Spanish Verbs: Preterite and Imperfect Tenses

Preterite Tense in Spanish

• Definition: The preterite tense is used to express actions that are completed, with clear beginnings and endings. This tense is important in Spanish for indicating specific times, arrivals, departures, series of events, and interruptions in the past.

Key Uses of the Preterite

• Beginnings and Endings: To indicate the start or finish of an action.

• Arrivals and Departures: Used when discussing the arrival at or departure from a location.

• Specific Times: To refer to actions that occurred at a specific time in the past.

• Series of Events: Used to list actions that happened sequentially.

• Interruptions: To denote actions that interrupted ongoing or habitual actions.

Formation of the Preterite

Regular Verb Endings

• -AR verbs:

  • Yo: é

  • Tú: aste

  • Él/Ella/Usted: ó

  • Nosotros: amos

  • Vosotros: asteis

  • Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes: aron

• -ER/-IR verbs:

  • Yo: í

  • Tú: iste

  • Él/Ella/Usted: ió

  • Nosotros: imos

  • Vosotros: isteis

  • Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes: ieron

Irregular Verbs in the Preterite

Common Irregular Verbs

• Ser / Ir:

  • Yo: fui

  • Tú: fuiste

  • Él/Ella/Usted: fue

  • Nosotros: fuimos

  • Vosotros: fuisteis

  • Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes: fueron

• Dar:

  • Yo: di

  • Tú: diste

  • Él/Ella/Usted: dio

  • Nosotros: dimos

  • Vosotros: disteis

  • Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes: dieron

• Ver:

  • Yo: vi

  • Tú: viste

  • Él/Ella/Usted: vio

  • Nosotros: vimos

  • Vosotros: visteis

  • Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes: vieron

Other Irregulars and Their Changes

• Poder: pud- (to be able)

• Poner: pus- (to put)

• Saber: sup- (to know)

• Estar: estuv- (to be)

• Andar: anduv- (to walk)

• Tener: tuv- (to have)

Stem-changing Irregular Verbs

• Dormir: stem change to , rd person only (e.g., el/ella durmió)

• Divertirse: stem change to e→i in 3rd person (e.g., el/ella se divirtió)

• Pedir: stem change to e→i in 3rd person (e.g., el/ella pidió)

• Leer:

  • 3rd person: leyó (to read, change to 'y')

Other Irregular Verbs

• Hacer: hic- (to do)

• Querer: quis- (to want)

• Venir: vin- (to come)

• Traer: traj- (to bring)

• Decir: dij- (to say)

• Traducir: traduj- (to translate)

• Conducir: conduj- (to drive)

• Producir: produj- (to produce)

• Reducir: reduj- (to reduce)

Imperfect Tense in Spanish

• Definition: The imperfect tense describes actions that were ongoing or habitual in the past, as well as background details and contextual actions.

Key Uses of the Imperfect

• Weather: To describe weather conditions in the past.

• Age: To talk about someone's age in the past.

• Time: To express what time it was in the past.

• Ongoing Action: For descriptions of actions that were incomplete or habitual.

• Setting the Scene: To provide context or background information.

• Existence: The phrase "hay" (there is/are) changes in the imperfect to "había" (there was/were).

Examples of Imperfect Usage

• Example Sentences:

  • "El Sol brillaba y la vista era bonita" translates to "The sun was shining and the view was pretty."

  • "Cada día…" indicates a habitual action, meaning "every day".

Formation of the Imperfect

Regular Verb Endings

• -AR verbs:

  • Yo: aba

  • Tú: abas

  • Él/Ella/Usted: aba

  • Nosotros: ábamos

  • Vosotros: abais

  • Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes: aban

• -ER/-IR verbs:

  • Yo: ía

  • Tú: ías

  • Él/Ella/Usted: ía

  • Nosotros: íamos

  • Vosotros: íais

  • Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes: ían

Irregular Verbs in the Imperfect

• Ser:

  • Yo: era

  • Tú: eras

  • Él/Ella/Usted: era

  • Nosotros: éramos

  • Vosotros: erais

  • Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes: eran

• Ir:

  • Yo: iba

  • Tú: ibas

  • Él/Ella/Usted: iba

  • Nosotros: íbamos

  • Vosotros: ibais

  • Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes: iban

• Ver:

  • Yo: veía

  • Tú: veías

  • Él/Ella/Usted: veía

  • Nosotros: veíamos

  • Vosotros: veíais

  • Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes: veían