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 have used system restore three times on my computer today, but it still does not work at all.
He utilizado la restauración del sistema en mi computadora tres veces hoy, pero todavía no funciona en absoluto.
==Present Perfect for an action that took place in the recent past
New sentence:
They were deadly exhausted and tried to evade it but it was too late and the boat stranded.
Given: The day before yesterday, we went to the car show and I voted for the green 1954 Ford as my favorite.
Translation: Antes de ayer fuimos a la feria automotriz, y voté por el Ford 1954 verde como mi favorito.
Explanation Fuimos and voté are both in the preterite. Both actions are concluded in the past.
New sentence I was so busy all weekend that I was not able to correct any threads, although I was monitoring them through my phone.
GivenThe snow was four feet deep and the sky was deep blue on the day that we got married.
Translation Había cuatro pies de nieve, y el cielo estaba de un azul profundo el día que nos casamos.
Explanation. Both Había and estba are in the imperfect. Both actions occurred over an indeterminate amount of time. "Casamos" is in the preterit, since it is an action that took place once and had a conclusion.
New sentence We had a spinach and mushroom salad for lunch. It was very tasty, and had a touch of honey in the dressing.
Given:
My husband was whistling when he walked into the room
Translated:
Mi marido silbaba cuando entró en la habitación.
Reasons:
estaba - imperfect: continued action
entró - preterite: one off action
New Sentence:
We cooked dinner yesterday as we do when our room mate is late and it was 9pm when he arrived last night.
Given sentence It was hot outside today.
Hizo calor afuera hoy (I am imagining I am saying this at night), so preterit.
new sentence My husband was whistling when he walked in the room.
Old Sentence
When I was young; I used to play baseball.
Cuando era joven; jugaba béisbol
Imperfect, telling a story, and actions repeated over a long period of time
New sentence
I met him at church last week.
Given I used to like that dress for a long time, before I changed my dressing style and thought it was no longer appropriate.
A mí me gustó ese vestido por un largo tiempo, antes de cambiar mi estilo de vestir y pensé que ya no era apropiado.
gustó preterit because a long time says Geckosan other preterit because single thought
New sentence
My husband used to go on a long bike ride every week, then he changed it to almost every day. He got a flat tire today, that he changed under a shady tree.
Given: When we lived on Guam we went to the beach almost everyday, and we traveled to Japan one time.
Translation Cuando vivíamos en Guam íbamos a la playa casi todos los días, y viajamos al Japón una vez.
Explanation: íbamos is in the imperfect, as it is a recurring action. Viajamos is in the preterit, since it's an activity that took place only once and was over.
My sentence: Sanlee studied a lot and practiced every day, and then one day she met with a Costa Rican friend, and suddenly she realized that she could carry a conversation in Spanish with little effort!
Given:
When I first met my husband, he had long, black curly hair and he was studying to be a botanist.
Translated:
Cuando conocí a mi marido, él tenía el pelo largo, rizado y negro y estudiaba para ser un botánico.
Reasons:
conocí - preterite, one off action, meeting
tenía - imperfect to describe characteristics
estaba - imperfect, unspecified time
New Sentence:
What were you doing when the earthquake hit?
Sentence Given:
When I was a boy we did not have much money and when we went to the drive-in movies I was put in the trunk of the car.
Cuando era niño no teníamos mucho dinero y cuando íbamos al autocine, me metían en el maletero del coche.
I used the imperfect because it was a reflection of an unknown time.
New Sentence:
I went to the park yesterday to play soccer with my kids
They didn't know what to see in their unexpected visit to Cologne, so they just visited the grand cathedral and climbed the bell tower.
No sabían qué ver en su visita inesperada a Cologne, así que visitaron la gran catedral y subieron al campanario.
sabían (imperfect) expresses doubt, no fixed time interval. visitaron (preterite) the sentence sounds like the visit is over, completed, in the past. subieron (preterite) the climb is over and they are back on the ground, completed, in the past.
new sentence: When I was a boy we did not have much money and when we went to the drive-in movies I was put in the trunk of the car.
Here's Jason's sentence: People didn't believe me when I said, "You can't take money with you".
La gente no me creyó cuando dije, "No te puedes llevar el dinero contigo."
(OK to have both the IO pronoun and "contigo", right, even though it's sort of redundant?)
Verbs: creyó = preterit, they believed it just at the time when he said it.
dije = preterit, said it once, not repeatedly. (I'm assuming)
New sentence: They didn't know what to see in their unexpected visit to Cologne, so they just visited the grand cathedral and climbed the bell tower.
Sentence Given: I started a new job in April.
Answer: Empecé un trabajo nuevo en Abril.
Reason: I used the preterite because it was a definite time (April).
New Sentence: People didn't believe me when I said, "You can't take money with you".
Given:
He was born in Spain, in 1963, but he spent most of his life in the United States.
Answer:
Nació en España, en 1963, pero pasó la mayor parte de su vida en los Estados Unidos.
Preterite for nació - a one off completed happening
and for pasó (after a little persuasion lol 
) because it's a done deal!
New Sentence:
This morning I was preparing a lecture for my students but I got bored so I went out for a walk to visit my friends.
I thought of a vacation in Costa Rica but lost too much money in Las Vegas.
Pensaba tomarme unas vacaciones en Costa Rica, pero perdí mucho dinero en Las Vegas.
==Imperfect because of the unspecified time frame for the first part and the second would be in the Preterit because it denotes a single event in the past.
New sentence:
He was born in Spain, in 1963, but he spent most of his life in the United States.
