© boardworks ltd 2003 grammar 3 the preterite tense the imperfect tense using the imperfect and...

© Boardworks Ltd 2003

Grammar 3

The preterite tense

The imperfect tense

Using the imperfect andpreterite together

The imperfect continuous


The preterite tense 1

The PRETERITE tense is used to talk about completed actions in the past. It is used:

(1) in telling stories and for non descriptive events.

(2) to recount a list or series of completed actions in the past.

(3) to describe actions in the past which happened only once.

(4) to describe actions that went on but finished in the past.

It is the most useful and used of the past tenses but also has the most

irregularities!

It is recognised by the English I did something.

Examples: Llamé por teléfono a las nueve. I rang at nine.

Me levanté temprano. I got up early.

Viví cinco años en Madrid . I lived in Madrid for five years.


There are two sets of regular endings to learn:(1) -AR (2) -ER/ -IR

As with other tenses you have to: (1) take the infinitive (2) take off the infinitive ending (3) add the endings for the tense.

-AR endings

-é-aste-ó-amos-asteis-aron

-ER / -IR endings

-í-iste-ió-imos-isteis-ieron

Notice the ‘we’ending in –ARand –IR verbs is the same asin the presenttense



hablar = to speak / talk

habl

habl

habl

habl

habl

habl

Regular -AR verbs.

é

aste

ó

amos

asteis

aron


I spoke, I did speak.

You spoke, you did speak.

He /she/ it spoke, did speak.

We spoke, we did speak.

You spoke, you did speak.

They spoke, they did speak.


Choose 3 of the verbs below and write it out in full:aceptar = to accept cantar = to sing llorar = to cryamar = to love charlar = to chat mirar = to look

atarreglar = to fix dibujar = to draw pagar = to payayudar = to help entrar = to go in pescar = to

fishbajar = to go down ganar = to win saltar = to

jumpbailar = to dance lavar = to wash tocar = to

touch llenar = to fill viajar = to

travel

Put the verb in brackets into the correct part of the preterite. 1. Yo (ayudar) ________ en casa.2. Las chicas (bailar) ________ en la discoteca.3. Nosotros (cantar) ________ en la clase de música.4. Vosotras (entrar) ________ en el cine para ver la película.5. Tú (ganar) ________ un premio en la lotería, ¿verdad?6. Mi padre siempre (pescar) ________ en el río.7. Ana (viajar) ________ a los Estados Unidos el año pasado.8. Yo (llenar) ________ una cesta con manzanas.9. Mi hijo (dibujar) ________ muy bien en su examen de arte.

1. Yo (ayudar) ayudé en casa.2. Las chicas (bailar) bailaron en la discoteca.3. Nosotros (cantar) cantamos en la clase de música.4. Vosotras (entrar) entrasteis en el cine para ver la película.5. Tú (ganar) ganaste un premio en la lotería, ¿verdad?6. Mi padre siempre (pescar) pescó en el río.7. Ana (viajar) viajó a los Estados Unidos el año pasado.8. Yo (llenar) llené una cesta con manzanas.9. Mi hijo (dibujar) dibujó muy bien en su examen de arte.

The preterite tense 4 Regular -AR verbs.


comer = to eat

com

com

com

com

com

com

í

iste

ió

imos

isteis

ieron

Regular -ER verbs.The preterite tense 5

I ate, I did eat.

You ate, you did eat.

He / she / it ate, did eat.

We ate, we did eat.

You ate, you did eat.

They ate, they did eat.


Practice saying or writing out these other verbs.beber = to drink leer = to readcorrer = to run meter = to putcoser = to sew vender = to selldeber = to owe ver = to see

Put the verb in brackets into the correct part of the preterite. 1. Mis amigos (beber) ________ café con leche toda la noche.2. Mi tía (coser) ________ muchos vestidos.3. Yo (correr) ________ para coger el autobús.4. Los chicos (meter) ________ la ropa en el armario.5. Tú (leer) ________ el reportaje en el periódico.6. Los supermercados (vender) ________ de todo.7. Luis me (deber) ________ mucho dinero.8. Los alumnos (ver) ________ un programa muy bueno.

1. Mis amigos (beber) bebieron café con leche toda la noche.2. Mi tía (coser) cosió muchos vestidos.3.Yo (correr) corrí para coger el autobús.4. Los chicos (meter) metieron la ropa en el armario.5. Tú (leer) leiste el reportaje en el periódico.6. Los supermercados (vender) vendieron de todo.7. Luis me (deber) debió mucho dinero.8. Los alumnos (ver) vieron un programa muy bueno.

