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
Given:
I was eating a piece of fruitcake when my wife-to-be walked into the room and gave me the eye.
Translated:
Estaba comiendo un pedazo de pastel de frutas cuando mi futura esposa entró en la habitación y me lanzó una mirada torva.
Reason:
imperfect sets the scene - estaba comiendo
preterite - competed actions - entró & lanzó
New Sentence:
The clever creature ruminated on how to pose the hardest question possible.
When I saw him, I couldn't believe how big he'd gotten.
Cuando lo vi, no podía creer cuánto había crecido.
Vi is preterit because it is completed past action; había is imperfect because ongoing past action still going on (still growing) podria imperfect
New Sentence
My parents met when they were in the Navy on a blind day and fell in love at first sight.; they were engaged six weeks later and have been married for sixty years.
Given:
I wanted to move to Mexico when I was a student of Spanish language.
Translated:
Quería mudarme a Mexivo cuando era estudiante de la lengua española.
Reason:
quería - imperfect emotional state
era estudiante - unknown duration
Question: I used 'era estudiante' because it seemed right, I know you use ser for professions etc in the present - is it right that you still use ser even though you are talking about the past with the definite feeling that you are no longer a student?
New Sentence:
I felt terrible when I realized that the children didn't ever have a chance to survive.
Did you enjoy the way that the dancers jumped so high? I liked the bit where they did cartwheels.
¿Disfrutó de la manera en que los bailarines salaban tan alto? Me gustó el fragmento donde hicieron volteretas. I think they are all preterit because the action has all been completed in the past. I am not sure of a lot of these words, but I am trying it anyway.
New sentence;
When we were first married, we made bookshelves out of wood and used them as dressers for our clothes by putting curtains on the front of them.
The boy got a smack because he was naughty.
El chico consiguió un bofetada porque era travieso.
Reason: The first part of the sentence is Preterite because the incident took place in the past and the second part is imperfect because here the person is being described in the past.
New Sentence: I wanted to move to Mexico when I was a student of Spanish language.
GIVEN I was walking down the street when a woman jumped from behind a bush
ANSWER- yo estaba caminando por la calle cuando una mujer saltó de detrás de un arbusto
REASONS
- (estaba) imperfect because it is occuring at that time.. no specefic ending..
- (saltó) preterit because the action took place and ended at that moment
NEW SENTENCE when i was singing in my room, my father switch off the light
Given:
When i was singing in my room, my father switch off the light.
Translated:
Original: grammatically correct but awkward:
Cuando yo estaba cantando en mi cuarto, mi papá apagó la luz.
Suggested: Cantaba en mi cuarto cuando papá apagó la luz
Reason:
was singing - imperfect, sets the scene
turned off - preterite, interrupting action
yo - needed because it could be I, he, she etc
New Sentence:
Did you enjoy the way that the dancers jumped so high? I liked the bit where they did cartwheels.
Given: I felt terrible when I realized that the children didn't ever have a chance to survive.
Transalation: Me sentí muy mal cuando me di cuenta de que nunca los niños tuvieron la opurtunidad de sobrevivir.
Reason: - sentía - Imperfect emotional state - me di cuenta de - Preterite a completed action - tuvieron - Preterite
New Sentence: Last night our air conditioner stopped working. So, we went out and bought two portable air conditioners and installed them before we went to bed.
Given: Last night our air conditioner stopped working. So, we went out and bought two portable air conditioners and installed them before we went to bed.
Translation: Original: Anoche, nuestro acondiciondor de aire acabó de funcionar. Así, salíamos y comprábamos dos acondicionadores de aire portátiles y los instalamos antes que nos acostamos.
Corrected Version: Anoche, nuestro acondiciondor de aire se descompuso (rompió, paró), así que salimos y compramos dos acondicionadores de aire portátiles y los instalamos antes de acostarnos.
Reason: acabó de- the preterite is used because the air conditioner stopped working at a specific moment in the past (last night).
salíamos - the imperfect is used because we didn't go out at a specified time.
comprábamos - same reason; exactly when they bought the appliances is unknown
instalamos - the preterite is used because they installed the appliances before they went to bed (specific time in the past)
acostamos - the preterite is also used here because they are going to sleep that night.
Necesito ayuda porque creo que hay errores en la traducción.
New Sentence: I was walking down the street when a woman jumped from behind a bush.
The teacher taught the children how to do algebra but they couldn't remember the technique.
El profesor les enseñó a los niños cómo hacer álgebra, pero ellos no pudieron recordar la técnica.
==Past Perfect for single actions in the past
New sentence:
Their neighbor was very curious; whenever he climbed up the near hill and got a good view, he spied on them.
Given:
I practiced Spanish for the first time this weekend with a new friend using Skype. (I did not do very well but he was very patient with me.)
Translated:
Practiqué español por primera vez este fin de semana con un nuevo amigo a través de Skype. (No lo hice muy bien, pero él fue muy paciente conmigo.)
Reasons:
Practiqué - preterite, completed specific action
no lo hice - preterite, referring to the specific action as above
fue - preterite, (?? sorry Gek I still don't really get it, I thought the imperfect was used to describe characteristics - maybe the penny will drop on it for me later.)
(I put the personal pronoun so that you wouldn't have to wait until the 'conmigo' to see that I was talking about the friend - would that be right or not necessary?)
New Sentence:
The weather was very sunny but the people weren't expecting it so they got sunburnt.
I thought that I saw my friend in the crowd today but then I remembered that she went to the other side of town when the market was on, so it couldn't be her
Pensé que vi a mi amiga en la multitud hoy, pero entonces me acordé de que ella se fue al otro lado de la ciudad, cuando se abrió el mercado, así que no podía ser ella.
==Preterite for single events in the past and "podía ser" I don't really know why, it sounded good to me...
New sentence:
It was a complicated sentence, but I translated it the best I could.
Given:
I used to go to class every Monday from four to six p.m.
Translated:
Iba a la clase todos los lunes de 4pm a 6pm.
Reason:
iba - imperfect; even though a specific day and time is described I used the imperfect because it's the 'going' that he used to do - which is different than saying 'I went on Monday from 4 to 6pm. I could also have put 'solía ir' - used to go.
New sentence:
We were going to eat after the movie but no one had an appetite so we just had a drink.
Given: I was going to go to the shops but in the end I decided to kayak over to a small island and have a picnic.
Translated: Iba a ir a las tiendas, pero al final decidí ir a una islita en kayak y hacer un picnic.
Reason: iba/ir - is imperfect because it was an ongoing action. decidí/decidir - is preterite because it was one time event.
New: I practiced Spanish for the first time this weekend with a new friend using Skype. (I did not do very well but he was very patient with me.)
Given: I figured out which soccer field my son's practice was on this afternoon just in time.
Translated: Justo a tiempo me di cuenta en qué campo de fútbol sería la práctica de mi hijo esta tarde.
Reason:
di - preterite, singular completed actions (figured out/realized)
sería: conditional - although the English uses the word 'was' which sounds like the past I felt that the conditional worked better, not sure why so likely I'm way off lol 
New Sentence:
I was winning the game when the lights went out.
