G A M E - Preterite vs Imperfect
Objective: practice in the use of the past tenses, preterite & imperfect
The rules:-----------------------------
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translate the English sentence given by the person above into Spanish using the correct preterite or imperfect verb conjugations
make sure you click on N E W E S T before you begin
Then
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state whether you used the preterite or the imperfect and give a short explanation as to why you used it
- and finally
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provide a new sentence in English which includes a verb used in the past
for the next person to translate.
Have fun! ¡Diviértanse!
A suggestion: please keep your sentences simple. This is tricky stuff, so let's concentrate on the tenses, ok? - Gekko.
PS: here's a great link showing how the preterite is for action in the past whereas the imperfect is an ongoing condition in the past: Imperfecto vs Preterito and another that I've put together that may be of some use too, Pret vs Imp.
A big thanks to Gekko who 'was' kindly correcting this thread - Gekko if you have a mo' please post a thread below introducing yourself or post empty thread for me to introduce you, thus allowing the grateful participants to vote for all your hard and much appreciated work here 
Edit - Sadly Gekko doesn't come round much anymore :( we'd love it if he did but in the meantime any corrections or suggestions are gratefully accepted and if someone would like to volunteer to help with moderation of this game, that'd be awesome, please just let us know so we can welcome you officially to the possie (as us antipodeans say (ie. position))
388 Answers
I was walking down the street yesterday when a car flew past me.
Ayer iba caminando por la calle cuando un carro me pasó volando por el lado.
The car blowing by is preterit, past and done. The walking sets the scene imperfect.
New sentence
The mail that came yesterday had a letter for the girl who used to live next door.
Sentence Given:
I was walking along the beach enjoying the turquoise blues and jungle greens of the tropics.
Estaba caminando por la playa disfrutando de los azules turquesas y los verdes selváticos del trópico.
I used "estaba"--imperfect-- because it, as Marie said in her post, "set the scene".
New Sentence:
I was walking down the street yesterday when a car flew past me.
Given:
It was the end of another summer and the grass turned yellow and dry.
Translated:
Era el final de otro verano y la hierba se volvió amarilla y seca.
Reasons:
Era - imperfect - setting the scene
Se volvió - preterite - a completed action
New Sentence:
I was walking along the beach enjoying the turquoise blues and jungle greens of the tropics.
Given:
We had a spinach and mushroom salad for lunch. It was very tasty, and had a touch of honey in the dressing
Translated:
Comimos una ensalada de espinacas y setas para el almuerzo. Estaba muy sabrosa, y tenía un poco de miel en el aliño.
Reasons:
Comimos - preterite, single completed action in the past
Estaba sabrosa - imperfect, desription
Tenía - imperfect, description
New Sentence:
There was a lot of rain and even a thunder storm with lightening the evening that we arrived in Rarontonga but from the time that we woke up the next morning the weather has been beautiful.
Given: I fell off my horse yesterday while riding.
Me caí de mi caballo ayer mientras lo montaba.
Montaba is in the imperfect because it was an ongoing activity. Caí is in the preterite because it interrupted an activity.
New Sentence:
They found out that she was an attorney.
Given sentence:
They found out that she was an attorney.
Descubrieron que ella era abogada.
Preterit because single event took place in the past
New sentence:
The snow was four feet deep and the sky was deep blue on the day that we got married.
Given sentence
There was a lot of rain and even a thunder storm with lightening the evening that we arrived in Rarontonga but from the time that we woke up the next morning the weather has been beautiful.
Había mucha lluvia e incluso una tormenta con relámpagos la noche en que llegamos a Rarontonga pero desde el momento en que nos despertamos a la mañana siguiente el tiempo ha sido hermoso.
I think you can use either preterit or imperfect with Haber, but I choose imperfect to set the scence. Despertamos is preterit because it is completed action.
New sentence.
When I was young, my father was in the Navy. We moved over twenty times. My parents left kids on each coast after they graduated from high school.
Given:Day by day she felt more and more lonely in her marriage and kept on asking herself if this was yet another wrong decision.
Translation: Cada día se sentía más solitaria en su matrimonio, y con frecuencia se preguntaba si ésta había sido otra mala decisión.
Explanation Sentir is in the imperfect, as it is an ongoing action, likewise for preguntar. Ser is in the pretérito pluscuamperfecto (past perfect) - because I've always wanted to use that word ever since I learned it! 
- and also because the decision to marry is a past action that precedes her unhappiness.
New Sentence I was getting ready to start my work when I received a message that another new answer had been posted to the thread.
That one was so hard that Sanlee just wrote this and quickly left the thread.
Ése estuvo tan difícil que después de que Sanlee terminó de escribirla ella abandonó rápidamente el hilo.
both preterit because single completed action in past New sentence
Yesterday, I lost my glasses two times.
Given sentence: Yesterday, I lost my glasses two times.
Ayer, perdí mis gafas dos veces.
Although the glasses were lost multiple times, it was a series of events so "perder" is preterite.
New sentence I was so busy at the restaurant last night that I forgot to serve the dinner salads.
I used to be a social worker, but ever since the budget was cut, I've been working as a writer.
Solía ser un asistente social, pero desde que el presupuesto fue recortado, he estado trabajando como escritor.
==Imperfect for an ocupation in the past, Preterite for a single event in the past and Present Perfect for an action that happened in the past and continues into the present
New sentence:
I used to be very happy when my daughter was only interested in toys; lately I realized she became interested in boys too.
Given Sentence
My mother always sang lullabies while we fell asleep.
Mi madre siempre cantaba canciones de cuna mientras nos dormíamos.
First is imperfect because habitual action in past, second is imperfect also because of change in mental state and also habitual action.
New Sentence
My mother-in-law was very beautiful when she was a young woman. One day, she was sitting in a diner, and a director asked her to be in a movie, but her husband said no.
Given Sentence:
I had been watching TV for 4 hours when the power went off.
My translation
Hacía cuatro horas que miraba la television cuando se fue la electricidad.
EDIT using Marie-Claire's suggestion - thank you!
Reason
The action of watching is in the imperfect because it was interrupted by the action of the power going off which is in the preterit.
New Sentence
My mother always sang lullabies while we fell asleep.
Ayer caí mientras montaba en mi caballo.
This one has both preterite and imperfect (I think). 'caer' becomes preterite because there is a definite start and finish to the fall while 'montar' is imperfect because it has no definite start or finish?
New sentence: I had to work yesterday.
Given: The man exercised a lot to keep fit.
Attempt: El hombre hacía muchos ejercisios para mantenerse en forma.
Reasoning: No particualr time period mentioned, he used to exrcise..Imperfect.
New: He always hated jogging, even though he was good at it.
