Spanish verbs with different English meanings in the imperfect and the preterite

conocía

I knew, was acquainted with

conocí

I met, made the acquaintance of

costaba

it cost (before purchasing)

costó

it cost (after purchasing)

podía

I could, was able to (was in a position to)

pude

I was able to (and did)

no podía

I was not able to, could not

no pude

I tried (but could not)

quería

I wanted to, desired to

quise

I tried to

no quería

I did not want to

no quise

I refused, would not

sabía

I knew, knew how to, had knowledge that

supe

I learned, found out

tenía

I had (in my possession)

tuve

I had, received

tenía que

I had to (but did not necessarily do it)

tuve que

I had to (and did do it)