The preterite tense 6 Regular -ER verbs.


ABRIR= to open

abr

abr

abr

abr

abr

abr

í

iste

ió

imos

isteis

ieron

Regular -IR verbs.The preterite tense 7

I opened, I did open.

You opened, you did open.

He / she / it opened, did open.

We opened, we did open.

You opened, you did open.

They opened, they did open.


Practice saying or writing out these other verbs.Like ABRIR batir = to beat escribir = to writecubrir = to cover permitir = to allow recibir = to receive

Put the verb in brackets into the correct part of the preterite.

1. Mi madre (batir) ________ los huevos para hacer una tortilla.2. Los obreros (cubrir) ________ los agujeros en la carreterra.3. Yo (recibir) ________ muchos regalos el día de mi cumpleaños.4. Elena (escribir) ________ a sus amigas de la universidad.5. El guardia me (permitir) ________ pasar.

1. Mi madre (batir) batió los huevos para hacer una tortilla.2. Los obreros (cubrir) cubrieron los agujeros en la carreterra.3. Yo (recibir) recibí muchos regalos el día de mi cumpleaños.4. Elena (escribir) escribió a sus amigas de la universidad.5. El guardia me (permitir) permitió pasar.

The preterite tense 8 Regular -IR verbs.


The first group of irregular verbs are only slightly irregular as they show spelling changes in the first person singular only. There are three types:(1) Verbs which end in –GAR change to GUÉ(2) Verbs which end in –CAR change to QUÉ(3) Verbs which end in –ZAR change to CÉ

jugar = to play

jugué I playedjugaste you playedjugó he she it playedjugamos we playedjugasteis you playedjugaron they played

explicar = to explain

expliqué I explainedexplicaste you explainedexplicó he she it explainedexplicamos we explainedexplicasteis you explainedexplicaron they explained

cruzar = to cross

crucé I crossedcruzaste you crossedcruzó he / she it crossedcruzamos we crossedcruzasteis you crossedcruzaron they crossed

The preterite tense 9 Irregular verbs.


apagar = to put out acercarse = to approachcazar = to hunt cargar = to load atacar = to attack empezar = to begindescargar = to unload buscar = to look for organizar = to organize entregar = to hand over secar = to dry rezar = to prayllegar = to arrive pescar = to fish utilizar = to use navegar = to sail chocar contra = to crash into pagar = to pay sacar = to take out regar= to water marcar = to score a goal, dial a number


The following verbs work in the same way. Can you write out three of them in full?


Some spelling changes occur in the 3rd person of a limited number of verbs which do not have a spelling change in any other person.

Verb 1st person 3rd person 3rd person singular singular plural

caer = to fall caí cayó cayeroncreer = to believe creí creyó creyeronleer = to read leí leyó leyeronoír = to hear oí oyó oyerondestruir = destruí destruyó destruyeron to destroyconstruir = construí construyó construyeronto build



Spelling change verbs.

Unlike the present tense in which the spelling change verbs change in four persons, in the preterite tense the changes only affect two of the three types and occur in the 3rd person only.

(1) o > ue verbs The most common verbs affected here are dormir(se) and morir(se)

DORMIR(SE) durmió durmierondormí

Pedro durmió bien en su tienda. Se durmió en seguida. Pedro slept well in his tent. He went to sleep at once. El soldado casí murió de risa. Al día siguiente se murió en la batalla. The soldier nearly died of laughter. The next day he died in the battle.

MORIR(SE) morí murió murieron



The second spelling change group involves -IR verbs.

PEDIR pedí pidió pidieron

En el restaurante Paco pidió tortilla de jamón.Paco asked for ham omelette in the restaurant.

Mis amigos pidieron una paella enorme.My friends ordered an enormous paella.


(2) e > i verbs


What would the third person singular and plural be for each of the verbs below?despedirse de = to say goodbye todivertirse = to enjoy oneselfhervir = to boilpedir = to ask forpreferir = to preferrendirse = to surrenderrepetir = to repeatseguir = to followsentir = to feel, to be sorryservir = to servevestirse = to get dressed

se despidió se despidieron se divirtió se divirtieronhirvió hirvieronpidió pidieronprefirió prefirieronrindió rindieronrepitió repitieronsiguió siguieronsintió sintieronsirvió sirvieronse vistió se vistieron



The last group of irregular verbs in the preterite tense is easy once you have learnt the first person singular!

