Spanish Notes

I've organized the information from your image into structured notes for you. This covers the core differences between the Preterite and the Imperfect tenses.

## 📸 El Pretérito (The Snapshot)

Think of the preterite as a camera snapshot. It captures single, completed events or specific moments in time.

### Primary Uses

* Completed Actions: Single events that finished (e.g., El partido terminó a las 2:30).

* Limited Duration: Actions with a clear beginning and end (e.g., Estudié por un año).

* Narrative Sequence: Moving the story forward (e.g., Me bañé, me vestí y fui a la fiesta).

* Interrupting Actions: An action that breaks an ongoing one (e.g., ...cuando llegó).

* Sudden Changes: A shift in mental or emotional state (e.g., Sufrió un ataque).

### Common Keywords

| | |

|---|---|

| Ayer (Yesterd bbbbbbbbbbbnbay) | Anteayer (Day before yesterday) |

| Anoche (Last night) | De repente (Suddenly) |

| Una vez (One time) | Hace un mes (A month ago) |

| El año pasado (Last year) | El lunes (On Monday — specific) |

## 📽 El Imperfecto (The Video)

Think of the imperfect as a video recording. It captures ongoing scenes, background info, and repeated habits without a clear end.

### Primary Uses

* Ongoing Actions: Actions that "were happening" (e.g., Comíamos).

* Habitual Actions: Things you "used to" do (e.g., Me gustaba dibujar).

* Descriptions: Setting the scene—appearance, weather, or location (e.g., Era muy bonito).

* Telling Time & Age: (e.g., Eran las 3:00 or Tenía 14 años).

* Internal States: Feelings, thoughts, and intentions (e.g., Estaba cansada or Iba a hacer la tarea).

### Common Keywords

| | |

|---|---|

| Todos los días (Every day) | Siempre (Always) |

| A veces (Sometimes) | Mientras (While) |

| Frecuentemente (Frequently) | Generalmente (Generally) |

| Cada día (Each day) | Los lunes (On Mondays — habit) |

> Quick Tip: While keywords are a great shortcut, always look at the context of the sentence to see if the action is a "completed point" or a "continuous line."

>

Would you like some practice sentences to see if you can spot which tense to use?