Preterit vs. Imperfect
Here are the differences between the preterit and imperfect tenses.
Preterit:
1)Tells actions that have a beginning and an ending of an event in the past.
2) Actions that were done a certain number of times.
3) The main action or event that happened.
Examples of the preterit
1) Después de escuela, fui a la casa de Carlos hasta a las seis. (After school, I went to Carlo's house until six.) "Beginning and ending"
2) Hablé con Juan ocho veces ayer. (I talked to Juan eight times yesterday.) "certain number of times"
3) Pasé la noche en la casa de María, tocábamos la guitarra toda la noche. (I spent the night at Maria's house, we played the guitar all night.) "main action"
Imperfect:
1) Things that happened an undetermined number of times. (and with no beginning or ending)
2) Describes persons or things in the past. (such as weather, appearance, and feelings)
3)Tells the time of the past.
Examples of the imperfect
1) Pescaba cada día en el verano. (I fished every day in the summer) "no beginning or ending"
2) Hacía frío durante el invierno. (It was cold during the winter). "weather"
3) Era a las cinco en la tarde. (It was five in the afternoon) "time"
Questions
1) Translate into Spanish - " I spent three years writing a book.."
A) Pasaba tres años escribiendo un libro.
B) Pasó tres años escribiendo un libro.
C) Pasé tres años escribiendo un libro.
D) Pasía tres años escribiendo un libro.
2) Complete the sentence:
a la playa ayer. We went to the beach yesterday
Mastery Questions for preterit and imperfect tenses