Preterite vs Imperfect English Examples

I would always eat on Freshman Hill.

• Preterite

• Imperfect

Answer explanation

"I would always eat on Freshman Hill" indicates that it happened habitually in the past. There is no clear start or end point to eating on Freshman Hill frequently in the past.

Yo siempre COMÍA en Freshman Hill.

She ate cereal this morning.

• Preterite

• Imperfect

Answer explanation

"She ate cereal this morning." indicates a completed action. It is clear from this sentence that she completed the action of eating. The keywords "this morning" also point to preterite tense.

Ella COMIÓ cereal hoy por la mañana.

We went to the mall after school.

• Preterite

• Imperfect

Answer explanation

"We went to the mall after school" could be interpreted as either preterite (went to the mall one time and that outing ended) or imperfect (this was a normal occurence.) However, without any extra details, the safest bet was that it was a one-time, completed event.

Nosotros FUIMOS al centro después de la escuela.

Usually, my parents would leave the house at 7am.

• Preterite

• Imperfect

Answer explanation

"Usually, my parents would leave the house at 7am." Even though you are giving a time which feels like something you could put on clearly on a timeline, the fact that it usually happened for an indeterminate amount of time would be represented by a wave on the timeline.

Usualmente, mis padres SALÍAN de la casa a las 7.

Last weekend, my friends and I saw Mean Girls.

• Preterite

• Imperfect

Answer explanation

"Last weekend, my friends and I saw Mean Girls." On top of the fact that seeing Mean Girls was a one-time/completed event, the keyphrase "last weekend" makes us able to pinpoint that completed action on a timeline.

La semana pasada, mis amigo y yo VIMOS Mean Girls.

I was walking the dog.

• Preterite

• Imperfect

Answer explanation

"I was walking the dog." Beyond actions that happened over and over in the past, actions that were in the middle of occurring (usually indicated by a "was/were ______-ing" phrase) do not have a clear end nor beginning and so should be imperfect.

Yo PASEABA/ESTABA PASEANDO al perro.

Grandma was a smart woman.

• Preterite

• Imperfect

Answer explanation

"Grandma was a smart woman." Because it is impossible to determine exactly on the timeline when Grandma was smart, you'd use the imperfect. Any descriptions using "was" are imperfect.

Abuela ERA una mujer inteligente.

I got dressed for school.

• Preterite

• Imperfect

Answer explanation

"I got dressed for school." Even without any indicator of where on the timeline this action occurred, we do know that it was was a completed act of getting dressed in the past.

ME VESTÍ para la escuela.

My dad woke me up.

• Preterite

• Imperfect

Answer explanation

"My dad woke me up" could be interpreted as either preterite (dad woke me up this one time for the story) or imperfect (this was a normal occurrence.) However, without any extra details, the safest bet was that it was a one-time, completed event.

Mi papá ME DESPERTÓ.

My sisters and I would play with dolls from time to time.

• Preterite

• Imperfect

Answer explanation

"My sisters and I would play with dolls from time to time." This is imperfect because the recurring/repetitive nature of something happening "from time to time" would be represented by a wave on a timeline and not dots.

Mis hermanas y yo JUGÁBAMOS con muñecas de vez en cuando.