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Understanding the Imperfect Tense in Spanish: What’s the Story?

Explore the significance of the imperfect tense in Spanish, which conveys the idea of habitual actions in the past. This guide covers how to describe people, places, emotions, and situations using the imperfect tense. It explains key usages, such as setting the scene, expressing simultaneous events, and background details. Additionally, it contrasts the imperfect with the preterit tense, emphasizing completed actions. Learn how to narrate past events, differentiate between ongoing and interrupted actions, and enrich your storytelling in Spanish.

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Understanding the Imperfect Tense in Spanish: What’s the Story?

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Presentation Transcript

  1. EL IMPERFECTO What’s the story?

  2. “Used to” • Expresses the idea that something happened repeatedly in the past.

  3. For describing in the past… • people – Mi abuela era simpatica. • places – Su casa tenía un jardin. • situations – Había muchos arboles. • mental/emotional states – Estaba contenta allí. • location – Mis primos estaban allí tambien.

  4. To express was/were - ing • Yo caminaba cuando me caí. • You can also do this by saying “estaba –ando/-iendo”.

  5. To tell the… in the past • date – Era el cuatro de julio de 1776. • time – Eran las ocho. • weather – Hacía mucho calor ayer. • age – Tenía diez años en dos mil.

  6. 2 events occur simultaneously • you will often use the word “mientras” with this • La profesora dormía mientras los estudiantes escribían notas.

  7. Setting up a scene • Give background details of an event. • This tells what was happening when something else occurred.

  8. TO BE CONTINUED… What about the preterit?

  9. Completed action in the past • Something is done and over with. • Comí la manzana. • La prueba fue fácil. • Estuve en la biblioteca por tres horas.

  10. después próximo luego y entonces de repente más tarde primero segundo finalmente por fin Giving a sequence of events Just to name a few.

  11. Interruption • An action that interrupts another one that was already going on • the going on action is in imperfect • the interruption is in the preterit • Caminaba cuando me caí.

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