Preterit vs. Imperfect Translations
Translate into Spanish: The cat drank milk
El gato bebió la leche
If you were to translate this sentence into Spanish would it be preterit or imperfect? Why?
I used to play
Imperfect tense
Reason - Key words used to
Conjuagte abrir in the yo form in the preterit
abrí
Conjugate hablar in the ellos, ellas, ustedes form in the imperfect tense
hablaban
¿Cómo se dice YESTERDAY en español?
ayer
Translate into Spanish: I used to play baseball
Yo jugaba al béisbol
If you were to translate this sentence into Spanish would it be preterit or imperfect? Why?
I went to the party Sunday.
Preterit tense
Reason - Event completed in past at a certain time
Conjuagte ser in the yo form in the preterit
fui
Conjugate saber in the yo form in the imperfect tense
sabía
¿Cómo se dice ALWAYS en español?
siempre
Translate into Spanish: I went to the movies on Monday
Yo fui al cine el lunes.
If you were to translate this sentence into Spanish would it be preterit or imperfect? Why?
This morning, my mom asked me if I like scary movies.
Preterit tense
Reason - specific time, completed action
Conjugate servirse in the él, ella, usted form in the preterit
se sirvió
Conjugate mirar in the tú form in the imperfect tense
mirabas
¿Cómo se dice LAST WEEK en español?
la semana pasada, la última semana
Translate into Spanish: I saw that the dogs ate the food
Yo vi que los perros comieron la comida
If you were to translate this sentence into Spanish would it be preterit or imperfect? Why?
He was very hungry.
Imperfect tense
Reason - description, no specific time
Conjugate tocar in the nosotros form in the preterit
tocamos
Conjugate querer in the nosotros form in the imperfect tense
queríamos.
¿Cómo se dice WHEN I WAS A KID en español?
Translate into Spanish: You guys were talking when suddenly, a girl screamed
Ustedes hablaban cuándo, de repente, una chica gritó
If you were to translate this sentence into Spanish would it be preterit or imperfect? Why?
I was eating a banana and then my cell phone rang. (Two verbs and two reasons)
Imprefect tense, reason - ending -ing 2nd verb Preterit tense, reason - interruption
Conjugate llegar in the yo form in the preterit
llegué
Conjugate ver in the tú form in the imperfect tense
veías
¿Cómo se dice SUDDENLY en español?
de repente