PONER = to put

puse

pusiste

puso

pusimos

pusisteis

pusieron

There are no accents on these verbs. Just learn the first person and then put the endings on the new stem. The endings are almost the same as for regular –er and –ir verbs. Can you spot the differences?


I put

You put

He / she / it put

We put

You put

They put


Verbs which follow the same pattern as poner:

Verb stem 1st personandar - to walk anduv anduveestar - to be estuv estuveobtener - to obtain obtuv obtuvetener - to have tuv tuvehacer - to do hic hicepoder - to be able pud pudesaber - to know sup supesuponer - to suppose supus supusevenir - to come vin vinequerer - to love/want quis quiseconducir - to drive conduj condujetraer - to bring traj trajeproducir - to produce produj produjedecir - to say dij dije

Endings-e-iste-o-imos-isteis-ieron

Note:hacer has a different stem in the 3rd person singular - hizo



hacer = to do / make

hice I did / I madehiciste You did / you madehizo He / she / it did / madehicimos We did / we madehicisteis You did / you madehicieron They did / they made

estar = to be

estuve I wasestuviste You wereestuvo He / she / it wasestuvimos We wereestuvisteis You were estuvieron They were

ser = to be + ir = to go

I was fui I wentYou were fuiste You wentHe / she / it was fue He / she / it went We were fuimos We wentYou were fuisteis You wentThey were fueron They went

Notice ser and ir have the same parts

The preterite tense 17 Some very important verbs!


1. Yesterday I went to the cinema.

2. It was a fantastic film.

3. Before I went I did my homework.

4. He was a great soldier and a wonderful father.

5. My grandfather went to Australia in 1960.

6. They went to the hairdresser’s.

7. The boys made their beds for the first time!

8. The bank was in the middle of the town, then they moved it.

9. I went to the match and my friend was there.

10. It was a great day and the weather was very good.

estar, ir, hacer and ser.The preterite tense 18Practise using the preterite of estar, ir, hacer and ser by writing out these sentences in Spanish.


1. Ayer fui al cine.2. Fue una película fenomenal.3. Antes de ir hice los deberes.4. Fue un gran soldado y un padre maravilloso.5. Mi abuelo se fue a Australia en mil novecientos sesenta.6. Fueron a la peluquería.7. ¡Por primera vez los chicos hicieron sus camas! 8. El banco estuvo en el centro de la ciudad, luego lo movieron.9. Fui al partido y mi amigo estuvo allí. 10.Fue un día fantástico e hizo muy buen tiempo.

The preterite tense 19 estar, ir, hacer and ser.


Por la mañana me levanto temprano, a las 6:00 para abrir la cafetería, para recibir los repartos, para limpiar la cocina y preparar el desayuno para los clientes que vienen de las oficinas de al lado. Las dos camareras preparan las mesas y se preparan a recibir a la gente. Servimos el desayuno y los platos combinados todo el día y la gente viene en grupos. A veces no hay muchos clientes en la cafetería pero cuando la gente quiere comer o tomar un café parece que todos llegan al mismo tiempo. Por la tarde cuando hay menos gente, yo como pero no es una gran comida porque siempre hay clientes a servir y no hay mucho tiempo libre, aun con dos camareras, mi esposa y los que friegan los platos. Por la tarde siempre vienen muchos clientes y turistas a comer y a tomar copas. A veces tengo que ayudar en la cocina o servir a los clientes. En invierno me puedo ir a la cama a las 23:00 horas, pero en verano me voy a la cama a las dos de la madrugada. Es duro pero me gusta el trabajo y me recompensa.

Por la mañana me levanté temprano, a las 6:00, para abrir la cafetería, para recibir los repartos, para limpiar la cocina y preparar el desayuno para los clientes que vinieron de las oficinas de al lado. Las dos camareras prepararon las mesas y se prepararon a recibir a la gente. Servimos el desayuno y los platos combinados todo el día y la gente vino en grupos. A veces no hubo muchos clientes en la cafetería pero cuando la gente quiso comer o tomar un café pareció que todos llegaron al mismo tiempo. Por la tarde cuando hubo menos gente, yo comí pero no fue una gran comida porque siempre hubo clientes a servir y no hubo mucho tiempo libre, aun con dos camareras, mi esposa y los que fregaron los platos. Por la tarde siempre vinieron muchos clientes y turistas a comer y tomar copas. A veces tuve que ayudar en la cocina o servir a los clientes. En invierno me pude ir a la cama a las 23:00 horas, pero en verano me fui a la cama a las dos de la madrugada. Fue duro pero me gusta el trabajo y me recompensó.

