Is used to talk about actions that happened repeatedly in the past .

I used to ….. I was/ were ……..ing

The Imperfect is used : For actions that were repeated

habitually For actions that "set the stage" for

another past action For telling time For stating one's age For mental states (usually) For physical sensations (usually) To describe the characteristics of

people, things or conditions

Weather Llovía. It was raining.

Age Cuando tenía tres años, quería ser bombera. When I was three, I wanted to be a firefighter.

Time Eran las cuatro. It was four o'clock.

Emotion Estaba triste. I was sad.

Repetition Yo visitaba a mi abuela de vez en cuando. I used to visit my grandmother from time to time.

Setting or description (Answers the questions: What was happening? What was … like?)*El sol brillaba y la

vista era bonita.

(What was happening? –The sun was shining.) (What was the view like? –It was pretty.)

menudo (often)a veces (sometimes)cada día (every day)cada semana (every week)cada mes (every month)cada año (every year)con frecuencia (frequently)de vez en cuando (from time to time)

nunca (never)por un rato (for awhile)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

Another way to view this is that the preterite tells us specifically when an action took place, while the imperfect tells us in general when an action took place

The Imperfect is also used to ( page 219): to describe people, places, and situations in

the past • to talk about a past action or situation

when no beginning or end is specified (Había • to describe the situation or background information when something else happened or interrupted the ongoing action.

The Preterite is used For actions that can be viewed as single

events For actions that were repeated a

specific number of times For actions that occurred during a

specific period of time For actions that were part of a chain of

events To state the beginning or the end of an

action

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 (at 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)

Specific instance or a number of/several instances Le llamó tres veces. El me llamó ayer. He called him three times. He called me yesterday.

Action that interrupts ongoing events Yo trabajaba cuando mi amiga llamó. I was working when my friend called.

Focus on beginning or ending of action Empezó a llover. It started to rain.

Enclosed amount of time Los árabes controlaron mucho de España por más de 700

años. The Arabs controlled much of Spain for over 700 years.