El pretérito

• Actions that occurred at a specific point in time in the past

(Ayer, anteayer, el otro día, el mes pasado, la semana pasada)

El imperfectoOngoing past actions. Use when

in English one would say “used to”.

De niño él siempre comía los macaronis con queso.

As a child he used to always eat macaroni and cheese.

El imperfectoThe imperfect is used for repeated

past actions or when one uses phrases such as

• generalmente

• Siempre

• todos los días

• a veces

• cada día, semana, etc.

• por lo general

El imperfectoThe imperfect is used for repeated

past actions or when one uses phrases such as

• regularmente

• de costumbre

• constantemente

Yo jugaba al nintendo constantemente. I used to play nintendo constantly.

El imperfecto• Description in the past.

La casa embrujada era vieja y descuidada.

The haunted house was old and unkept.

El imperfectoBackground past actions.

Yo estudiaba cuando sonó el teléfono.

I was studying when the phone rang.

El pretérito• Main action of a sentence.

Yo caminaba por la acera cuando vi el accidente. (I was walking down the sidewalk when I saw the accident.

El imperfectoAge in the past.

Él tenía tres años cuando empezó a jugar al fútbol.

He was three years old when he started to play soccer.

El imperfectoThe imperfect is also used to

describe weather in the past.

Hacía sol. It was sunny.

Estaba nublado. It was cloudy.

Hacía viento. It was windy.

Pretérito/Imperfecto1. I was studying when my friend

arrived.

2. She was driving when she saw the accident.

3. The school was new and it had a lot of technology.

4. Yesterday we went to the mall.

5. The day before yesterday we ate at the restaurant.

Pretérito/Imperfecto6. Last summer I traveled to

Europe.

7. I used to travel every summer.

8. When he was a teenager he used to play the trumpet.

9. Manolito started using glasses when he was five years old.

10. He constantly drank milk.

Pretérito/Imperfecto11. We were writing the sentences

when the bell rang.

12. My grandparents in the 1930s were young and good looking.

13. It was raining.

14. We picked up seashells yesterday.

15. The children used to play in the sand.