WHen to use preterito or imperfect in spanish?

Question

Iam writing a spanish essay on what i did over my winter vacation. Would i use imperfect or preterito?

Answer 1

Spanish past tenses: Preterit and Imperfect

Both, Spanish preterite (or preterit) and imperfect tenses are used to express past actions, but in English we have just one past tense. So, the English past form "I ate" could either be translated as "yo comí" (preterit) or "yo comía" (imperfect) depending on what we want to express (notice that they aren't interchangeable).

When to use either the imperfect or the preterit tenses. In general terms, the preterit is used to express an action (in the past) that is completed or seen as completed, that has concrete and clear beginning and end. So, we use the other tense, the imperfect, as its name shows, when referring to actions that haven't got a clear or concise end.

We could also understand the preterit as a tense that give us specific information on when the action took place. On the other hand, the imperfect informs us generally about the end of the action.

Use the preterit:
-If you want to talk about something that just happened once:

Mi hijo nació el miércoles pasado (My son was born last Wednesday)
Ayer llamé a mi hermano (Yesterday I phoned my brother).
-to tell when something began or ended.

La película comenzó a las siete y terminó a las ocho y media.
(The film started at seven o'clock and ended at half past eight.)
-There are some words and expressions, indicating concrete time frames, so they are used with the preterit: ayer (yesterday) antesdeayer (the day before yesterday), en ese momento (at that moment), entonces (then) la semana pasada (last week), el mes pasado (last month), esta tarde (this evening) esta mañana (this morning).

Use the imperfect:
-if you want to talk about repeated actions (or actions made habitually):

Ella comía arroz todos los días. (She ate rice everyday)
Mi tía siempre llegaba tarde (My aunt was always late)
-if you want to talk about time or age in the past:

Él tenía 20 años. (He was twenty years old)
Era medianoche. (It was midnight)
-There are also some words and expressions that are used with the imperfect: cada día (every day), a veces (sometimes), de vez en cuando (from time to time), generalmente (usually). Mucho (a lot), siempre (always), nunca (never). These are expression that do not point to a specific point of time, that's why they are used with the imperfect tense.

Answer 2

For the most part you would use the preterite. The preterite is used for actions in the past that are completed and ones that generally occurred at a specific time (although the time is not necessarily mentioned). For example, you would use it in sentences such as "I went to the park. (Fui al parque.)"or "Yesterday I slept for two hours.(Ayer dormí por dos horas)."

The imperfect is generally used to express what someone "used to do" or did habitually, for example "I used to eat soup often when I was young. (Yo comía la sopa frecuentemente cuando era joven.)" However it can also be used to set the stage for another action, to introduce a situation, when talking about a mental state, and other cases, so you might need to end up using it. Ex. "I was watching TV when you called me. (Yo miraba la televisión cuando me llamaste). A great site that lists many of the uses of the imperfect tense is
http://www.studyspanish.com/tutorial.htm

(You can scroll down to "Unit 6", click on a topic and click "Written Lesson".)

I suggest you check the site out, and if you are still uncertain about which one you should use in a given situation, you could always post it here.

Buena suerte:)

Answer 3

Use the preterite when an action or event is completed, where there is a definite beginning and a definite end.
-> Example: Juan habló dos horas.
Juan spoke two hours.
(action completed)

Situations that this tense can be used are, for actions that can be viewed as single events, for actions that were repeated a specific number of times, for actions that occurred during a specific period of time, for actions that were part of a chain of events, and To state the beginning or the end of an action


Use the imperfect when the action or event has no definite beginning or definite end.
-> Example: Las chicas hablaban en inglés.
The girls used to speak in English.
(no definite beginning or end)

Situations that this tense can be used in are, for actions that were repeated habitually, for actions that "set the stage" for another past action, for telling time, for stating the age of someone, for mental states (usually), for physical sensations (usually), and to describe the characteristics of people, things or conditions.


((Sorry it's a bit lengthy))

Answer 4

dear... its gonna be hard to write that essay if you dont already know the distinction.

most preterite is right, because that is for actions, that have a clear beginning and end. I went to disney world. we saw the gorillas in the zoo. fui a disney world. vimos los gorilas en el zoo. like that. but if you are describing an ongoing action ( that was ongoing at the time) like... i was looking for my mother when i saw a bus full of tourists. buscaba a mi madre, cuando vi a un autobus lleno de turistas. imperfect

Answer 5

Both.

But mostly preterite.