A trick, please?

Question

Hola Todos!

Is there someone who has a trick for how to recognize imperfecto and pretérito? I feel that those 2 are so alike that I can tell which one it is when I have a test (prueba) or should write at my own. I cant tell the diffrence. How are you doing with those 2?

Answer 1

The grammar section on this website can be helpful for preterit vs. imperfect use!

Answer 2

As well as helping your recognize these tenses this lesson may help you learn how to use each tense correctly Pret vs Imp

Answer 3

The imperfect is a very regular tense. Look for the verb endings containing "aba" or "ía". For example "hablaba, hablabas, hablabamos, hablaban" or "pedía, pedías, pedíamos, pedían".

If you are talking about the past, and you don't see those verb endings, then you are using the preterit.

The preterite is much more irregular, but still has a lot of consistency in the verb endings. Look for é and ó, í and ió. Iste, aste, aron and ieron.