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The imperfect tense or the preterite tense?

Brief explanation of the difference between the imperfect past tense and the simple past tense.

Gramática: ¿El pretérito imperfecto o el pretérito indefinido?

A2 Spanish The imperfect past vs the preterite

Level: A2

Module 4: El buen pasado (The good old past)

Lesson 31: Historias y cuentos de hadas (Stories and fairy tales)

Teaching guidelines +/- 15 minutes

Audio and video

Audio with translations
Audio with translations

  1. The preterite is used for actions that started and finished in the past.
  2. The past simple is used to recount a series of events that happened in the past.
  3. The imperfect tense is used to describe situations or actions in progress in the past.
  4. The imperfect tense can be used for context and the simple past tense for specific actions.
Tiempo verbalReglaEjemplo
IndefinidoAcciones empezadas y terminadas en el pasado.Al final del cuento, el personaje desapareció. (At the end of the story, the character disappeared.)
Contar eventos en el pasado.Al principio, el personaje vino al bosque, pasó por una ruta y después, apareció un animal especial. (At the beginning, the character came to the forest, passed by a path and then, appeared a special animal.)
ImperfectoDescribir situaciones o acciones en progreso en el pasado.Antes, la historia era muy interesante. (Before, the story was very interesting.)
Imperfecto + indefinidoEl imperfecto da contexto y el indefinido habla de acciones específicas.Mientras caminaba, de repente vino un amigo. (While I was walking, suddenly a friend came.)

Exercise 1: ¿El pretérito imperfecto o el pretérito indefinido?

Instruction: Fill in the correct word.

Show translation Show answers

soñaste, se divertían, habló, escuchaban, soñaba, andaba, jugasteis, nos divertimos

1. Jugar (vosotros):
Al final, ...en casa.
(In the end, you played at home.)
2. Escuchar (ellos):
Al principio, la historia era muy interesante y todos ... con atención.
(At first, the story was very interesting, and everyone was listening attentively.)
3. Soñar (yo):
Cuando era niño, siempre ... con ser un gran hombre.
(When I was a child, I always dreamed of being a great man.)
4. Divertirse (nosotros):
El año pasado, fui al cine con mis amigos y ... mucho.
(Last year, I went to the cinema with my friends and we had a lot of fun.)
5. Soñar (tú):
Ayer ... con visitar a tu amigo después de mucho tiempo.
(Yesterday you dreamt of visiting your friend after a long time.)
6. Andar (él):
Antes, el personaje siempre ... por el bosque.
(Before, the character always walked through the forest.)
7. Hablar (ella):
La semana pasada la profesora ... conmigo sobre de las diferencias entre los dos personajes.
(Last week the teacher spoke to me about the differences between the two characters.)
8. Divertirse (ellos):
En la época de los años 80, las personas a menudo ... en las fiestas con una buena música.
(In the 1980s, people often had fun at parties with good music.)

Exercise 2: Translate and use in a sentence

Instruction: Pick a word, translated and use the word in a sentence or dialogue.

1

se divertían

they enjoyed

2

andaba

he used to walk

3

nos divertimos

we had fun

4

soñaste

you dreamed

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