Preterit Vs. Imperfect:
Remember, Spanish has two past tenses: preterit and imperfect. Most verbs can be put into either tense, depending upon the meaning. The preterit tells us specifically when an action took place. The imperfect tells us in general when an action took place.
Some words and phrases indicate specific time frames, and therefore signal the use or the preterit:
Preterit
Ayer (yesterday)
Anteayer (the day before yesterday)
Anoche (last night)
Desde el primer momento (from the first moment)
Durante dos siglos (for two centuries)
El otro día (the other day)
En ese momento (in that moment)
Entonces (then)
Esta mañana (this morning)
Esta tarde (this afternoon)
La semana pasada (last week)
El mes pasado (last month)
El año pasado (last year)
Hace dos días, años (two days-years ago)
Ayer por la mañana (yesterday morning)
Ayer por la tarde (yesterday afternoon)
Other words and phrases indicate repetitive, vague or non-specific time frames, and therefore signal the use of the imperfect.
Imperfect
A menudo (often)
A veces (sometimes)
Cada día (every day)
Cada Mes (every month)
Cada año (each year)
Con frequencia (with frequency)
De vez en cuando (from time to time)
En aquella época (at that time)
En aquél entonces (back then)
Frecuentemente (frequently)
Generalmente (usually,generally)
Muchas veces (many times)
Mucho (a lot)
Nunca (never)
Por un rato (for a while)
Siempre (always)
Tantas veces (so many times)
Todas las semanas (every week)
Todos los días (every day)
Todo el tiempo (all the time)
Varias veces (several times, various times)
For each blank, give the correct form of the preterit or the imperfect indicative of the verb in infinitive.
English version:
Well, it was Tuesday, and I was walking through the park. The sun was shining and I was happy. As I was following a path through the trees, I suddenly saw a man running to my left. He had something in his hand. I tried to see where he was coming from and why he was running so fast. Back in the forest, I saw a woman; I went towards her. She was shouting, "He stole my purse while I was reading." I followed the man for a while, but I couldn't capture him. I called the police, and waited fifteen minutes until they arrived.
Pues, _________________ (ser) martes, y yo _______________________ (caminar) por el parque. El sol ____________________ (brillar) y yo ______________________ (estar) contento. Mientras__________________________ (seguir) una senda por los árboles, de repente ___________________________ (ver) a un hombre corriendo a la izquierda. El ________________________ (tener) algo en la mano. Yo _____________________ (tratar) de ver de dónde _______________ (venir) y por qué _____________________ (correr) tan rápidamente. En el bosque yo _________________ (ver) a una mujer; ______________ (ir) hacia ella. Ella ______________________________ (estar) gritando, —El me ________________________ (robar) la bolsa, mientras yo ______________________ (leer).— Yo _____________________(seguir) al hombre por un rato, pero yo no . ____________________ (poder) capturarlo. Yo _____________________ (llamar) a la policía, y ____________________ (esperar) quince minutos hasta que ellos ____________________ (llegar).
The bear:
Identify the form you think the verb will take by circling the appropriate letter (I = Imperfect / P = Preterit) in the following paragraphs.
When my family was living ( I / P ) in California, we used to go ( I / P ) every summer to a national park that I liked ( I / P ) a lot. Last summer I returned ( I / P ) to California with a friend and we decided ( I / P ) to spend a weekend in the park. My friend wanted to ( I / P ) take nature photographs.
On Saturday we left ( I / P ) camp very early. It was ( I / P ) 6:00 in the morning and it was ( I / P ) very cold. We were walking ( I / P ) along a path when suddenly we saw ( I / P ) a huge bear. It was eating ( I / P ) blackberries. Unfortunately it sensed ( I / P ) us and began ( I / P ) to approach us. We threw down ( I / P ) our knapsacks and ran ( I / P ) as fast as our legs could carry us. My buddy lost ( I / P ) his camera.
After half an hour we stopped ( I / P ) to rest. We waited ( I / P ) for two hours and then we returned ( I / P ) to look for the camera and our packs. Fortunately, we found ( I / P ) everything.
El oso:
Now read the story in Spanish and fill in the blanks with the preterit or imperfect forms of the verbs in parentheses.
Cuando mi familia ________________ (vivir) en California, nosotros ____________ (ir) todos los veranos a un parque nacional que me ________________ (gustar) mucho. El verano pasado yo ______________ (volver) a California con un amigo y ________________ (decidir) pasar un fin de semana en el parque. Mi compañero _______________ (querer) sacar fotos de la naturaleza.
El sábado ________________ (salir) del campamento muy temprano. _______________ (ser) las 6:00 de la mañana y _______________ (hacer) mucho frío. Nosotros _________________ (caminar) por una senda cuando de repente (suddenly) _________________ (ver) un oso gigante. El oso __________________ (comer) moras. Desafortunadamente nos ________________ (percebir) y ________________ (comenzar) a acercarse a nosotros. Nosotros ________________ (tirar) las mochilas al suelo y ________________ (correr) a todo escape. Mi compañero ______________ (perder) su cámara.
Después de media hora ________________ (pararse) para descansar. _________________ (esperar) dos horas y entonces _________________ (volver) a buscar la cámara y las mochilas. Afortunadamente lo ___________________ (encontrar) todo intacto.
