8.4.1
Uses
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Uses of the Preterite Tense
A finished one-time action
- Fernando compró un nuevo coche.
- Fernando bought a new car.
- Nací en Inglaterra.
- I was born in England.
‘Ayer, la semana pasada, hace un año’
- España ganó la Copa del Mundo en 2010.
- Spain won the world cup in 2010.
- Henry nació el cinco de julio.
- Henry was born on the 5th of July.
A finished period of time
- Vivieron en Australia durante seis meses.
- They lived in Australia for six months.
- Leí este libro el año pasado.
- I read this book last year.
Events in order, a sequence of actions
- Me vestí y salí a dar una vuelta.
- I got dressed and went for a walk.
- Entró, bebió una cerveza y comió un pedazo de pan.
- He came in, drank a beer and ate a piece of bread.
Past events in a story
- Llegó a la playa y puso su toalla en la arena.
- She arrived at the beach and put her towel on the sand.
Start and end of events
- Empezó a llover.
- It began to rain.
- La novela terminó con un final cómico.
- The book ended with a comic end.
Uses of the Imperfect Tense
Non-specific time
- When the time period is not clear, and the action isn't finished you need to use the imperfect.
- En esos años Theo vivía en un pequeño apartamento.
- In those days Theo was living in a small apartment.
Repeated actions in the past
- Todos los días comía una naranja.
- Every day I ate an orange.
- Almorzábamos todos los sábados.
- We used to eat lunch every Saturday.
Description
- When describing people, objects and events in the past, you must use the imperfect.
- La casa era grande.
- The house was big.
- Mi amiga era alta.
- My friend was tall.
- Aquel día hacía frío.
- It was cold that day.
Continuous actions that were going on when something else happened
- Comían cuando llegó su abuelo.
- They were eating when their grandad arrived.
- Mi madre cocinaba cuando salí de la casa.
- My mum was cooking when I left the house.
Age, Time
- Mi hermana tenía veintiún años.
- My sister was 21 years old.
- Eran las cinco de la tarde.
- It was five in the afternoon.
- Era el 12 de enero.
- It was the 12th of January.
1The Basics
1.1Pronouns
1.2Verbs
1.3Nouns
1.4Adjectives
1.5Abbreviations
2Home & Abroad
2.2Holiday
2.4Everyday Life, Traditions & Communities
3Education & Employment
3.2School Trips
3.4Future Plans
4Personal Life & Relationships
4.1House & Home
4.2Daily Routines & Helping at Home
4.3Family & Friends
5The World Around Us
5.1Environmental Issues
5.2Weather
5.3Travel & Transport
5.5Information & Communication
6Social Activities, Fitness & Health
6.1Special Occasions
6.2Hobbies & Interests
6.3Shopping & Money Matters
6.4Injuries, Illness & Health
7Listening
7.1Town & Region
7.2Holiday
7.3Customs
7.4Education
7.5Personal Life & Relationships
7.6The Media & Technology
7.7Social Activities
7.8The Environment
7.9Fitness & Health
8Common Tenses
8.1Present Tense
8.1.1Regular AR Verbs8.1.2Negative Verbs8.1.3Irregular AR Verbs8.1.4Irregular AR Verbs: Exceptions8.1.5Regular ER Verbs8.1.6Irregular ER Verbs8.1.7Irregular ER Verbs 28.1.8Regular IR Verbs8.1.9Irregular IR Verbs8.1.10Irregular IR Verbs 28.1.11Irregular IR Verbs 38.1.12Irregular IR Verbs 48.1.13Verb Phrases8.1.14The Use of 'Se'
8.2Preterite Tense
8.2.1Regular AR Verbs8.2.2Irregular AR Verbs (1/4)8.2.3Irregular AR Verbs (2/4)8.2.4Irregular AR Verbs (3/4)8.2.5Irregular AR Verbs (4/4)8.2.6Regular ER Verbs8.2.7Irregular ER Verbs (1/5)8.2.8Irregular ER Verbs (2/5)8.2.9Irregular ER Verbs (3/5)8.2.10Irregular ER Verbs (4/5)8.2.11Irregular ER Verbs (5/5)8.2.12Regular IR Verbs8.2.13Irregular IR Verbs (1/6)8.2.14Irregular IR Verbs (2/6)8.2.15Irregular IR Verbs (3/6)8.2.16Irregular IR Verbs (4/6)8.2.17Irregular IR Verbs (5/6)8.2.18Irregular IR Verbs (6/6)
