2. Verbs That Change in Meaning from Preterite to Imperfect Tenses  A few Spanish verbs have different meanings in the imperfect and the preterite tenses:  SABER  CONOCER  QUERER  NO QUERER  PODER

3. SABER  Imperfect – “knew”  ¿Sabías que el concierto empezaba tarde?  Did you know that the concert began late?  Preterite – “found out, learned”  Sí, supe ayer que empezaba tarde.  Yes, I found out that it began late.

4. CONOCER  Imperfect – “knew (somebody)”  Pedro conocía muy bien a esa actriz.  Pedro knew that actress very well.  Preterite – “met (somebody) for the first time”  Luis la conoció el año pasado.  Luis met her last year.

5. QUERER  Imperfect – “wanted to”  Luis quería comprar las entradas hoy.  Luis wanted to buy the tickets today.  Preterite – “tried to, attempted to”  Yo quise comprarlas, pero me enfermé.  I tried to buy them, but I got sick.

6. NO QUERER  Imperfect – “didn’t want to”  No querían ver esa obra de teatro.  They didn’t want to see that play.  Preterite – “refused to”  No quisieron ver esa obra de teatro.  They refused to see that play.

7. PODER  Imperfect – “was able to, could”  Ella podía aprender la letra de la canción.  She was able to learn the lyrcis of the song.  Preterite – “managed to, succeeded in”  Ella pudo aprender la letra de esa canción.  She succeeded in learning the lyrics of that song.