Imperfect/Preterite me confundan
I know the basics of these rules- preterite is used for things that happened once or in the immediate past, while imperfect is used for something that was ongoing in the past... but I constantly find myself confused about which one I should be using. Can anyone offer more insight and some examples please? If something happened once in the distant past it should be preterite right? Also, sometimes I notice people use imperfect and other times haber + participle to say the same thing- or so it seems. I just need some clarification on what to use.
3 Answers
If something happened once in the distant past it should be preterite right?
No, both tenses can be used for distant or close moments in the past.
In a nutshell, imperfect describes the past, whereas the preterite tells us how past events took place. Imperfect is used when we want to recreate a past event (that happened just once, or several times) disregarding any information about how it started or how it ended: just how it happened as it happened. Preterite is used to contemplate the result of a past action after everything was all over.
Forget about pseudo-rules. This is what the distinction is all about: it is a matter of perspective. You can describe past events in either tense, but how you want to look at them will determine which one to use. The reason why imperfect is used for ongoing events is because this tense is about the process and not about its end. You can perfectly use the preterite to describe an ongoing event in the past... but only after it is over.
The use of the present perfect tense (haber + past participle) would turn this short introduction into a short book, so I'll stop here. Suffice to say that the present perfect in British English shares a lot of similarities with its counterpart in the Spanish from Spain.
Maestra, you may click here to see a thread which is currently running, that was created precisely so that members can practice these tenses. You will see plenty of examples explained, and you are invited to participate and practice to your heart's content.
Also, sometimes I notice people use imperfect and other times haber + participle to say the same thing- or so it seems. I just need some clarification on what to use.
Heidita reminded me in a recent thread (after sending me to the dunce corner once again) that the choice between using the simple past tense and present perfect tense may be a regional usage (in Spain, at least) and that both tenses carry the exact same meaning for them.
