Slide 1
Preterite/Imperfect ReviewSra. KuonenWarren Central High
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ConnectionPresent-tensePast-tense
He talksHe talked
l habla l habl
Preterite/ImperfectPreterite ReviewThe preterite is used for one
time, past, completed actions. Actions that have a specific
beginning and ending are usually in the preterite also.Preterite
endings for regular ar verbs are: - -amos -aste -asteis - -aronFor
regular verbs ending in er and ir, the endings are: - -imos -iste
-isteis -i-ieron
Irregular Preterite
There are several irregular preterite verbs. These forms can be
found on pages R34-R36 of your book.
Spelling change preterites are found on page R32.
There are several website where you can learn more about the
irregular preterite forms. Here are a
few:www.classzone.comwww.studyspanish.com Practiquen!Remember that
irregular means that it does not follow a pattern. These verbs need
to be MEMORIZED!
ImperfectFor ar ending verbs, the endings are: -aba -bamos-abas
-abais-aba abanFor er and ir verbs, the endings are the same:
-a-amos-as - ais -a -anThere are only three irregular imperfect
verbs, ir, ser, and ver. Their forms can be found on page 203 of
your text book.
Contextual CluesIf you first learn the endings for each tense
well, then memorize the irregular forms of each tense. This will
make it much easier when you are learning the difference between
the preterite and imperfect tenses. Sometimes, there are clues in
sentences to help you decide which tense to use.Look for words
like: Ayer - yesterday Anoche last night Esta maana this
morning
These words imply that the action happened one time, so you
would use preterite.
If you see terms like: a veces - sometimes los jueves -
onThursdays always siempre
The action is repeated, use imperfect.
Imperfect ReviewRemember the acronym W.A.R.P.T. to remind you of
when to use the imperfect tense.Weather Age Repeated and ongoing
actions Physical and mental descriptions TimeWhen you describe
things or talk about actions with no definite ending, use the
imperfect tense.
Ongoing ActionsNo definite ending point is statedOften translate
to the past progressive tense in English (she was eating, they were
working, etc.)Examples:Los nios miraban la televisin cuando el
telfono son.The children were watching TV when the telephone
rang.
miraban (on-going) son (1 time, completed)Yo cocinaba cuando
ella lleg.I was cooking when she arrived.
cocinaba (on-going) lleg (1 time, completed)
Descriptions If a physical or mental description is given in the
past, use the imperfect.Examples:
Me senta muy feliz. Los nios estaban muy cansados.Cuando tena
ocho aos, Elena era alta.
Repeated Actions If an action happened habitually in the past,
the imperfect is used. Often there is contextual clue showing that
the action was repeated.T siempre cantabas. - You always used to
sing. Context clue!Mariana y su familia iba a la playa todos los
veranos.
Context clue!Since they used to go to the beach every summer, it
is an imperfect action.
Telling time, AgeSpanish uses the verb Ser with time. If the
time is given in the past, the imperfect of ser is used.Use Eran
for every hour but 1.Eran las tres. It was 3:00.Eran las diez y
veinte. It was 10:20.Era is used if the hour is 1. Era la una y
media. It was 1:30.Era la una menos diez. It was 12:50 (Ten till
one).To say how old someone was use the imperfect forms of
TenerTena 3 aos. She was 3. Tenamos diez aos. We were 10.Cuando
ramos jovenes when we were young.
PrcticaLos nios (jugaron / jugaban) mucho en el parque.T
(aprendiste / aprenda) la leccin ayer.Yo (tuve / tena) cuatro
aos.Mi mam y pap me (compraron / compraban) una computadora nueva
la semana pasada.Enrique y yo (fuimos / bamos) al cine los
viernes.(Hizo / Haca) mucho sol.
Respuestas Los nios jugaban mucho en el parque. (repeated
action)T aprendiste la leccin ayer. (specific time-yesterday)Yo
tena cuatro aos. (age)Mi mam y pap me compraron una computadora
nueva la semana pasada. (specific time last week)Enrique y yo bamos
al cine los viernes. (repeated on Fridays)Haca mucho sol. (weather
description)
