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 really hated the fact that so many well-known moderators left, and I hope that we can all recover from this.
Attempt: De veras odía el hecho de que tantos moderadores famosos se fueron, y espero que todos nosotros podamos recuperarnos de esto.
Attempt2:De veras odía el hecho de que tantos moderadores bien conocidos se fueron, y espero que todos nosotros podamos recuperarnos de esto.
Reasoning: Imperfect on the first becouse it describes a state wich has no definite duration and I think the second is preterite as it describes an action that in it self implies being a single event having a beginning and end in this case right? Even tho it was done by an unknown amount within an unknown duration.
New: I agreed to go to the dentist, but the more i thought about it the more my doubt whould grow.
Given: In the old days all was well, between then and now all good things fell.
Attempt: En los días viejos todo era bien, entre luego y ahora todas las cosas buenas caían.
Attempt2: En los días viejos todo era bien, entre entonces y ahora todas las cosas buenas caían.
Reasoning: Nice one. My Spanish isn't good enough to turn it into something that rhymes (I'm open to suggestios where it does), but we need the imperfects for both. The first gives background info, the second describes a past habit.
New: It was painful to see her with her again, 5 many years after we broke up.
New: I was friends with you up until you betrayed me!
Attempt: Eramos amigos hasta que me traicioniste.
2nd attempt : Era tu amiga hasta que me traicioniste.
Reasoning; We were friends for a time until a one off , preterite happening. Sadly the end of the friendship.
New: I prefered learning French until I met a very charming Spaniard.
I wanted to play videogames, but my mom said I had to finish writing my plan for Monday first.
Attempt:Quería jugar a los videojuegos, pero mi mamá me dijo que primero tenía que acabar escribir el plan para el lunes.
Attempt2:Quería jugar a los videojuegos, pero mi mamá me dijo que primero tuviera que acabar escribir el plan para el lunes.
Reasoning:I used imperfecto in both instances because neither appears to have a definable duration.
New: In the old days all was well, between then and now all good things fell.
New: I prefered learning French until I met a very charming Spaniard.
Attempt: Prefería aprender francés hasta que conocí a un español encantador.
Reasoning: Ongoing action that was interrupted by the encounter with the Spaniard = imperfect-preterit.
New: I wanted to play videogames, but my mom said I had to finish writing my plan for Monday first.
Given: I spoke to my friend yesterday and he was saying that there had been a big earthquake in Haiti.
Attempt: Hablé con mi amigo ayer y me contaba qué había un terremoto grande en Haití.
Reasoning: The conversation was a one off of event in the past but the earthquake is an ongoing problem.
New: Many people did their outmost to help the victims of the earthquake.
Given:Yesterday my friend spilled soda on his computer and he had to buy a new one.
Tranlsated: Ayer, mi amigo derramó un refresco en su computadora, asi que tenía que comprar una otra computadora.
Reason: I'm sure about derramó but not so sure on tenía. I think that would be based on context like if we were about to say "I went to the store thereafter and bought a new one," then tuvo would be used, but since we see no such context like that, and we assume that he still has to buy new one, we use imperfect, right?
New: I was friends with you up until you betrayed me!
Given: This is typical! I trusted a foreigner, just once, and he let me down!
Translated: Esto es típico! Confié en un extranjero, sólo una vez, y me decepcionó!
Reason: Well, if I didn't see just once I would have used the Imperfect, but sence I see that context I know that I no longer trust in him. So, preterit is used because the action is complete.
New: I really loved her, but I have ever sence lost intrest and have moved on.
New: Before I owned a computer, I knew what all of my friends actually looked like.
Attempt: Antes de tener un ordenador sabía como se veían mis amigos.
Reasoning: The getting of the computer was a one off, in the past but the friends probably continued to have faces even if I had forgotten what they looked like.
New: As time went on I lost touch with the outside world .
Given:
I refused to give him the money he asked me for.
Translated:
Me negué darle el dinero que me pidió.
Reason:
Both verbs in the preterite because both are one off actions completed in the past.
New Sentence:
I spoke to my friend yesterday and he was saying that there had been a big earthquake in Haiti.
Given: I really loved her, but I have ever sence lost intrest and have moved on.
Translated: La verdad es que te amaba, pero ya he perdido el interés y he seguido.
Reason: Amar: emotion in the past = imperfect. Perder and Seguir still influence the past, so I put those in the present perfect (but with hesitation).
New: I refused to give him the money he asked me for.
New: I wanted to tell you something, but now I don't because I forgot what I wanted to say.
Attempt: Deseaba explicarte algo pero ya no puedo, porque olvidé lo que quería decir.
Reasoning: Imperfect because it all seems rather vague and maybe I still can't remember what it was.
New: When I was young I had a good memory, but since I got a bit older my memory has deteriorated.
Given: I could not log onto my computer yesterday because the internet was down and I told the technician that this had happened many times before.
Translation: No pude conectarme a internet ayer porque mi conexión a Internet no estuvo estaba funcionando. Le dije al técnico que ya esto había sucedido muchas veces antes de ahora.
Attempt #2: No pude iniciar la sesión en mi computadora ayer porque la mi internet no estuvo funcionando funcionaba, y le dije al técnico que ya esto me había sucedido muchas veces antes.
Reason: Preterite "poder" because I couldn't yesterday which puts it in a time frame, I used the same reasoning for preterite "estar" (although I am not altogether sure about that one). Preterite "decir" because I told him is a one and done deal. Imperfect "haber" because this is a habitual condition.
Note: I took a few liberties with the translation, but I think it works. 
New: Before I owned a computer, I knew what all of my friends actually looked like.
Corrected sentence: Thank you very much, Gekkosan!
Estaba pasando por un mal rato cuando me emborraché, y no me di cuenta de las estupideces que estaba haciendo mis actos.
Given:: I was going through a bad time when I got drunk, I didn't realise how idiotic my actions were.
Me pasaba mal cuando me emborraché y no me di cuenta como idiota iban mis actos
Reasons: I was going through a bad time is not a specific time period, but unspecified so I used imperfect. Me pasaba mal
me emborraché = when I got drunk , I'm going to say it refers to a particular time as does me di cuenta = darse cuenta , both preterite
How idiotic my actions were has not particular time period.
The two boys met on the internet when they were in junior high and later set up a successful computer company. Last Saturday, Vincent was the best man at Marco's wedding.
Given: My friend called and wanted me to go to Tennessee with her, but I can't because I couldn't leave my family for a week.
Attempt: Mi amiga me llamó y me invitó a ir a Tenessee con ella pero no puedo porque no me es posible dejar a mi familia por una semana.
Reasoning: A one off invitation leading toa non-event: preterite.
New: I was glad that I couldn't go with her, I have always hated bus-travel.
