my friend..................................................................................................

7. You were talking to me ....................................................................................................

8. We used to talk to the teacher ..........................................................................................

9. He talked to his mother ....................................................................................................

10. God talked to me ..............................................................................................................

 15

Exercise D:

Translate the following:

1. I was eating. 7. He was looking at her.

2. You went home. 8. They were making ham.

3. They were in Mexico. 9. He was living in Springfield.

4. You gave your mother a flower. 10. She saw the black cat.

5. We made tacos. 11. I gave my cat to her.

6. He saw me. 12. I am going to go to church.

Exercise E:
Translate:
1. ayer ................................................... 10. esta tarde ...........................................

2. anteayer ............................................ 11. la semana pasada...............................

3. anoche............................................... 12. el mes pasado ....................................

4. desde el primer momento .................. 13. el año pasado ....................................

5. durante dos siglos ............................. 14. hace dos días, años ............................

6. el otro día .......................................... 15. ayer por la mañana ............................

7. en ese momento ................................ 16. ayer por la tarde ................................

8. entonces ............................................ 17. menudo ............................................

9. esta mañana ...................................... 18. a veces ..............................................

 16

19. cada día ............................................. 36. todo el tiempo ...................................

20. cada semana ...................................... 37. varias veces .......................................

21. cada mes ........................................... 38. I went to school yesterday.

22. cada año ............................................ 39. We ate ham last night.

23. con frecuencia ................................... 40. We went to church last week.

24. de vez en cuando ............................... 41. I was born fifty-five years ago.

25. en aquella época ................................ 42. Then the lion slept in the house.

26. frecuentemente.................................. 43. You never run home.

27. generalmente..................................... 44. I always laugh at the students.

28. muchas veces .................................... 45. I usually pray the “Hail Mary.”

29. mucho ............................................... 46. Jesus has always loved me.

30. nunca ................................................ 47. Jesus died for me.

31. por un rato ........................................ 48. Jesus forgave my sins.

32. siempre ............................................. 49. God is love.

33. tantas veces .......................................

34. todas las semanas ..............................

35. todos los días ....................................