Spanish Verbs: Preterite and Imperfect Tenses

Flashcards covering key concepts of the preterite and imperfect tenses in Spanish, focusing on conjugation patterns and specific irregular verbs.

Pretérito

A tense used to describe completed actions in the past, often translated as '____ed' in English.

Regular verb conjugation endings

The typical endings for regular verbs in the preterite tense: -ar, -er/-ir; for example, yo é, tú aste.

The 'y' rule

A rule in Spanish preterite conjugation that requires adding a 'y' for certain verbs in third person forms.

Verbs ending in 'CAR; GAR; ZAR'

Verbs that undergo spelling changes in the yo form when conjugated in the preterite tense.

Andar (to walk)

An irregular verb in the preterite tense; conjugated as: anduve, anduviste, anduvo, anduvimos, anduvisteis, anduvieron.

Hacer (to do/make)

An irregular verb in the preterite tense; conjugated as: hice, hiciste, hizo, hicimos, hicisteis, hicieron.

El Imperfecto

A tense used for actions that were ongoing, habitual, or descriptive in the past, often translated as 'used to ' or 'was ing'.

Regular verbs in the imperfect

The typical endings for regular verbs in the imperfect tense: -ar, -er/-ir; for example, yo aba, tú ías.

Ir (to go) in the imperfect

An irregular verb in the imperfect tense; conjugated as: iba, ibas, iba, íbamos, ibais, iban.

Ser (to be) in the imperfect

An irregular verb in the imperfect tense; conjugated as: era, eras, era, éramos, erais, eran.