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Course: French English Spanish Greek
Explanations in: Greek English French Spanish
A2

Preterite or imperfect?

Events that move the story forward (indefinido) and the background around them (imperfecto).

Indefinido (preterite)Imperfecto (imperfect)
completed actionaction in progress or repeated
moves the story on: «what happened?»describes the scene: «what was it like?»
ayer, el lunes, en 2015, de repentesiempre, cada día, a menudo, mientras
Llegué a las ocho.Llegaba siempre a las ocho.

Some verbs change meaning: conocía a Ana = I knew Ana, conocí a Ana = I met Ana; sabía = I knew, supe = I found out; quería = I wanted, no quise = I refused.

  • Hacía sol, así que salimos a pasear.
    It was sunny, so we went out for a walk.
  • Mientras cocinaba, mi hijo hizo los deberes.
    While I was cooking, my son did his homework.

Test yourself

  1. Choose: Cuando (era / fue) niño, vivía en el campo.
    Show answer
    era
  2. Choose: Ayer (vi / veía) una película.
    Show answer
    vi
  3. Choose: (Estudiaba / Estudié) cuando llegaste.
    Show answer
    Estudiaba
  4. What does «conocí a tu hermano» mean?
    Show answer
    I met your brother