El imperfecto the past in progress…

FORMING the imperfect tense

The imperfect tense is formed as follows: hablar comer vivir yo habl com viv tú habl com viv él habl com viv nosotros habl com viv ellos habl com viv aba abas aba ábamos aban ía ías ía íamos ían ía ías ía íamos ían

There are only 3 irregulars in the imperfect: IR =>SER => VER => iba era veía Just add “s” for tú form, “mos” for nosotros, “n” for ellos/Uds. Don’t forget to add the accent on the nosotros forms (íbamos, éramos)

USING the imperfect tense

Los usos del imperfecto Setting the scene Habitual actions Telling time Telling your age Physical/ment al state What things/people were like Hacía calor y Elena estaba tomando el sol en la playa. Era un día perfecto. It was hot and Elena was sunbathing on the beach. It was a perfect day.

Los usos del imperfecto Setting the scene Habitual actions Telling time Telling your age Physical/ment al state What things/people were like Mi hermano y yo siempre jugábamos. Montábamos a nuestro papá como si fuera un caballo. My brother and I always used to play. We would ride our dad as if he were a horse.

Los usos del imperfecto Setting the scene Habitual actions Telling time Telling your age Physical/ment al state What things/people were like Eran las tres de la tarde. Era la una de la mañana. Era de noche. It was 3:00 in the afternoon. It was 1:00 AM. It was night time.

Los usos del imperfecto Setting the scene Habitual actions Telling time Telling your age Physical/ment al state What things/people were like En 1977, tenía cinco años. In 1977, I was five years old.

Los usos del imperfecto Setting the scene Habitual actions Telling time Telling your age Physical/ mental state What things/people were like Ella estaba muy contenta conmigo. Yo tenía mucho miedo. Me gustaba la escuela. She was very happy with me. I was very afraid. I used to like/liked school.

Los usos del imperfecto Setting the scene Habitual actions Telling time Telling your age Physical/ment al state What things/people were like Mi hermanita Jamie era rubia. Ella estaba herida. Ella no llevaba una camisa. Mi little sister Jamie was blonde. She was wounded. She wasn’t wearing a shirt.

One way to determine if a verb is actually the imperfect is to try substituting one of the following: was/were...ing used to... would (meaning used to)...

I was studying when… Yo estudiaba cuando… You used to know everything. Sabías todo. I would always eat poptarts. Yo siempre comía las tartas tostadas.

Preterite v. Imperfect the B eginning or en D of past action the mi DD le of past action

Preterite for the beginning of past action: I turned on the ignition and left for Lincoln. Yo encendí el coche y salí para Lincoln.

Imperfect for the middle of past action: I was driving my car. Yo conducía mi coche.

Preterite for the end of past action: I hit the brakes and stopped the car. Yo puse el freno y paré el coche.

Preterite for interrupting an action in progress (imperfect): Some girls who were studying ran outside. Unas chicas que estudiaban corrieron afuera.

¡EL FIN!