Tell a Funny Story in Spanish

Quick Answer

¡Hola!Learn how to tell a funny story in Spanish in this article and the lessons above! Specifically, learn how to do the following in Spanish:

• use the imperfect progressive tense

• combine the preterite with an imperfect tense to talk about situations in the past

• decribe unpleasant situations in the past

Vocabulary

Let's start off with the vocab words in these lessons!

Adjective

Spanish	English
absorto	lost (in thought), engrossed
estridente	loud
quemado	burnt, burned

examples
Estaba absorta en mis pensamientos, y de repente me caí. I was lost in my thoughts, and I suddenly fell over.
Estaba durmiendo cuando oí un ruido estridente. I was sleeping when I heard a loud noise.
Estaba haciendo galletas cuando de repente olí a quemado. I was making cookies when it suddenly smelled like something burning.

Nouns

Spanish	English
el calambre	cramp
el, la colega	coworker
el equilibrio	balance
la farola	streetlight
la galleta	cookie
el helicóptero	helicopter
las manualidades	crafts
la mosca	fly
las palomitas	popcorn
el pulpo	octopus

examples
Estaba en una reunión cuando me dio un calambre. I was in a meeting when I got a cramp.
Estaba en el autobús cuando me encontré con mi colega. I was on the bus when I ran into my coworker.
Saltaba a la cuerda cuando de repente perdí el equilibrio. I was jumping rope when I suddenly lost my balance.

Noun Phrases

Spanish	English
la alarma de incendios	fire alarm
los fuegos artificiales	fireworks

examples
Cocinaba cuando empezó a sonar la alarma de incendios. I was cooking when the fire alarm started ringing.
Estaba de compras cuando vi fuegos artificiales. I was shopping when I saw fireworks.

Verbs

In this skill, you learn the following verbs!

Spanish	English
diluviar	to pour (rain)
ladrar	to bark
sonar	to ring

Verbs in the Preterite

In this skill, you learn the following verbs in the preterite tense!

Acordarse

Acordarse(to remember) is an -ar pronominal verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	me acordé	I remembered
tú	te acordaste	you remembered	informal singular you
vos	te acordaste	you remembered	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	se acordó	he, she remembered
usted	se acordó	you remembered	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	nos acordamos	we remembered
vosotros, vosotras	os acordasteis	you remembered	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	se acordaron	they remembered
ustedes	se acordaron	you remembered	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Arrancar

Arrancar(to start) is an -ar verb with an irregular yo form in the preterite.

When used to mean to start, arrancar tends to be used in the third-person singular or third-person plural.

arrancó (it started)

arrancaron (they started)

Chocarse

Chocarse(to crash into) is an -ar pronominal verb with an irregular yo form in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	me choqué	I crashed into
tú	te chocaste	you crashed into	informal singular you
vos	te chocaste	you crashed into	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	se chocó	he, she crashed into
usted	se chocó	you crashed into	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	nos chocamos	we crashed into
vosotros, vosotras	os chocasteis	you crashed into	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	se chocaron	they crashed into
ustedes	se chocaron	you crashed into	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Estallar

Estallar(to shatter) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

When used to mean to shatter, estallar tends to be used in the third-person singular or third-person plural.

estalló (it shattered)

estallaron (they shattered)

Gritar

Gritar(to shout) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	grité	I shouted
tú	gritaste	you shouted	informal singular you
vos	gritaste	you shouted	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	gritó	he, she shouted
usted	gritó	you shouted	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	gritamos	we shouted
vosotros, vosotras	gritasteis	you shouted	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	gritaron	they shouted
ustedes	gritaron	you shouted	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Oler

Oler(to smell) is an -er verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	olí	I smelled
tú	oliste	you smelled	informal singular you
vos	oliste	you smelled	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	olió	he, she smelled
usted	olió	you smelled	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	olimos	we smelled
vosotros, vosotras	olisteis	you smelled	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	olieron	they smelled
ustedes	olieron	you smelled	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Verbs in the Imperfect Progressive

In this skill, you learn the following verbs in the imperfect progressive tense!

Spanish	English
estaba bañándome	I was showering
estaba bebiendo	I was drinking
estaba caminando	I was walking
estábamos cenando	we were having dinner
estaba comiendo	I was eating
estaba durmiendo	I was sleeping
estaba escribiendo	I was writing
estábamos escuchando	we were listening
estaba haciendo	I was doing
estaba manejando	I was driving
estabámos paseando	we were taking a walk
estaba relajándome	I was relaxing
estaba reparando	I was fixing
estaba trabajando	I was working

The formula for the imperfect progressive is estar in the imperfect indicative + a present participle.

How do we conjugate estar in the imperfect indicative? Let’s take a look!

Estar

Estar(to be) is an -ar verb that is regular in the imperfect.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	estaba	I was
tú	estabas	you were	informal singular you
vos	estabas	you were	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	estaba	he, she was
usted	estaba	you were	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	estábamos	we were
vosotros, vosotras	estabais	you were	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	estaban	they were
ustedes	estaban	you were	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Preterite vs. Imperfect

Many students have trouble knowing when to use the preterite tense or the imperfect tense, as they both refer to actions in the past.

The Preterite

Generally, the preterite is used for completed actions. These can be actions that can be viewed as single events, actions that were part of a chain of events, actions that were repeated a very specific number of times, or actions that specifically state the beginning and end of an action.

The Imperfect

The imperfect tense is generally used for actions in the past that do not have a definite end. These can be actions that are not yet completed or refer to a time in general in the past.

It can also be used to talk about:

actions that were repeated habitually

actions that set the stage for another past tense event

time and dates

a person’s age in the past

characteristics

mental or physical states

to react to new information

The Imperfect Progressive

The imperfect progressive tense tells what a person was doing at a point in the past. It's especially useful when you want to emphasize the fact that an action in the past was interrupted.

Forming the Imperfect Progressive

The imperfect progressive tense is formed with the imperfect indicative of the verb estarand the present participle of the content verb, which tells you what was happening.

Here are some examples of the imperfect progressive. Remember that the formula is:

imperfect indicative form of estar + present participle

examples
Estaba manejando cuando un pájaro se chocó contra mi carro. I was driving when a bird crashed into my car.
Estaba caminando cuando alguien me abrazó por detrás. I was walking when someone hugged me from behind.
Estaba durmiendo cuando oí un ruido estridente. I was sleeping when I heard a loud noise.

examples

Estaba manejando cuando un pájaro se chocó contra mi carro.

I was driving when a bird crashed into my car.

Estaba caminando cuando alguien me abrazó por detrás.

I was walking when someone hugged me from behind.

Estaba durmiendo cuando oí un ruido estridente.

I was sleeping when I heard a loud noise.

Preterite and Imperfect: Working Together

This pair of tenses is often used together to talk about an ongoing action or event that was interrupted in the past. In such case, the interrupted action is given in the imperfect tense, while the interrupting action is given in the preterite. You can also look at this as a cause-consequence relationship. For example, the cause is in the imperfect tense while the consequence is in the preterite.