Preterito/Imperfecto

a menudo

often (imperfect)

a veces

sometimes (imperfect)

el año pasado

last year (preterite)

anoche

last night (preterite)

ayer

yesterday (preterite)

cada día

every day (imperfect)

cuando era jóven

when I was young (imperfect)

cuando era niño

when I was a child (imperfect)

de jóven

as a young person (imperfect)

de niño

as a child (imperfect)

de repente

suddenly (preterite)

de vez en cuando

from time to time (imperfect)

un día

one day (preterite)

todos los domingos

every Sunday (imperfect)

el lunes pasado

last Monday (preterite)

todos los lunes

on Mondays, every Monday (imperfect)

esta mañana

this morning (preterite)

el martes pasado

last Tuesday (preterite)

mientras

while (imperfect…imperfect)

muchas veces

a lot of times, often (imperfect)

una vez

one time (preterite)

una noche

one night (preterite)

nunca

never (imperfect)

el otro día

the other day (preterite)

por dos horas

for two hours (preterite)

hace diez años

10 years ago (preterite)

la semana pasada

last week (preterite)

casi todos los sábado

almost every Saturday (imperfect)

muchos veranos

many summers (imperfect)

siempre

always (imperfect)

todos los días

every day (imperfect)

los viernes

on Fridays (imperfect)

caminé

I walked

caminaba

I was walking/used to walk

comiste

you ate (informal)

comías

you used to eat / were eating

vivió

he/she lived

vivía

he/she was living or used to live

lloramos (cry)

we cried

llorábamos (cry)

we used to cry/ were crying

durmieron

the slept

dormían

they used to sleep / were sleeping

tuve

I got/had

tenía

I had / I used to have

pudiste

you could (and did)

podías

used to be able to

trabajó

he/she worked

trabajaba

he/she used to work (was working)

dijimos

we told/said

decíamos

we used to say

me senté (sit down)

I sat down

me sentaba (sit down)

I was sitting (would sit)

leíste

you read (past tense)

leías

you used to read

estuvo

he/she/it was (specified time frame)

estaba

He/she/it was (unspecified time frame)

bailamos

we danced

bailábamos

we used to dance

permitieron (allow)

they allowed

permitían (allow)

they would allow

supe

I found out

sabía

I knew

ella se cayó

she fell down

Se caía

he was falling

supo

he found out

leyó

he/she read (specified time frame)

Viví en Canadá

I lived (specified time frame) in Canada

Caminó

he walked

vine a casa

I came home

dijo

he/she said or told

was/were + ing

imperfect

used to/would

imperfect

happenED

preterite

interrupting action

preterite

habitual actions, repeated

imperfect

no specific time frame

imperfect

ongoing actions, at the same time

imperfect

completed action

preterite

part of a sequence of actions

preterite

Yesterday I walked my dog.

preterite

I was singing while I was dancing.

imperfect…imperfect

She was running when she suddenly fell down.

imperfect…preterite

What did you do last night?

preterite

It started to rain.

preterite

They were laughing when I started to cry.

imperfect…preterite

We won the game!

preterite

Why were you running?

imperfect

The food arrived at 7:00.

preterite

It was 6:00 in the morning.

imperfect

I barfed three times yesterday!

preterite

The weather was beautiful this weekend.

imperfect

My dad used to have hair.

imperfect

It was a beautiful spring day. The birds were chirping.

imperfect…imperfect