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Pretérito imperfecto of Indicative

Brief explanation of the use of the imperfect past and simple past for interrupted and simultaneous ongoing actions.

Gramática: Pretérito imperfecto de Indicativo

B1 Spanish Imperfect past use cases II

Level: B1

Module 2: Medios de comunicación cotidianos (Everyday media)

Lesson 9: Publicidad (Advertising and publicity)

Teaching guidelines +/- 15 minutes

Audio and video

  1. We use the preterite to express an action in the past that interrupts another ongoing action, in the imperfect.
  2. The imperfect tense describes two or more actions that occur simultaneously in the past.
UsoEjemplo
Indefinido: acciones que interrumpen una acción en curso Cuando la marca anunció el nuevo producto el público todavía evaluaba la campaña. (When the brand announced the new product, the public was still evaluating the campaign.)
Imperfecto: acciones simultáneas en el pasadoEl influencer creaba contenido patrocinado mientras la marca planeaba una nueva estrategia de márquetin. (The influencer was creating sponsored content while the brand was planning a new marketing strategy.)

Exercise 1: Pretérito imperfecto of Indicative

Instruction: Fill in the correct word.

Show translation Show answers

discutían, grababa, seguía, anunciaban, expresaban, buscaban, planifiaba, trabajaba

1. Grabar:
Mientras el influencer ... un vídeo de márquetin el folleto se imprimió con errores.
(While the influencer was recording a marketing video, the leaflet was printed with errors.)
2. Seguir:
La campaña publicitaria ... activa cuando la marca decidió cambiar el contenido patrocinado.
(The advertising campaign was still active when the brand decided to change the sponsored content.)
3. Planificar:
Mientras la marca ... su próxima campaña el influencer grabó un vídeo anunciando el folleto.
(While the brand was planning its next campaign, the influencer recorded a video announcing the leaflet.)
4. Anunciar:
Mientras ... un nuevo producto la verdad sobre él se hizo pública.
(While they were announcing a new product, the truth about it became public.)
5. Buscar:
Antes las empresas preferían usar contenido auténtico y ... maneras honestas de vender sus productos.
(Previously, companies preferred to use authentic content and looked for honest ways to sell their products.)
6. Expresar:
Cuando la marca anunció el producto ya muchos consumidores ... su opinión sobre la calidad.
(When the brand announced the product, many consumers were already expressing their opinions about the quality.)
7. Discutir:
Mientras ... la estrategia de márquetin alguien añadió un cartel nuevo al folleto publicitario.
(While they were discussing the marketing strategy, someone added a new poster to the promotional brochure.)
8. Trabajar:
El influencer ... en una campaña patrocinada cuando el público comenzó a dudar de la marca.
(The influencer was working on a sponsored campaign when the public began to doubt the brand.)

Exercise 2: Translate and use in a sentence

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

1

grababa

was recording

2

buscaban

were seeking

3

anunciaban

they were announcing

4

expresaban

were expressing

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