Imperfect vs Preterite help
Does someone mind explaining the basic differences? And are there any verbs that tend to always be imperfect or preterite? Thank you so much, I have an exam tomorrow and really need to understand this.
3 Answers
To really get the hang of it (at least for me) you have to read A LOT. Also I have taken a composition class and after having to write a lot of essays I figured it out for the most part. However, that is not a very fun way to learn, so if you are really interested in learning spanish, sit down and watch a movie, read a book, or an article in spanish on the internet. It helped me!
Preterite Tense: http://www.spanishdict.com/topics/show/60 Imperfect Tense: http://www.spanishdict.com/topics/show/59
Preterite Tense is used for:
-single, complete events -the beginning or ending point of an action -when you can tell how long an action lasted ex: ayer (yesterday), la semana pasada (last week), etc.
Imperfect Tense is used for: -incomplete, ongoing event -description -telling time in the past -habitual actions ex: mientras, cada semana, cada mes, etc.
Also, there are no verbs that tend to be in either the preterite or imperfect, it really depends on the situation. Maybe watch the videos on imperfect and preterite above if you click on "Learn" on the top of the Spanish Dict page, then "Learn Spanish" and watch the videos related to these topics!
Perhaps this lesson will help.
And here's a little book that highlights the differences.
