imperfect and preterite tenses

Question

what are the uses of thr preerrite and imperfect tenses

Answer 1

The preterit and imperfect form are a big struggle for native English speakers. For we Spanish speakers it is natural. Ok lets break it down: Imperfect tense: the imperfect tense is used for an action that took place in the past but has no definite ending. For example, "Diana hablaba con Carlos más temprano" This translates directly as Diana spoke with Carlos earlier. However by using the imperfect tense you imply that she may still be speaking with him. Think of it like this: When using the imperfect, you are implying that at the time you thought of the action, it may still be taking place.

When using the preterit tense, you are saying that the action definitely ended. Let's use the same sentence but with the preterit form. "Diana habló con Carlos más temprano" This sentence also means Diana spoke with Carlos earlier. But when used with a preterit form, you are sure that Diana is no longer talking to Carlos. She is doing something else now.

This is confusing but i hope i have helped you a little bit.

Source: Native Speaker from the Dominican Republic

muchas gracias - pierce12, Apr 19, 2013

No problemo! - agustin_santana, Apr 19, 2013

Answer 2

Check out the learn section.

Please use correct spelling, capitalisation and punctuation here.

what should i click on in the learn section? - pierce12, Apr 19, 2013

Pierce, you can browse through various categories. For broad questions like this you are better off doing a general web-search where you will find a host of literature on the subject and similar - afowen, Apr 19, 2013

You should also correct your spelling (capitalization) and maybe they did but just needed a clarifying post from an actual person. Just a thought - agustin_santana, Apr 19, 2013

Capitalisation is the English spelling, capitalization the American. This is a forum, answering questions requires people's time and effort thus effort is requested of those who post questions. As it is a language site, it is expected that those who use.. - afowen, Apr 19, 2013

In posting your answer, that is helpful in the moment, you are not helping the questioner in the long term - show him how to make a net rather than throwing him a fish, as it were... - afowen, Apr 19, 2013

My apologies about the spelling. But although you think to redirect, i prefer to help directly. I know from my experiences learning English that you need to sometimes have it explained by my peers - agustin_santana, Apr 19, 2013

... it pay attention to the way they use language and at least make the effort to write correctly. If you spend time on the site you will see many comments similar to mine from members and moderators alike... - afowen, Apr 19, 2013

I get you, you are trying to help out, which is cool. Imagine 100s of posts asking for specific verb translations, I'm sure you'd soon tire of answering and direct the person to a verb conjugation tool. In giving people resources they can then study... - afowen, Apr 19, 2013

... more effectively. Forums are great for discussing ambiguities but people here generally ask that members make a little effort first and then post on the forum showing what they've done or found then asking for clarification from those more expert. - afowen, Apr 19, 2013