8.3Imperfect Tense
8.4Preterite vs Imperfect Tenses
8.5Future Tense
9Important Verbs
9.1To Be - 'Ser' & 'Estar'
9.2To Like - 'Gustar'
9.3To Have - 'Tener'
10Advanced Tenses
10.1The Simple Future
10.2Conditional Tense
10.3Continuous Tenses
10.4Perfect Tense
10.5Present Subjunctive
10.5.1Present Subjunctive: AR Verbs10.5.2Present Subjunctive: ER Verbs10.5.3Present Subjunctive: IR Verbs10.5.4Irregular AR Verbs (1/3)10.5.5Irregular AR Verbs (2/3)10.5.6Irregular AR Verbs (3/3)10.5.7Irregular ER Verbs (1/2)10.5.8Irregular ER Verbs (2/2)10.5.9Irregular IR Verbs (1/3)10.5.10Irregular IR Verbs (2/3)10.5.11Irregular IR Verbs (3/3)10.5.12The Verb 'Ir'10.5.13Subjunctive Uses
10.6Imperfect Subjunctive
11Extra Grammar
11.2Negatives
11.3Nouns
11.4Asking Questions
11.5Adjectives
11.6Adverbs
11.7Conjunctions
11.8Pronouns
11.9By, With, From, Of
11.10Verbs
11.11Comparisons
Jump to other topics
1The Basics
1.1Pronouns
1.2Verbs
1.3Nouns
1.4Adjectives
1.5Abbreviations
2Home & Abroad
2.2Holiday
2.4Everyday Life, Traditions & Communities
3Education & Employment
3.2School Trips
3.4Future Plans
4Personal Life & Relationships
4.1House & Home
4.2Daily Routines & Helping at Home
4.3Family & Friends
5The World Around Us
5.1Environmental Issues
5.2Weather
5.3Travel & Transport
5.5Information & Communication
6Social Activities, Fitness & Health
6.1Special Occasions
6.2Hobbies & Interests
6.3Shopping & Money Matters
6.4Injuries, Illness & Health
7Listening
7.1Town & Region
7.2Holiday
7.3Customs
7.4Education
7.5Personal Life & Relationships
7.6The Media & Technology
7.7Social Activities
7.8The Environment
7.9Fitness & Health
8Common Tenses
8.1Present Tense
8.1.1Regular AR Verbs8.1.2Negative Verbs8.1.3Irregular AR Verbs8.1.4Irregular AR Verbs: Exceptions8.1.5Regular ER Verbs8.1.6Irregular ER Verbs8.1.7Irregular ER Verbs 28.1.8Regular IR Verbs8.1.9Irregular IR Verbs8.1.10Irregular IR Verbs 28.1.11Irregular IR Verbs 38.1.12Irregular IR Verbs 48.1.13Verb Phrases8.1.14The Use of 'Se'
8.2Preterite Tense
8.2.1Regular AR Verbs8.2.2Irregular AR Verbs (1/4)8.2.3Irregular AR Verbs (2/4)8.2.4Irregular AR Verbs (3/4)8.2.5Irregular AR Verbs (4/4)8.2.6Regular ER Verbs8.2.7Irregular ER Verbs (1/5)8.2.8Irregular ER Verbs (2/5)8.2.9Irregular ER Verbs (3/5)8.2.10Irregular ER Verbs (4/5)8.2.11Irregular ER Verbs (5/5)8.2.12Regular IR Verbs8.2.13Irregular IR Verbs (1/6)8.2.14Irregular IR Verbs (2/6)8.2.15Irregular IR Verbs (3/6)8.2.16Irregular IR Verbs (4/6)8.2.17Irregular IR Verbs (5/6)8.2.18Irregular IR Verbs (6/6)
8.3Imperfect Tense
8.4Preterite vs Imperfect Tenses
8.5Future Tense
9Important Verbs
9.1To Be - 'Ser' & 'Estar'
9.2To Like - 'Gustar'
9.3To Have - 'Tener'
10Advanced Tenses
10.1The Simple Future
10.2Conditional Tense
10.3Continuous Tenses
10.4Perfect Tense
10.5Present Subjunctive
10.5.1Present Subjunctive: AR Verbs10.5.2Present Subjunctive: ER Verbs10.5.3Present Subjunctive: IR Verbs10.5.4Irregular AR Verbs (1/3)10.5.5Irregular AR Verbs (2/3)10.5.6Irregular AR Verbs (3/3)10.5.7Irregular ER Verbs (1/2)10.5.8Irregular ER Verbs (2/2)10.5.9Irregular IR Verbs (1/3)10.5.10Irregular IR Verbs (2/3)10.5.11Irregular IR Verbs (3/3)10.5.12The Verb 'Ir'10.5.13Subjunctive Uses
10.6Imperfect Subjunctive
11Extra Grammar
11.2Negatives
11.3Nouns
11.4Asking Questions
11.5Adjectives
11.6Adverbs
11.7Conjunctions
11.8Pronouns
11.9By, With, From, Of
11.10Verbs
11.11Comparisons
Practice questions on Uses
Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.
- 1Which of the following sentences is correct?Multiple choice
- 2
- 3How do you say 'they were eating' in Spanish?Multiple choice
- 4
- 5
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