Preterite or Imperfect

A2–B1The past 8 min

The preterite tells finished events, and the imperfect describes the scene around them: llovía cuando salí. The event that breaks in takes the preterite, and the action going on takes the imperfect: Estaba en la ducha cuando sonó el teléfono.

No information at the current level. This view starts at A2: choose A2 or a higher level.

CheatsheetA2–B1

Point	Rule	Example	English
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.

OverviewA2

The two tenses show the same past from two sides: the preterite sees the whole event, the imperfect sees it going on. Ayer llovió todo el día. / Ayer llovía cuando salí. — It rained all day yesterday. / It was raining when I went out yesterday.
The time word alone does not choose: the same ayer works with both tenses.
The forms: Preterite and Imperfect.

Compare: preterite and imperfectA2–B1

Preterite	Imperfect
a finished event: what happened	the scene: how things were
Ayer comí paella. — I had paella yesterday.	La paella estaba muy rica. — The paella was delicious.
one time, or a stated number of times	a habit, with no number
El verano pasado fui tres veces a la playa. — Last summer I went to the beach three times.	Cada verano iba a la playa. — I went to the beach every summer.
B1a period with its length, now over	the background, with no end in view
B1Viví dos años en Bogotá. — I lived in Bogotá for two years.	Cuando vivía en Bogotá, trabajaba en un hotel. — When I lived in Bogotá, I worked in a hotel.
ayer, el lunes, una vez, de repente — yesterday, on Monday, once, suddenly	antes, siempre, cada día, normalmente — before, always, every day, usually

Use: one action breaks into anotherA2–B1

Pattern	Example	English
imperfect + cuando + preterite	Yo dormía cuando sonó el teléfono.	I was sleeping when the phone rang.
mientras + imperfect + preterite	Mientras cocinaba, se fue la luz.	While I was cooking, the power went out.
estaba + gerund + cuando + preterite	Estábamos cenando cuando llegó Pedro.	We were having dinner when Pedro arrived.

B1Two actions going on at the same time both take the imperfect, often joined by mientras: Mientras yo leía, ella escuchaba música. — While I was reading, she was listening to music.
Events one after another all take the preterite: Abrí la puerta, entré y encendí la luz. — I opened the door, went in and turned on the light.

Telling a storyB1

A story sets the scene with the imperfect, then moves forward with the preterite: Era domingo y hacía sol. De repente, empezó a llover. — It was Sunday and it was sunny. Suddenly it started to rain.
A judgement of a whole event takes fue; a description of how it was takes era: El concierto fue increíble. / La música era muy buena. — The concert was amazing. / The music was very good.

Verbs that change their meaningB1

Verb	Preterite	Imperfect
conocer	Conocí a Laura en una fiesta. — I met Laura at a party.	Ya conocía a Laura. — I already knew Laura.
saber	Supe la noticia por la radio. — I found out the news on the radio.	No sabía nada. — I didn't know anything.
querer	Ana no quiso venir. — Ana refused to come.	Ana no quería venir. — Ana didn't want to come.
poder	Por fin pude dormir. — I finally managed to sleep.	No podía dormir. — I couldn't sleep.
tener	Tuve una idea. — I had an idea.	Tenía una bicicleta vieja. — I had an old bike.

With these verbs, the preterite tells the moment something happened, and the imperfect the state that lasted.

Typical errorsA2–B1

✗	✓	Rule
Cuando fui niño viví en Quito.	Cuando era niño, vivía en Quito.	a stage of life is the scene: imperfect
B1Cuando sonó el teléfono dormí.	Cuando sonó el teléfono, dormía.	the action going on takes the imperfect
B1Vivía dos años en Bogotá.	Viví dos años en Bogotá.	a period with its length, now over: preterite
Antes fui al gimnasio todos los días.	Antes iba al gimnasio todos los días.	a past habit takes the imperfect
B1Conocía a mi novio en 2018.	Conocí a mi novio en 2018.	conocí is the moment you meet someone
Cuando era joven jugué al tenis cada sábado.	Cuando era joven, jugaba al tenis cada sábado.	English played can be a habit; Spanish uses the imperfect for it

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