Action Shots!

Background vs Foreground :

El pretérito imperfecto vs

El pretérito indefinido

Choosing when

to use the correct

past tense

The imperfecto is used for ongoing

conditions andhabitual actions in the past.

The indefinido is used for completed events in the past.

When talking about the past, you must use the pretérito indefinido and the

pretérito imperfecto, often simultaneously!

Remember:

habló = he talked, he did talk

hablaba = he was talking, he used to talk, he would talk & he

talked

The indefinido is generally translated as the simple past in English.

The imperfecto has several English equivalents

(including the English simple past).

Translations:

Llovía cuando salí. = (It was raining when I went out.)

(imperfect) (preterite)

Llovía is an ongoing condition, whereas

salí is a completed action.

Ejemplos:

Caminaba indicates a continuing action

or ongoing state, the background

interrupted by an event with a definite ending point, such as

me caí.

Caminaba por la calle cuando me caí. =

(I was walking in the street when I fell.)

Iba todos los días, pero ese día no fui. = (I used to go every day, but that day I didn’t go.)

Time expressions used with the imperfecto, on the contrary, indicate habit, repetition or

long duration.

The event in the pretérito indefinido is often signaled by a very specific time expression, such as ese día,

indicating a single completed action.

Ejemplo: Más…

Use the imperfecto for: An ongoing or continuous past actions Setting the scene Telling time Telling your age Describing physical and mental states Describing the characteristics of people, places, things or situations

Review

Use the indefinido for:Actions that are single,

completed eventsActions that happened a

stated number of timesActions that were part of a

series /sequence/succession of events

To state the beginning or end of an action

Review

Eran las doce de la noche y llovía. Un hombre abrió la puerta. Era viejo y muy delgado. Llevaba ropa negra y tenía la cara muy blanca. Lo miré por un segundo y corrí a mi casa. =

(It was midnight and it was raining. A man opened the door. He was old and very thin. He was wearing black and his face was very white. I looked at him for a second and ran to my home.)

Ejemplo:

1. Jugaba al Scrabble™ con Judy.2. Comían helado todos los días.3. Mi profesor me gritó hoy.4. ¿Adónde fuiste después de la escuela?

1. He was playing Scrabble™ with Judy. 2. They ate ice cream every day.3. My teacher yelled (gritar)at me today. 4. Where did you go after school?

Check Your Knowledge!

• The pretérito indefinido is used in Spanish to answer the question “What happened?”.

• On the other hand, you will usually put a verb in the imperfecto if it answers the questions “What was going on (when something else happened?)”, or “What was it like/How did things use to be?”.

• Generally, the pretérito indefinido is used to relate events that advance a plot/storyline while the imperfecto is used to describe what was going on in the past, states of being in the past, or past habits.

Q&A:

Telling stories…

• All this takes on special importance in narration of past actions, when both tenses often occur in the same story side-by-side.

• Narrating a story entails both describing a setting (habitual actions, atmosphere, places and people) using the imperfecto and recounting a plot or a series of events, actions, changes of feelings or thoughts using the indefinido.

El imperfecto:usually implies ongoing actions in

the past• Time:

– It was 2 o’clock…

• Date: – …on a sunny Saturday in May.

• Weather:– It was beautiful out – a truly perfect spring day!

• Background actions: was …ing, were …ing– The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, the flowers were

blooming, and love was most definitely in the air…

• Feelings/Emotions: – I was feeling happy, healthy, and good about life,…

• Habitual Actions:– On such days, I used to go for walks in the park…

The following adverbs are commonly associated with the imperfecto to express an

incomplete past: Spanish English

Antes Before

Érase/Había una vezOnce upon a time (used only in stories)

Generalmente GenerallyFrecuentemente FrequentlyA menudo OftenConstantemente ConstantlySiempre Always

Spanish English

Cada día Each day

Cada mes Each month

Cada año Each year

Raras veces Rarely

Por lo general In general

Todos los años Every year

Todos los meses Every month

Todos los días Every day

De vez en cuando Occasionally

Normalmente Normally

Usualmente Usually

Mientras While

Act 1, Scene 1:Setting the stage w/

el imperfecto

• ¿Cuál era la fecha?• ¿Qué hora era?• ¿Qué tiempo hacía?• ¿Cómo era el medioambiente?• ¿Cuántos años tenía?• ¿Cómo se sentía?• ¿Qué más se pasaba en la

escena?

Act 1, Scene 1:Setting the stage w/ el imperfecto

• What was the date?• What time was it?• What was the weather like?• Describe the environment?• How old was the person?• How was the person feeling?• Was there anything else going

on in the background?

Repaso: el tiempo

(very) hot (mucha) calor(very) cld (mucho) friocool fresconice out buen tiempo

bad weather mal tiempo

windy vientosunny sol

Hace/Hacía…

o:

• (El) llover

• (El) nevar

Repaso: el tiempo

oscuro darknublado cloudylluvioso rainy

niebla fog

humedad humidityrelámpagos lightning

Está/Estaba…

Hay/Había…

Imagina et describe la escena:

Act 1, Scene 2:The foreground w/ el indefinido

• An action on a specific date/point in time:– On that sunny Saturday, the 24th of May, my life

changed.

• Interrupting action:– As I was strolling through the park, a beautiful

specimen ran right into me, knocking me both literally and figuratively on my butt.

• Repetition of events:– I got up, disoriented, but fell back down again 3 times.

• Series/sequence/succession of events:– When I was finally able to stand, first I brushed myself

off, then I straightened out my shirt, finally I got the nerve to approach her…

The following adverbs are commonly associated with the indefinido to express a completed action at a

specific point in time.past: Spanish English

Ayer YesterdayAnteayer/antier Day before yesterdayAnoche Last nightAntenoche The night before lastLa semana pasada Last weekEl año pasado Last yearEl verano pasado Last summer

 

Spanish EnglishHace + tiempo + pretérito AgoEn la mañana In the morningPor la mañana In the morningEl otro día The other dayEl fin de semana pasado Last weekendSiempre* AlwaysNunca* Never

*For actions/events that never actually happened (as opposed to habitual events in the past that regularly did happen): i.e., Siempre quise ir a Disneyworld, pero nunca fui.

I always wanted to go to Disneyworld, but I never went.

Imagina y describe la escena:(background & foreground)

1. Which tense should I use?IMPERFECTO

AR = aba, abas, aba, ábamos, abais, abanER/IR = ía, ías, ía, íamos, íais, ían

1. DESCRIPTIONS: - Time- Date- Weather- Feelings/emotions/conditions- physical

2. HABITS (used to/would…)

3. ONGOING actions (was/were …ing)

4. NON-SPECIFIC DATE RANGE OVER AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME

PRETÉRITO INDEFINIDOAR = é, aste, ó, amos, asteis, aron

ER/IR = í, iste, ió, imos, isteis, ieron

1. EVENTS moving the plot forward (It usually interrupts an ongoing action in the Imparfait)

2. SUCCESSION of events (1st, then, after, finally…)

3. REPITITION of events (anytime you use “fois”) EXCEPT w/ “Il était une fois…” (once upon a time)

4. SPECIFIC DATE/POINT IN TIME

setting

Ahora, te toca a ti:

• In pairs, illustrate a scene and describe it, using both past tenses.

• The catch? You both interpret the same scene very differently…

• Specs: Write at least 3 sentences each to describe the background (imperfecto) and at least 7 sentences each to describe the foreground/developing events (pretérito indefinido).