Names of tenses

Question

Hola,

When I started to learn Spanish, I was taught the names of some of the tenses, but sometimes when I look at grammar sites, I see different names.

For example:
enseñaba - I was told was 'imperfect', but I've seen 'preterite imperfect'

Similarly:
enseñé - 'preterite' - 'preterit perfecto'
he enseñado - 'present perfect' - 'preterite perfect'

Are these other names ok, and which is the most commonly used?

Thanks,
Martyn.

Answer 1

:

enseñaba - I was told was 'imperfect', but I've seen 'preterite imperfect'

Similarly:

enseñé - 'preterite' - 'preterit perfecto'

he enseñado - 'present perfect' - 'preterite perfect'

The term "preterite" means simply "past", so any past tense is a preterite tense; that's why you can say "pretérito imperfecto" or simply "imperfect".

The preterit is called "pretérito (indefinido)" or "pretérito perfecto simple".
The present perfect is called "pretérito perfecto" or "pretérito perfecto compuesto".

There are other names, but these are the most common ones.

Answer 2

It's a good idea to learn the Spanish names for the tenses (in Spanish!)

[url=http://my.spanishdict.com/forum/topic/show'id=1710195%3ATopic%3A515171]See this discussion.[/url]

Answer 3

Isn't preterite used for a once and done action in the past and the imperfect is used for a repeated single completed action? like:

He saw the movie yesterday- Preterite because it happened yesterday (a time) and it was done and over with because he saw it..

I go to the beach every summer- It happens every summer, so its repeated, but its a single action, you go to the beach.. that would be imperfect. This is imperfect because it does not have a definite start or a definit end time.. but if you were to say

I go to the beach every summer from July 4th-July 10th, then it would be preteriate because it has a time frame of which this action takes place.

http://www.studyspanish.com/lessons/pretimp4.htm

we use this site at school sometimes.. it has the lesson on it.

Answer 4

Gracias por su repuesta.
Martyn

Answer 5

I know it's probably too late to change it but the way this site calls the Preterito indefinido the "preterit" and the preterito imperecto the "imperfect" still causes me huge amounts of confusion to this day and since it was the first place I learned the names of the tenses I am always getting the names of them mixed up and when a teacher asks me "como es "comer" en el preterito imperfecto" I think "preterit!" and I say the wrong one. Or they give me a sentence and say "cual necesitas, el preterito indefinido o imperfecto?" and I think "preterit!" and say the wrong one.

Answer 6

Erica, possibly, you are getting confused by the names for the two aspects in English: the perfective aspect; and the imperfective aspect.

The Spanish word preterit simply means past, as Lazarus points out above.

Indeed, one of the differences between the perfective and imperfective aspect is exactly as you relate in your post.

And two of the past tenses in Spanish:

(1) "pretérito (indefinido)" or "pretérito perfecto simple"; and

(2) "pretérito imperfecto"

correspond to the perfective and imperfective aspect.

• thanks for teaching me something new! what i posted is what we use in class... its one of like 13 tenses we are supposed to learn this year. - erica8 Jan 13, 2012