What is the difference between preterite and imperfect, doesn't imperfect also mean was/were?

Question

I have to write a paragraph(s) using 10 preterite and 10 imperfect verbs. I know using imperfect means "used to," but I also thought it meant "was/were." This it so far: Teressa Prince Gombis Español II 4 7 November 2015 Mi Proyecto del Pasado El verano pasado mi familia y yo fuimos a México por vacación. En viernes nosotros volamos en un avión. Yo sentía preocupada porque yo me asustaba de volando. Durante el vuelo mi madrastra leía un revista suya, mi padre dormía mientras yo escuchaba música en iPod mío. Después de un rato, yo me aburrí. Después del vuelo, nosotros revistamos en un hotel. Luego, nosotros anduvimos en bicicletas nuestras a la playa. Mi madrastra tomó el sol, mi padre nadó en el océano, y yo leí un libro mío. Había una personas el surfing y jugando al voleibol. Yo me sonreía porque yo estaba alegre. Entonces, nosotros fuimos al restaurante mexicano. Yo comí unas enchiladas con un arroz y unos frijoles. Estuvó picante y rica. Siguiente, nosotros condujíamos al hotel. Nosotros nos cepillamos los dientes con los cepillos de dientes nuestros y la pasta de dientes nuestra y nos dormimos. Al día siguiente, yo me desperté a las ocho y media de la mañana. Primero, yo me duché y yo me vestí. Entonces, nosotros desayunamos. Después nosotros caminábamos al museo. Yo vi muchas esculturas y pinturas bonitas. Luego, nosotros visitamos los bisabuelos, el cuñado, la novia de el cuñado, y los sobrinos nuestros. Los sobrinos son unos gemelos y ellos son impacientes y animados. Los bisabuelos son amables y tímidos. El cuñado y la novia suya son divertidos y sociables. Los sobrinos jugaban con las muñecas suyas y los muñecos de peluches suyos. Después, nosotros volamos atrás a la casa nuestra.

Please take the advice of AnnRon below , you will have a much happier and productive time here if you do as she suggests. - ray76, Nov 11, 2015

Welcome to the forum , we want to help you so fill out your profile If you have a problem PM a mod Bienvenido al foro. Queremos ayudarle, entonces hay que llenar su perfil. Si hay un problema, envíe un mensaje personal (PM) - ray76, Nov 11, 2015

I am closing this post because the new member has been somewhat rude to those members attempting to help. - ray76, Nov 11, 2015

I agree Ray, then she opened it again and 2 members answered her. - rac1, Nov 11, 2015

Answer 1

Here is a link to Spanishdict's free lesson on the imperfect tense.

This place has a lot of resources for learners of Spanish. You might want to stick around and take advantage of them. If so, it would be a great idea to add your levels of proficiency in English and Spanish to your profile page. It helps other members know the best way to communicate with you--plus, I and probably some others will vote up your question if you do.

still confused, does it have to be something you need frequently? If so how are we suposed to write about a vacation, vacations don't happen frequently! - teressap, Nov 11, 2015

Youcan use imperfect to set the scene: it was this; it was that. Then use preterite when the action starts. - AnnRon, Nov 11, 2015

Answer 2

Teressap, one of the courses I took explained it like this.

If you're talking about a dot in time, you use the preterite. So, for example, "I ate my lunch just before the ceiling collapsed" is a dot in time. You would use the preterite.

If you're talking about a line of time, either broken or unbroken, you'd use the imperfect. So, for example, "I ate lunch every day at 2:00 in 4th grade" is a broken line. "I ate no meat when I was in 4th grade" is an unbroken line. In these two examples, you'd use the imperfect.

Does that help?

Answer 3

Don't send me any links to lessons, they don't help!

What can I say, other than to suggest that reading an explanation in the forum isn't much different from reading an explanation in a free lesson. But okay, I won't try to help you any more. - AnnRon, Nov 11, 2015

Sometimes you read something and it all makes sense. When your teacher sees your essay they will explain it to you again. - Mardle, Nov 11, 2015

Answer 4

Do you have to use it to say this happened.... when this happened? If you can only use it as that these paragraphs are going to be impossible!