Traducción
Razones para usar Pretérito o Imperfecto
Conjugación del Pretérito
Conjugación del Imperfecto
Falso o Cierto
100

Translate into Spanish: "You drank water."

'Bebiste agua."

100

Translate and explain why this sentence is preterite or imperfect. "Yo bailaba." (______ Tense - Key words: _____)

"I used to dance." 

Imperfect tense - Key words "used to".

100

Conjugate "comprar" in the yo form.

"Compré"

100

Conjugate "hablar" in the ellos/ellas/ustedes form.

"Hablaban."

100

Imperfect is used to describe on-going actions and states of being in the past, e.g. expressing habitual actions or what used to happen. (Re-do)

True!

200

Translate into Spanish: "I used to play soccer."

"Yo jugaba fútbol."

200

Translate and explain why this sentence is preterite or imperfect. "Fui a una fiesta la semana pasada." (________ tense - Reason being ___________)

"I went to a party last week."

Preterite tense - Completed event in the past.

200

Conjugate "comer" in the tú form.

"Comiste"

200

Conjugate "tener" in the yo form.

"Tenía."

200

Imperfect is used for actions that have no definite beginning or end.

True!

300

Translate into Spanish: "We went to the movies yesterday."

"Ayer fuimos al cine."

300

Translate and explain why this sentence is preterite or imperfect. "Él habló de ti el otro día." (__________ tense - Reason being ___________ )

"He talked about you the other day."

Preterite tense - Completed action, trigger phrase: el otro día.

300

Conjugate "tocar" in the nosotros form.

"Tocamos"

300

Conjugate "mirar" in the tú form.

"Mirabas"

300

Preterite is used to describe actions or events that don't have a specific beginning or end, while imperfect describes completed actions.

False! It's the other way around.

400

Translate into Spanish: "They read a book for Spanish class."

"Ellos leyeron un libro para la clase de español."

400

Translate and explain why this sentence is preterite or imperfect. "La niña tenía 2 años." ( ________ tense - Reason being _____________)

"The girl was 2 years old."

Imperfect tense - Describing past age.

400

Conjugate "oír" in the él/ella/usted form.

"Oyó"

400

Conjugate "ser" in the ellos/ellas/ustedes form.

"Eran"

400

The verb "estudiar" in the nosotros form uses different endings in the preterite and present tenses.

False! It's the same ending for regular -ar verbs: estudiamos

500

Translate into Spanish: "When I was 5 I lived in Chicago."

"Cuando tenía 5 años vivía en Chicago."

500

Translate and explain why this sentence is preterite or imperfect. (HAY DOS!) "Mientras dormía, ella me llamó."

( ________ tense - Reason being ________ ) (THERE ARE TWO!)

"While I was sleeping, she called me."

Imperfect tense - No definite beginning/end, background.

Preterite tense - Interruption.

500

Conjugate "ir" in the yo form.

"Fui"

500

Conjugate "trabajar" in the nosotros form.

"Trabajábamos."

500

Certain verbs have different meanings when in the preterite vs. the impefect.

True! (e.g. querer, saber, etc.)

  • Querer:
    • Imperfect (Quería): Wanted.
    • Preterite (Quise): Tried to.
    • Negative Preterite (No quise): Refused.
  • Saber:
    • Imperfect (Sabía): Knew (information).
    • Preterite (Supe): Found out / learned.