Could someone explain me these Spanish tenses?

Question

Preterito indefinido, preterito imperfecto and preterito imperfecto de indicativo

with thanks

Answer 1

The pretérito indefinido is the simple past tense for actions which happened at specific moments in the past, without any relation to the present. “I got up, I brushed my teeth, I combed my hair” are examples of such in English. Some Spanish examples:
La bicicleta resbaló, perdí el equilibrio, me caí y me golpeé el hombro contra la acera. Un señor que vio el accidente llamó una ambulancia. “The bicycle skidded, I lost my balance and I struck my shoulder against the pavement. A man who saw the accident called an ambulance.”
The pretérito imperfecto is known as the imperfect tense in English. It expresses actions or situations in the past without specifying any beginning or end. “When I was young I used to run all the way to school”; “I was walking along the road, humming to myself…” It is used for purposes of description of things which happened in the past, for setting a scene, describing people or places, or for describing habitual actions.
Spanish examples: Cuando era niño vivíamos en una casa que tenía un jardín enorme. Todos los días los niños del barrio venían a jugar conmigo. “When I was a boy we lived in a house which had a huge garden. All the local children used to come and play with me.”
When the main verb (anunciar, decir, declarar, preguntar, prometer, etc.) is in the pretérito indefinido (anunció, dije, declararon, preguntaste, etc.) or the pretérito pluscuamperfecto (pluperfect) (había anunciado, habíamos dicho, etc.), the verb in the subordinate clause, conjugated in the present tense in the original statement or question, goes into the imperfect. So, if the original statement was “Soy estudiante” (I am a student), the reported speech becomes : Dijo que era estudiante. Decía que era estudiante. Había dicho que era estudiante.

Answer 2

Pretérito indefinido (usually known as "pasado simple") is used the same way as the past tense in english.
e.g.
Ayer vi la tv = yesterday i watched the tv
anoche te hablé = i called you last night

Pretérito imperfecto (del indicativo) is used to say that an action took place before another or at the same time or something i used to do.
e.g.
ESTABA viendo la tv cuando me llamó =i WAS watching the tv when he/she called me

me comí un sandwich mientras VEÍA la tele = i ate a sandwich while i was watching the tv

cuando ERA niño quería ser astronauta = when i WAS a kid i wanted to be an astronaut.

cuando IBA a la primaria me LEVANTABA temprano = when i WAS going (or went) to elementary school i USED TO get up early

Pretérito imperfecto (del subjuntivo) is used to say an hypothesis, desire, wishes, etc.

si TUVIERA dinero, compraría un Porsche = if i HAD money i would buy a Porsche

si ella me AMARA, yo sería muy feliz = if she loved me i would be very happy