Preterite vs Imperfect Summary The Preterite AR VERBS
Preterite vs. Imperfect
Summary: The Preterite “-AR” VERBS -amos -é -asteis -aron -ó
Summary: The Preterite “-ER/-IR” VERBS -í -iste -ió -imos -isteis -ieron
Summary: The Preterite n. There are 4 irregulars: nir / ser (fui…) ndar (no accents/wrong endings) nver (no accents)
Summary: The Preterite ncertain “-ar” verbs have a spelling change in the “yo” form only n-gar, -car, -zar ng gu c qu z c
Summary: The Preterite n -er verbs have a spelling change in the sandal only when the last letter of the stem is a vowel. n i y n Also, in the sandal add a “y” everywhere else accent the “i”
Summary: The Preterite n -ir verbs have a spelling change in the sandal only when the last letter of the stem is a vowel. (-uir) n i y n No changes in accents outside the sandal.
Summary: The Preterite n-ir verbs also have a stem change in the sandal of verbs that normally stem change in the present tense. n e i and o u
Summary: The Preterite n. There also a group of verbs that have “special stems” with a “special” set of endings. n. None of these verbs have accents.
Summary: The Imperfect -ar endings -aba -ábamos -abais -aban
Summary: The Imperfect -er, -ir endings -íamos -íais -ían
Summary: The Imperfect n. There are only three irregulars: nir / ser / ver n There aren’t any stem or spelling changes!
ir - to go iba íbamos ibais iban
ser – to be era éramos erais eran
ver – to see veíamos veíais veían
Preterite vs. Imperfect: Part I When and how often? n The preterite describes actions that occurred at a specific time in the past n Yo hice la tarea anoche. n It describes actions/events repeated a specified number of times or that started and ended within a specific time frame. n Yo esquié 7 veces el invierno pasado.
Preterite vs. Imperfect: Part I When and how often? n Beginning and ends of actions n Empezó a llover. n Summary: n Completed Events / Actions n Specific Times n Beginning/End
Preterite vs. Imperfect: Part I Key Words for the Preterite: n hoy n esta mañana n ayer, anteayer, n anoche, anteanoche, n el año/més/semana/el fin de semana pasado/a, n un día, otra día,
Preterite vs. Imperfect: Part I Key Words for the Preterite: n de repente, de pronto, n finalmente, n una vez, dos veces, n el catorce de octubre, el lunes n hace + time expression (“ago”) n “used to” won’t make sense
Preterite vs. Imperfect: Part I When and how often? n The imperfect describes actions that “used to” take place. n De niña yo saltaba a la cuerda mucho. n It implies repeated or habitual actions or events. n Para la Navidad siempre abríamos regalos en la casa de mis abuelos.
na Preterite vs. Imperfect: Part I Key Words for the Imperfect: menudo n a veces, muchas veces n de vez en cuando n frecuentemente/ con frecuencia n con regularidad n normalmente
Key Words for the Imperfect: n siempre & nunca n todos los días / cada día n generalmente/ por lo general n de niño n en mi niñez n una vez a la semana/ al día n Indicates repeated actions. “used to” makes sense
Preterite vs. Imperfect: Part II n The preterite expresses the main action, which may interrupt a background activity. n It expresses a specific past action that happened at one point while the other action was in progress. n Yo dormía cuando mi amigo llamó por teléfono. n I was sleeping when my friend called…
Preterite vs. Imperfect: Part II n You can also use the imperfect progressive tense to put emphasis on the action in progress with something else happened. n Yo estaba durmiendo cuando mi amigo llamó por teléfono. n I was sleeping when my friend called…
Preterite vs. Imperfect: Part II n The imperfect is used to indicate ongoing or continuous past actions lasting an unspecified amount of time. n Describing what was going on (background) n This is often expressed by was/were + …ing n Mientras yo miraba la tele, ellos jugaban al fútbol. n While I was watching TV they were playing soccer.
Preterite vs. Imperfect: Part II n mientras imperfect n cuando preterite n Mientras yo estudiaba mis hermanos jugaban los videojuegos. n Mientras yo estudiaba, mi amigo llamó. n Yo estudiaba cuando mis abuelos llegaron.
Preterite vs. Imperfect: Part III n The preterite tells about an action that occurred at a specific time. n It expresses successive completed events. n The narrator is telling the events/actions. n The preterite expresses “what happened” and “what took place”
Preterite vs. Imperfect: Part III n haber – hubo (there was/were) n expresses what took place/ocurred n Hubo un accidente grande ayer. n Example: n Esta mañana yo me levanté a las seis, me duché rápidamente, me vestí, me cepillé los dientes, comí el desayuno y salí para la escuela.
Preterite vs. Imperfect: Part III n The imperfect is used to describe circumstances and conditions in the past. n It expresses description and background information. n Picture a narrator describing the scene… n Background or context for a story.
Preterite vs. Imperfect: Part III n It is used to describe the way people looked or were (personality) n Age n Description n Health/Feelings n Attitudes/Beliefs n haber = había (there was/were) n describes a scene n Había muchos heridos.
Preterite vs. Imperfect: Part III n Esta mañana yo me levanté rápidamente. Eran las seis y hacía frío. Tenía sueño. Me duché rápidamente y me vestí. Llevaba mi suéter favorito. Me cepillé los dientes. Tenía hambre. Comí el desayuno y salí para la escuela. No quería llegar tarde.
Preterite vs. Imperfect: Part IV Meaning Changes n There are certain verbs that have different meanings in the preterite and the imperfect. n Usually the meaning in the preterite is slightly different from the original definition. n
Preterite vs. Imperfect: Part IV Meaning Changes n Imperfect normal meaning n Preterite gives it a “twist” n alternate meaning n “stronger” meaning
Preterite saber n found out Imperfect n to saber know a fact or how to do something
Preterite conocer n met for the first time Imperfect n to conocer know a person or place
Preterite querer n tried to no querer n refused to Imperfect querer n wanted to no querer n didn’t to want
Preterite poder n tried and succeeded in doing, managed to do tener n got, received Imperfect poder n could, was able to tener n had
Preterite estar Imperfect estar n got/became n was/were haber n (feeling) n hubo: there was/there were n event n took place (feeling) n había: there was/there were n scene n background info
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