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Pretérito Imperfecto

Brief explanation of the use of the pretérito imperfecto.

Gramática: Pretérito Imperfecto I

B1 Spanish Imperfect past use cases I

Level: B1

Module 2: Medios de comunicación cotidianos (Everyday media)

Lesson 8: Periódicos y revistas (Newspapers and magazines)

Teaching guidelines +/- 15 minutes

Audio and video

  1. We use the pretérito imperfecto to express actions that were in progress in the past; without indicating their end.
  2. We use it to describe actions that used to occur habitually in the past.
  3. We also use it to describe what people, objects, or situations were like in the past.
UsoEjemplo
Acciones en progreso
 		El periodista estaba escribiendo un artículo mientras el titular aparecía en la portada del periódico. (The journalist was writing an article while the headline appeared on the front page of the newspaper.)
Rutinas o hábitos Cuando era niño mi padre leía el periódico todos los días. (When I was a child my father read the newspaper every day.)
Descripciones La revista era persuasiva y la portada tenía imágenes impactantes. (The magazine was persuasive and the cover had striking images.)

Exercise 1: Pretérito Imperfecto

Instruction: Fill in the correct word.

Show translation Show answers

llamaba, escribía, se suscribía, transmitía, estaba, venía, publicaba, leía

1. Transmitir:
Antes la información se ... solo a través de los periódicos pero ahora se accede a ella por internet.
(Previously, information was transmitted only through newspapers, but now it is accessed via the internet.)
2. Leer:
Cada domingo mi abuelo ... la noticia más importante mientras se suscribía a una nueva revista.
(Every Sunday my grandfather would read the most important news while subscribing to a new magazine.)
3. Estar:
Cuando yo era estudiante siempre ... informado porque leía el periódico todos los días.
(When I was a student I was always informed because I read the newspaper every day.)
4. Escribir:
El periodista ... un artículo mientras el editor revisaba la portada.
(The journalist was writing an article while the editor was reviewing the front page.)
5. Publicar:
El periodista siempre ... artículos persuasivos en la edición digital para llamar la atención de la gente.
(The journalist always published persuasive articles in the digital edition to attract people's attention.)
6. Suscribirse:
Mi padre ... a la edición digital de su periódico favorito porque prefería tener acceso a la información de forma rápida.
(My father subscribed to the digital edition of his favourite newspaper because he preferred to have quick access to information.)
7. Venir:
Antes la gente pensaba que la información que ... en el periódico físico era más verídica que la de la edición digital.
(People used to think that the information in the physical newspaper was more truthful than that of the digital edition.)
8. Llamar:
El titular de la noticia ... tanto la atención que muchas personas expresaron su opinión en público.
(The headline of the news was so attention-grabbing that many people expressed their opinion in public.)

Exercise 2: Translate and use in a sentence

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

1

leía

he read

2

escribía

was writing

3

venía

came

4

se suscribía

he subscribed

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