Retelling the Past: Imperfect vs. Preterite

Unlike English, Spanish has two types of past tenses, the imperfect and the preterite. Here’s a detailed guide to both of these tenses.

Imperfect (el imperfecto)#

The imperfect is appropriate when the usage applies to a time range in the past.

Imperfect Conjugation#

Remove the ending (-ar, -er, or -ir) to get the verb stem, then add the corresponding suffix.

-ar verbs

Note that there is an accent on the first a for the nosotros ending.

-er, -ir verbs (same endings)

Irregular verbs in imperfect

• ir (to go)

  Subject	Conjugation
  yo	iba
  tú	ibas
  él/ella/Ud.	iba
  nosotros	íbamos
  vosotros	íbais
  ellos/ellas/Uds.	iban

• ver (to see)

  Subject	Conjugation
  yo	veía
  tú	veías
  él/ella/Ud.	veía
  nosotros	veíamos
  vosotros	veíais
  ellos/ellas/Uds.	veían

• ser (to be)

  Subject	Conjugation
  yo	era
  tú	eras
  él/ella/Ud.	era
  nosotros	éramos
  vosotros	erais
  ellos/ellas/Uds.	eran

Trigger words#

Frequency words are good indicators that you should be using the imperfect instead of the preterite for past tense. To list a few:

• siempre
• a veces
• cada día / semana / mes / año / …
• normalmente
• generalmente

When to use Imperfect#

Observe how the following usages of the imperfect tense do not have a well-defined time of termination.

Description

The speaker used the imperfect tense in the following examples because the description applies to time ranges (childhood & a visit) that had neither a clear-cut beginning nor end.

Era bien educado de niño.
I was well-behaved as a child.

Ese lugar era hermoso.
That place was beautiful.

Simultaneous action (on-going, long duration)

Cuando hacía mi tarea, también escuchaba a música.
When I do my homework, I also listen to music.

Recurring action (“used to”) (habitual)

Todos los días practicaba el saxofón después la escuela.
I practice the saxophone after school every day.

Telling age (on-going year)

Tenía 16 años cuando nos conocimos.
I was 16 years old (imperfect) when we first met (preterite).

Telling time

Eran seis y media por la noche.
It was 6:30 PM.

On-going emotions

Entré el cuarto y me sentía muy ansioso.
I entered the room and I felt very anxious.

Setting the background when telling a story

Había una vez una princesa que vivía en un castillo.
Once upon a time, there lived a princess in a castle.

Past Progressive

Estaba cantando.
I was singing

Preterite (el pretérito)#

You should use the preterite when the action applies to only one point in time.

Preterite Conjugation#

Remove the verb ending (-ar, -er, -ir), then add the corresponding suffix.

-ar verbs

And yes, the conjugation is the same under present tense and the imperfect tense for nosotros.

-er, -ir verbs (same endings)

When to use Preterite#

Observe how the follow usages of the preterite are all simple events with a definite beginning and end.

Beginning / end of action

Keywords: empezer / comenzar / terminar / completer / …

Empezó a lavar mi coche.
I began to wash my car.

An one-off, completed action

Puso la servilleta en la mesa.
He put the napkin on the table.

Summary of emotion

Simplemente me sentí tan airado.
I simply felt so angry.

Interruption

Montaba en bici hacia la escuela. De repente, se me pinchó un neumático.
I biked (was biking) towards the school. Suddenly, I had a flat.

Series of completed events

Me levanté, me vestí, y arreglé mi dormitorio.
I woke up, got dressed, then organized my bedroom.

A Comparison#

Some verbs like saber and querer have slightly different meanings if used in a different tense.

• Saber
  • sabía: knew something
  • supo: found out
• Querer
  • quería: loved (on-going emotion)
  • quiso: loved (short; terminated), wanted
  • no (lo) quiso: refused