Spanish Preterite/Imperfect Signal Words

These signal words help make it clear whether to use the preterite or imperfect tense. For ALL answers, include the definition of the word and whether it is a preterite or imperfect indicator.

a menudo

often, imperfect

a veces

sometimes, imperfect

cada día

every day, imperfect

cada semana

every week, imperfect

cada mes

every month, imperfect

cada año

every year, imperfect

con frequencia

frequently, imperfect

de vez en cuando

from time to time, imperfect

en aquella época

at that time, imperfect

frecuentemente

frequently, imperfect

generalmente

usually, imperfect

muchas veces

many times, imperfect

mucho

a lot, imperfect

nunca

never, imperfect

por un rato

for awhile, imperfect

siempre

always, imperfect

tantas veces

so many times, imperfect

todas las semanas

every week, imperfect

todos los dias

every day, imperfect

todo el tiempo

all the time, imperfect

varias veces

several times, imperfect

ayer

yesterday, preterite

anteayer

the day before yesterday, preterite

anoche

last night, preterite

desde el primer momento

from the first moment, preterite

durante dos siglos

for two centuries, preterite

el otro día

the other day, preterite

an ese momento

at that moment, preterite

entonces

then, preterite

esta mañana

this morning, preterite

esta tarde

this afternoon, preterite

la semana pasado

last week, preterite

el mes pasado

last month, preterite

el año pasado

last year, preterite

hace dos días, años

two days, years ago… preterite

ayer por la mañana

yesterday morning, preterite

ayer por la tarde

yesterday afternoon, preterite