¿Puedes describir un día típico de tu vida en la tercera persona del pretérito? Los verbos que tienes que cambiar aparecen en rojo.

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The imperfect tense is used to talk about the past. Whereas the preterite describes a single completed action in the past, the imperfect tense...

• describes something that happened frequently or regularly in the past.

• is used for descriptions in the past, such as describing what the weather was like or giving your opinion of something you did.

• tells us what something used to be like.

• describes something that went on for a long period of time.

The imperfect tense 1


This tense is used in four different ways:

(1) To describe actions, people or things in the past.(2) To describe an action that started in the past and was

going on or continued in the past. (3) To describe actions that used to be done frequently in the

past.(4) To describe thing(s) which were going on in the past

before another event started.

The imperfect tense translates any of the following English clue words or phrases.

I was eating. We were talking. I used to eat. She was an interesting teacher.



(1) General descriptions in the past.

Example: La casa era enorme.

The house was enormous.

Describing what the weather was like.

Example : Ayer, hacía sol.

Yesterday it was sunny.

Giving your opinion of something you did.

Example: Comí pollo, era muy rico.

I ate chicken, it was delicious.

Main uses of the imperfect.



(2) Saying what something used to be or would be like

Examples:Cuando era joven, comía muchos caramelos.When I was young, I used to eat lots of sweets.

Cuando visitábamos a nuestros parientes nos daban regalos y revistas.When we used to visit our relatives they would give us presents and magazines.

Both of these examples describe things and events that were repeated in the past.



(3) Describing something that happened frequently or regularly in the past.

Examples:

Cuando tenía 10 diez años, hacía natación dos veces por semana.

When I was 10 years old, I went swimming twice a week.

Durante mis vacaciones del verano pasado me levantaba temprano, desayunaba e iba a la playa.

During my holidays last summer I used to get up early, have breakfast and go to the beach.



(4) Describing something that went on for a long period of time.

Examples:

Cuando era joven, vivía en el campo y teníamos dos gatos.

When I was young, I lived in the country and we had two cats.

Cuando íbamos al campo podía nadar en el río y dar un paseo.

When we went to the country I could swim in the river and go for a walk.



(5) Was…doing and were…doing

If you want to translate was or were doing something, you must use the imperfect tense. These are the clue phrases that help you identify the tense and mean you must use the imperfect tense.

Examples:

Hacía los deberes cuando mi madre regresó a la casa.

I was doing my homework when my mother came home.

Jugábamos al fútbol cuando empezó a llover.

We were playing football when it started to rain.



Regular verbs.

The imperfect tense is quite easy to form and has very few irregular parts. There are only two sets of endings to learn and only three irregular verbs.

Formation of the imperfect tense:Take the following steps: 1. Take the infinitive of the verb you wish to use. 2. Take off the -AR, -ER or -IR. 3. Add the endings.

-AR endings: -aba -abas -aba -ábamos -abais -aban. -ER / IR endings -ía -ías -ía -íamos -íais -ían.



All regular -AR verbs are formed in the following way:

HABLAR= to speak / talk

habl

habl

habl

habl

habl

habl

aba

abas

aba

abais

ábamos

aban


I talked, I was talking, I used to talk.

You talked, you were talking, you used to talk.

He / she / it talked, was talking, used to talk.

We talked, we were talking, we used to talk.

You talked, you were talking, you used to talk.

They talked, they were talking, they used to talk


All regular -ER and -IR verbs are formed in the following way.

COMER = to eat

com

com

com

com

com

com

ía

ías

ía

íamos

ían

íais


I ate, I was eating, I used to eat.

You ate, you were eating, you used to eat.

He / she / it ate, was eating, used to eat.

We ate, we were eating, we used to eat.

You ate, you were eating, you used to eat.

They ate, they were eating, they used to eat.


ía

ías

ía

íamos

íais

ían

abr

abr

abr

abr

abr

abr

ABRIR= to open


I opened, was opening, I used to open

You opened, were opening, you used to open.

He / she/ it / opened, was opening, used to open.

We opened, we were opening, we used to open.

You opened, you were opening, you used to open.

They opened, they were opening, they used to open.


The good news about the imperfect tense is that all of the verbs except three are regular. The three irregular verbs are SER, IR and VER.

