Preterite & Imperfect Review

Preterite &

Imperfect Review

The imperfect is used to:

–set the scene

–talk about states or conditions in the past

–express emotions in the past

–talk about things that happened repeatedly in the past

–talk about things that happened over an extended period of time

in the past

Multiple Choice

"un día había un joven príncipe"

• setting the scene

• a state or condition in the past

• something that happened repeatedly in the past

• expressing an emotion in the past

Multiple Choice

"yo estaba triste por eso"

• setting the scene

• expressing an emotion in the past

• something that happened repeatedly in the past

• a state or condition in the past

Multiple Choice

"yo siempre cantaba esa canción en el auto"

• setting the scene

• expressing an emotion in the past

• something that happened repeatedly in the past

• a state or condition in the past

Multiple Choice

The _________ describes habitual actions, ongoing states, and emotions in the past

• Imperfect

• Preterite

Multiple Choice

The _________ expresses completed actions in the past.

• Imperfect

• Preterite

The preterite expresses completed actions in the past.

The preterite is often signaled by keywords such as:

ayer yesterday

anoche last night

el otro día the other day

la semana pasada last week

el año pasado last year

de repente all of a sudden

Match

Match the following preterite keywords:

• ayer

• anoche

• el otro día

• de repente

• el año pasado

yesterday

last night

the other day

all of a sudden

last year

• yesterday

• last night

• the other day

• all of a sudden

• last year

The imperfect is often signaled by keywords such as:

siempre always

usualmente usually

todos los dias/cada dia every day

rara vez rarely

a menudo often

a veces sometimes

cuando when

de niño/niña as a child

As a rule of thumb: the imperfect is more general, while the preterite is more specific.

Multiple Choice

When telling a story, the ________ is used to "set the scene"

• Imperfect

• Preterite

Multiple Choice

When telling a story, the ________ is used to describe what happened.

• Imperfect

• Preterite

Multiple Choice

It was very windy when I was sitting in the tree.

• Imperfect

• Preterite

Multiple Choice

Yesterday, I ate a salad.

• Imperfect

• Preterite

Multiple Choice

My mom was so mad.

• Imperfect

• Preterite

Multiple Choice

When I was young, I used to go skating a lot.

• Imperfect

• Preterite

Multiple Choice

Last night, I finished my homework.

• Imperfect

• Preterite

CONJUGATING THE PRETERITE AND IMPERFECT
IS SO SIMILAR TO HOW WE HAVE ALREADY BEEN

CONJUGATING.

SIMPLY REMOVE THE ENDING FROM THE
INFINITE VERB TO ADD THE PRETERITE OR

IMPERFECT ENDING.

EX: mirar - to look

mir __

miré - I looked

Let's focus on some regular verbs in the preterite first.

That means you will use these endings:

Person

-ar
Verbs

-er/-ir
Verbs

Yo

é

í

Tú

aste

iste

Él / Ella / Ud.

ó

ió

Nosotros/as

amos

imos

Vosotros/as

asteis

isteis

Ellos / Ellas / Uds

aron

ieron

Multiple Choice

Cantar - to sing

Preterite: "She sang"

• cantó

• canté

• cantaste

Multiple Choice

Viajar - to travel

Preterite: "we traveled"

• viajamos

• viajaron

• viajé

Multiple Choice

Pasar - to spend time

Preterite: "we spent time together"

• pasaron

• pasamos

• pasaste

Multiple Choice

Deber - to should

Preterite: "I should have"

• debí

• debo

• debío

Multiple Choice

Vivir - to live

Preterite: "I lived there"

• viví

• vivío

• vivieron

Multiple Choice

Beber - to drink

Preterite: "you drank"

• bebío

• bebiste

• bebaste

Multiple Choice

Correr - to run

Preterite: "they ran"

• corrío

• corriamos

• corrieron

Multiple Choice

Abrir - to open

Preterite: "you opened"

• abrasto

• abriste

• abran