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: When I saw the confusion and chaos, I realized that Paco, my dog, was still swimming in the water!
Translation: Cuando ví la confusión y caos, me di cuenta que Paco, mi perrito, seguía nadando en el mar.
Reasoning: Ví is a one time event (corrected per Gekkosan's comment below), thus preterite. Di cuenta is a moment in time, and seguía nadando is a continuing action thus imperfect as well.
New Sentence: So I ran into the water to save Paco from the sharks even though I was scared to death.
Given Sentence: Once I had determined to commit suicide I immediatly searched out the tallest towerblock and climbed all the stairs, only to find that the only accessible window was too small for me to climb out, without risking being stuck, neither in, nor out. This sentence may be shortened, as you please!
Después decidiendo a suicidarme inmediatamente busque la torre más alto y subí los escalones solo hallé lo que la única ventana era demasiado pequeño a caberme sin el riesgo quedarme atascado.
As edited by gekkosan, gringo says thanks: Tras tomar la decisión de suicidarme inmediatamente, busqué la torre más alta, y subí las escalares, sólo para encontrarme con que la única ventana disponible era demasiado pequeña para salir sin arriesgarme a quedarme atascado(a)
New Sentence: How did I ever manage to grow up as well as I did.
Given: As a child, I saw a house burn down and was terrified.
Translation: De niño, vi el incendio de una casa y me aterrorizó.
Reasoning: It was a one off. I could say: Cuando era niño, because that lasted a while ( years), but I think possibly, como niño works. I'm just tying it out.
New: Our teacher was very old but one day he surprised us by jumping onto the desk like a youngster.
Given: I started walking for my health 3 years ago.
Translation Comencé a caminar para por mi salud hace tres años.
Reason: Honestly, I'm not sure... I went back and forth on this but I stuck with preterite because I started (verb: comenzar) 3 years ago, a specific point in the past which (as Gekko said yesterday) should be preterite.
New Sentence: As a child, I saw a house burn down and was terrified.
Given:
I was scared when I saw the dog.
Translated:
Me asusté cuando vi al perro.
Reason:
This is purportedly a one-time event.
New Sentence:
Every time my auntie visited us at the old cottage, I hid under the bed; then I stopped doing it.
Given:
Every time my auntie visited us at the old cottage, I hid under the bed; then I stopped doing it.
Translated:
Cada vez que mi tía nos visitaba en la casita vieja, me escondía debajo de la cama, luego dejé de hacerlo.
Reason:
cada vez shows that it was a habitual action that sets the scene so the imperfect is needed for visitaba and escondía is also in the imperfect because we're not talking about a one off completed action in the past but more of a 'used to' scenario.
I stopped is a one off complete action in the past so that means the preterite
New Sentence:
He ended up with two shirts that he didn't like.
Given Sentence:
Yesterday was a bad day :(
Translated:
Ayer fue un día malo.
Reason:
Once you limit a state or an action with time, such as 'ayer' you view it as completed so you need the preterite.
New Sentence:
We thought (believed) that we were lost.
Given sentence:
We always had Sunday dinner at grandma's when I was a kid.
Translated:
Siempre almorzabamos los domingos a la casa de mi abuela cuando era niña.
Corrected version: Gracias a Gekko
Siempre almorzábamos los domingos en casa de mi abuela.
or
Cuando niña, siempre almorzábamos en casa de abuela los domingos.
Reason:
almorzabamos - imp for habitual actions
era - imp for descriptions in the past
New Sentence:
While the rest were sleeping, Maria escaped.
Given: The phone rang- it was my girlfriend.
Translated: Sonó el telefano- era mi novia.
Reason: Sonó is preterit because it was a one time event. Era is imperfect because it is backround information and there is uncertainty about how long she was on the phone for.
New sentance: My mom always used to cook me dinner at 5:15.
Given: My mom always used to cook me dinner at 5:15.
Answer: Mi ama siempre me cocinía cena a las cinco y quince.
New Sentence: We always had Sunday dinner at grandma's when I was a kid.
Given: The three men were carrying her like a goddess, and upon reflection, the doctor thought that maybe the woman bore a resemblance to Heidi Klum.
Translation: Los tres hombres la llevaban como una diosa y el médico pensaba que quizás se parecía a Heidi Klum.
New Sentence: As he looked again his science training took over and he came to a new realization.
Given:
Years ago the mobile phone didn't exist.
Translated:
Hace años el teléfono móvil no existía.
Reason:
I used the imperfect because it was an ongoing time in the past.
New Sentence:
Maria and Juan were walking down the street when it began to rain.
Given:
There was a time when life was simple and we did whatever we wanted.
Translated:
Hubo un tiempo cuando la vida era simple y hacíamos lo que queríamos.
Reasons:
hubo - preterite, time specific
era: imperfect for descriptions
hacíamos - imperfect for the reasons stated in the comments, thanx Gek 
queríamos: emotional conditions?
New Sentence:
The old woman peered into the darkness and just about wet herself when a trumpeting blast took her by surprise.
(sorry it was getting a bit dark for me, time to lighten the mood :p)
Given:
The old woman peered into the darkness and just about wet herself when a trumpeting blast took her by surprise.
Translated:
La vieja se atisbó en la oscuridad y casi se orinó cuando un ruido muy fuerte la tomó por sorpresa.
Reason:
The woman "peering" was done once and completed - preterite. The woman taken by surprise and coincidentally almost wetting herself are completed events - preterite.
New Sentence:
I wanted to study yesterday, but I had to visit my mother when she got sick.
Given:
I thought this thread died some time ago, but today I saw it appear again.
Translated:
Pensaba que este hilo habia muerto hace algún tiempo, pero hoy vi que apareció de nuevo.
Reason:
Pensaba - imperfect, ongoing opinion rather than a one off 'it dawned on me' kind of thought = 'I was thinking'
vi & apareció - preterite, one off completed actions
New Sentence:
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
