Imperfect?!?
Hi everyone,
I know its a general question but can anyone please explain me this? I don't understand the difference between the imperfect and the pretereit. I always get Confuse when I want to talk about somethong that happened in the past. Sometimes some of the verbs should be "imperfect".. I don't know..
If you could write 2 sentences which can help me understand , that will be great...
Thank you Isaac
5 Answers
Take a look at lesson 2.10.
Basically the imperfect is something which you use when you could interject something else into it.
I ran yesterday, Corrí ayer.
I was running yesterday when I saw her, corria ayer cuando la encontré.
When I was young it pleased me to listen to music from Peru, cuando era joven, me gustó escuchar la musica de Peru.
The first is preterit because there isn't anything interjected, the second is imperfect because while you were doing it something else happened. It isn't that something has to occur that stops you from doing whatever you were doing previously, but that something else can happen while you're doing whatever it is that you are doing.
For example: Durmí anoche. I slept last night.
Dormia anoche cuando la policia pasaba con sus coches.
This is over simplifying it but if you could narrow things down to a moment when something happened then use the preterite, if it took place over an extended period of time then use the imperfect.
I ate an icecream. (preterite)
I used to eat icecream when I was young. (imperfect)
Also use the imperfect to talk about an action that was still going on when you mention the next thing happening - when it acts as a background to that second action.
I was eating an icecream when my sister popped in to visit.
(imp) (pret)
It's not always the case but if you could also say 'used to' or 'was/were' when describing an action then it's likely going to be better said using the imperfect.
Here is another reply. It includes links to most of the reference and lesson material available on other pages here at SpanishDict. The reference pages and lessons will include examples of both tenses.
| Preterit – Pretérito (Past - Completed) | ? | Imperfect – Imperfecto (Past - Continuous) |
| ----------------------------------------------------- | ? | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| This tense expresses an action in the past that was completed at some time in the past. The specific past actions will have been performed (1)- at a fixed point in time (2)- a specific number of times in the past (3)- during a specific amount of time in the past | ? | This tense expresses an action or a state of being in the past that was ongoing or continuous in the past. The action(s) in the past will have these qualities (1)- they took place repeatedly in the past (2)- they were ongoing or continuous in the past (3)- they occurred over an extended period of unspecified time in the past |
| ? |
This is a basic comparison. There is certainly more detail and in particular, regarding the imperfect. For the additional more detailed information and examples, see Paralee Whitmire's Reference Pages by following these links
For the preterit ----> El Pretérito , and
For the Imperfect ----> El Imperfecto
You will also find that our teacher Paralee Whitmire explains the Preterite and the Imprefect in her lesson 2.10, found here ----> Preterite & Imperfect
You can think of imperfect as telling about something that was ongoing in the past. It may be finished, or it may be ongoing right now, that is not specified.
The preterite describes an action or event that is definitely completed.
Me encantaba las expresiones musicales de Juan luis guerra hasta que mi amigo me introdujo a un grupo llamado Aventura.
When I liked Juan Luis Guerra, but not now, you could think this is completed, but while I liked him, it was an ongoing situation, and not an event, action, or occurrence - therefore imperfect is needed.
Of course, when my friend introduced me to Aventura, that introduction was a completed action, and preterite is needed for that.
me dijo que llegara a las 10 de la manana pero aún no llega. Me encantaba las expresiones musicales de Juan luis guerra hasta que mi amigo me introdujo a un grupo llamado Aventura.
