Spanish Preterite and Imperfect Tense Review

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards covering Spanish preterite and imperfect general uses, trigger expressions, and verbs that are preterite by nature.

Imperfect Tense General Uses

Used for past actions without a definite end, incomplete actions, general past time, habitual/repeated actions, setting the stage, time and dates in the past, age in the past, descriptions/characteristics in the past, and mental or physical states in the past.

Preterite Tense General Uses

Used for actions considered completed with definite beginning and end points, single events, actions in a chain of events, actions repeated a specific number of times, or actions stating specific start and end times.

casarse

to get married

cumplir años

to turn a certain age

darse cuenta de

to realize

decidir

to decide

descubrir

to discover

graduarse

to graduate

llegar

to arrive

morir

to die

nacer

to be born

salir

to leave

a menudo

often (Imperfect trigger)

a veces

sometimes (Imperfect trigger)

algunas veces

at times (Imperfect trigger)

cada día/semana/mes/año

every day/week/month/year (Imperfect trigger)

con frecuencia

frequently (Imperfect trigger)

de vez en cuando

once in a while (Imperfect trigger)

en aquella época

at that time (Imperfect trigger)

en aquel entonces

at that time (Imperfect trigger)

frecuentemente

frequently (Imperfect trigger)

generalmente

usually (Imperfect trigger)

mientras

while (Imperfect trigger)

muchas veces

many times (Imperfect trigger)

mucho

a lot (Imperfect trigger)

nunca

never (Imperfect trigger)

casi nunca

almost never (Imperfect trigger)

por lo general

generally (Imperfect trigger)

por un rato

for a while (Imperfect trigger)

rara vez

rarely (Imperfect trigger)

siempre

always (Imperfect trigger)

tantas veces

so many times (Imperfect trigger)

todas las semanas

every week (Imperfect trigger)

todos los años

every year (Imperfect trigger)

todos los días

everyday (Imperfect trigger)

todo el tiempo

all the time (Imperfect trigger)

varias veces

several times (Imperfect trigger)

a esa hora

at that time (Preterite trigger)

anoche

last night (Preterite trigger)

ante anoche

the night before last (Preterite trigger)

ante ayer

the day before yesterday (Preterite trigger)

al principio

at first (Preterite trigger)

aquel día

that day (Preterite trigger)

ayer

yesterday (Preterite trigger)

ayer al mediodía

yesterday at noon (Preterite trigger)

ayer por la mañana

yesterday morning (Preterite trigger)

ayer por la tarde

yesterday afternoon (Preterite trigger)

ayer por la noche

last night (Preterite trigger)

desde el primer momento

from the first moment (Preterite trigger)

durante (tres) siglos

for (three) centuries (Preterite trigger)

el año pasado

last year (Preterite trigger)

el (lunes) pasado

last (Monday) (Preterite trigger)

el mes pasado

last month (Preterite trigger)

el otro día

the other day (Preterite trigger)

en ese momento

at that moment (Preterite trigger)

entonces

then (Preterite trigger)

esta mañana

this morning (Preterite trigger)

esta tarde

this afternoon (Preterite trigger)

hace (dos) años/días

(two) years/days ago (Preterite trigger)

hoy por la mañana

this morning (Preterite trigger)

la semana pasada

last week (Preterite trigger)

una vez

one time (Preterite trigger)