| Preterite | a finished event: what happened | Ayer comí paella. | I had paella yesterday. |
| Imperfect | the scene: how things were | La paella estaba muy rica. | The paella was delicious. |
| Preterite | one time, or a stated number of times | El verano pasado fui tres veces a la playa. | Last summer I went to the beach three times. |
| Imperfect | a habit, with no number | Cada verano iba a la playa. | I went to the beach every summer. |
| B1Both | the action going on in the imperfect, the event in the preterite | Yo dormía cuando sonó el teléfono. | I was sleeping when the phone rang. |
| B1Both | estaba + gerund for an action in progress | Estábamos cenando cuando llegó Pedro. | We were having dinner when Pedro arrived. |
| B1Both | a whole event judged: fue; a description: era | El viaje fue genial. / El hotel era bonito. | The trip was great. / The hotel was nice. |
| B1Meaning | conocí is meeting someone; conocía is knowing them | Conocí a Laura en una fiesta. | I met Laura at a party. |
| B1Meaning | supe is finding out; sabía is knowing | Supe la noticia por la radio. | I found out the news on the radio. |
| B1Trap | a period with its length, now over, takes the preterite | Estuve dos horas en el banco. | I was at the bank for two hours. |
| Trap | a stage of life is the scene: cuando era niño | Cuando era niño, vivía en Cali. | When I was a child, I lived in Cali. |