Show:
Regular Preterite
Slightly irregular Preterite
Straight up Irregular Preterite
Imperfect (regular AND irregular)
Uses of Preterite and Imperfect
100
Write out the verb chart with the endings for -ar verbs in the preterite tense . Remember accents!
é, aste, ó, amos, asteis, aron
100
Conjugate in the preterite: I played (music) - tocar
toqué
100
Conjugate in the preterite: We were (estar)
estuvimos
100
Conjugate in the imperfect: I used to swim (nadar)
nadaba
100
Preterite or Imperfect? Use this tense to talk about a completed isolated action in the past
preterite
200
Write out the verb chart with the endings for -er/-ir verbs in the preterite tense . Remember accents!
í, iste, ió, imos, isteis, ieron
200
Conjugate in the preterite: I arrived (llegar)
llegué
200
Conjugate in the preterite: I went (ir)
fui
200
Conjugate in the imperfect: They used to write (escribir)
escribían
200
Preterite or imperfect? Use this tense to talk about something that occurred many times or over a long period of time in the past.
imperfect
300
Conjugate in the preterite: He or She studied
estudió
300
Conjugate in the preterite: They slept (dormir)
durmieron
300
Conjugate in the preterite: You could/were able to (poder)
pudiste
300
Conjugate in the imperfect: We used to watch (mirar)
mirábamos
300
Preterite or imperfect? Use this tense to set the scene and give background information when telling a story in the past.
imperfect
400
Conjugate in the preterite: I ran
corrí
400
Conjugate in the preterite: He preferred (preferir)
prefirió
400
Conjugate in the preterite: She came (venir)
vino
400
Conjugate in the imperfect: You used to go (ir)
ibas
400
Preterite or Imperfect? Use this tense to say that something occurred within a specific time frame (2 years, 10 minutes, 5 times, etc...)
preterite
500
Conjugate in the preterite: You all (you guys, y'all) bought
comprasteis OR compraron
500
Conjugate in the preterite: You heard (oír)
oíste
500
Conjugate in the preterite: They said/told (decir)
dijeron
500
Conjugate in the imperfect: We used to be (ser)
éramos
500
Preterite or imperfect? Use this tense to describe characteristics or conditions in the past.
imperfect