SPANISH 1: Preterite vs. Imperfect?

Question

Can somone please tell me in plain english how to tell the difference between these two tenses.

I often get confused when I try to differentiate between the two, I see little difference, Ive heard all about "Duration vs completion" but I just don't see the concise difference. Is there a way to tell or is it based on "intuition"?

Please help.

Answer 1

perfect means the action is finished

"Fui a una fiesta ayer" The party is over and so is the time in which the action was completed...it's similar to the past simple in English "I went to a party yesterday"

"Mientras estudiaba, escuche un ruido" It is not specified when the action started or finished...we simply know it was a past action and focus on its duration...it's similar to the English past continuous "When I was studying, I heard a noise" and sometimes it means "used to" as in : "Trabajaba en una guarderia" (She used to work in a kindergarden)

Maybe it would be easier for you to identify if you memorize the "terminaciones", the endings used in the conjugation of one or the other

The endings used for the imperfecto are:

first conjugation (ar): -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, -aban

second and third conjugation (er, ir): -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían

the endings for the preterito are:

first conjugation (ar): -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron

second and third conjugation (er, ir): - í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron

Check out the website...it is mostly in Spanish but it gives examples in both English and Spanish...good luck!

Answer 2

Preterite is when the action is over and done.
Yo comí chocolate en el cine = I ate chocolate in the cinema. (finished)

Imperfect is when it is not over yet or the ending is not specified.

Yo comía chocolate en el cine = I was eating chocolate in the cinema. (it doesn´t say if I stopped doing, for how long I did it, or if I keep doing it all the time, - it is just open)

I hope it helps you a little.

Answer 3

preterit - a complete, solid action that is over
"i did my homework."

imperfect - an action that continues, or used for "used to be"
"era un niño tímido" (i was/used to be a shy boy)
or
"hacía mi tarea cuando vi el perro"
(i was doing my homework WHEN i saw the dog)
the preterit interrupts the imperfect action...try to think about it in english like that.