VER = to see

veía I saw, used to see. veías you saw, used to see. veía he / she / it saw, used to see. veíamos we saw, used to see. veíais you saw, used to see. veían they saw, used to see.

leer = to read also does this. leía I read, used to read


SER = to be

era I was, used to be.eras you were, used to be. era he / she / it was, used to be.éramos we were, used to be.erais you were, used to be.eran they were, used to be.

IR = to go

iba I went, used to go.ibas you went, used to go. iba he / she / it went, used to go.íbamos we went, used to go.ibais you went, used to go.iban they went, used to go.


To summarise:The imperfect tense is used for descriptions in the past and the meaning of the imperfect tense can change according to context and use.

(Yo) Iba a Madrid. Could mean:

1. I went to Madrid. Repeated action.2. I was going to Madrid. Action begun in past and probably going to

be interrupted by another

event.3. I used to go to Madrid. Frequent action4. I would go to Madrid. Frequent action



1 Yo (ir) ___a menudo al centro de la ciudad.

2 Tú no (levantarse) ___________ nunca antes de las doce.

3 Ana (telefonear) __________ a su madre cada día.

4 Yo (comer) _____ cuando el teléfono sonó.

5 Nosotros (jugar) _________ al fútbol en el parque.

6 Vosotras (comer) _______ ensalada con todas las comidas.

7 Ella (bañarse) _________ cuando alguien llamó a la puerta.

8 El niño siempre (abrir) ____ la nevera.

9 Roberto nunca (escoger) ______ el mismo libro que María.

10 Yo (leer) ___ el mapa mientras mi padre (conducir)________.

11 (Empezar) _________ a nevar cuando nos pusimos en camino.

12 Nosotros siempre (llegar) _________ temprano.

Change the verb in brackets to the imperfect tense.


iba

te levantabas

telefoneaba

comía

jugábamos

comíais

se bañaba

abría

escogía

leía conducía

Empezaba

llegábamos

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Using the imperfect and preterite together

These two past tenses are often used together especially for stories or narratives in the past. Look at these examples and try to use the tenses in a similar way.

Examples:Cuando miré por la ventana llovía.When I looked out of the window it was raining.

Leía cuando el teléfono sonó.I was reading when the telephone rang.

In each of these sentences:(1) the verb in the preterite describes a single, completed action.(2) the verb in the imperfect describes an action which was already going on

and which was interrupted by another action.

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The same kind of verb construction can be used with the imperfect tense to describe continuous actions in the past.This time the English phrase you are describing is: - was doing something.

Example:

I was eating. Estaba comiendo

To form the imperfect continuous in Spanish you need two parts:

(1) The imperfect tense of the verb to be ESTAR.

(2) The present participle of the verb you are emphasising.

Notice that you still use the present participle.

The imperfect continuous 1


I was eating

You were eating

We were eating

You were eating

They were eating

He / she / it was eating

Estaba comiendo

Estabas comiendo

Estaba comiendo

How to form the imperfect continuous tense.

comer = to eat

Estábamos comiendo

Estabais comiendo

Estaban comiendo

Now practise saying and writing out these verbs:ABRIRHABLAR



¿Sabes cambiar estos verbos del presente al imperfecto progresivo?

1. Juan y Ana beben café con leche en la cafetería.2. Anita pone la mesa para ayudar a su madre.3. Hoy llueve a cántaros, no acaba.4. Nosotros leemos revistas en la clase de ciencias.5. Los camareros sirven a muchos clientes hoy.6. El gato duerme en el jardín.7. Los niños juegan al fútbol en el parque.8. María se viste en su dormitorio.9. Mi madre ve su telenovela preferida en la tele.10.Yo aprendo el español en el instituto.11.Vosotras cantáis en el coro.12.El cliente pide la cuenta.

1. Juan y Ana estaban bebiendo café con leche en la cafetería.2. Anita estaba poniendo la mesa para ayudar a su madre.3. Hoy estaba lloviendo a cántaros, no acaba.4. Nosotros estábamos leyendo revistas en la clase de ciencias.5. Los camareros estaban sirviendo a muchos clientes hoy.6. El gato estaba durmiendo en el jardín.7. Los niños estaban jugando al fútbol en el parque.8. María estaba vistiéndose en su dormitorio.9. Mi madre estaba viendo su telenovela preferida en la tele.10.Yo estaba aprendiendo el español en el instituto.11.Vosotras estabais cantando en el coro.12.El cliente estaba pidiendo la cuenta.

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© boardworks ltd 2003 grammar 3 the preterite tense the imperfect tense using the imperfect and...

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