Help! I can't tell wether to use the preterite or imperfect. I know that imperfect is used to 'used to' expressions and preterite usually has to do with words like ayer or anteayer, but I don't know which to use if there are no helping words. Por favor ayudarme.
2006-12-13 16:59:01 · 2 answers · asked by cousins 4ever 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
Preterite is a complete past action. I did, I watched, I wrote.
Imperfect is used for something continuous in the past -- I was going, I was looking, I was thinking. It is also used for things which one used to do: I used to go, I used to look, I used to think. It is further used for describing scenes. If you are telling someone about how something looked, then the imperfect is the correct tense. eg. "Hoy encontré a Juan, quien estaba muy serio." You start with the preterite because meeting Juan was an event at a fixed point in the past and then you start describing how he was, so move to the imperfect.
2006-12-16 03:10:12 · answer #1 · answered by Doethineb 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Easy. Preterito is used when you have done something and will never do again. Imperfect is used for continuing actions in the past.
2006-12-13 17:03:07 · answer #2 · answered by Julio Cesar C 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