Spanish 4 Exam 1 Concepts

Presente perfecto meaning

The present perfect tense in Spanish is used to describe past actions that connect to the present moment or occurred in an ongoing time period. You form the present perfect by combining the present tense of the auxiliary verb haber with the past participle of the main verb.

Presente perfecto conjugations

he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han

Presente perfecto past participle

ar - ado
er/ir - ido

Presente perfecto- Hacer

Hecho

Presente perfecto- Decir

Dicho

Presente perfecto- Escribir

Escrito

Presente perfecto- Ver

Visto

Presente perfecto- Abrir (to open)

Abierto

Presente perfecto- Volver (to return)

Vuelto

Preterite VS Imperfect

The preterite tense is used for single, completed actions with a clear beginning and end, while the imperfect tense is used for ongoing, habitual, or background actions without a defined endpoint

Preterite VS Imperfect VS Present Perfect

Use the preterite for single, completed past actions, the imperfect for ongoing or habitual past actions, and the present perfect for past actions linked to the present or unfinished time periods

Preterite Conjugations AR

é, aste, ó, amos, asteis, aron

Preterite Conjugations ER/IR

í, iste, ió, imos, isteis, ieron

Preterite Irregulars- Estar

Estuv

Preterite Irregulars- Hacer

Hic/hiz

Preterite Irregulars- Poder (to be able to)

Pud

Preterite Irregulars- Poner

Pus

Preterite Irregulars- Querer

Quis

Preterite Irregulars- Saber (to know)

Sup

Preterite Irregulars- Tener

Tuv

Preterite Irregulars- Venir (to come)

Vin

Preterite Irregulars- Traer (to bring)

Traj

Preterite Irregulars- Ir/Ser

Fui/fue

Preterite Irregulars- Ver

Vi

Preterite Irregulars- Conducir (to drive)

Conduj

Preterite Irregulars- Dar

Di

Imperfect Conjugations AR

Aba, abas, aba, ábamos, abais, aban

Imperfect Conjugations ER/IR

ía, ías, ía, íamos, íais, ían

Imperfect Irregulars- Ser

Era

Imperfect Irregulars- Ir

Iba

Imperfect Irregulars- Ver

Veía

When to use preterite

• Completed actions: Events that happened and are completely finished.

• Specific moments: Actions that occurred at a precise time or a specific number of times.

• Main storyline: The main events that push a story forward.

• Example: Fui al cine ayer. (I went to the movies yesterday — a single, finished event)

When to use imperfect

• Habits and routines: Actions you "used to" do or did repeatedly.

• Ongoing actions: Actions in progress without a defined end point.

• Descriptions: Setting the scene for age, time, weather, or physical and emotional states in the past.

• Example: Cuando era niño, jugaba en el parque. (When I was a child, I used to play in the park — an ongoing habit

Gustar

Me, te, le, nos, os, les