Understanding Verb Conjugation in Spanish Past Tenses

Avancemos 2 Unidad 4 Lecci n 1 El Imperfecto

El Imperfecto When using the past tense in Spanish, you actually have to choose between two different tenses. You have already learned the preterite tense. The imperfect is another (much easier) past tense in Spanish.

How to conjugate a verb into the imperfect tense 1. Drop the infinitive endings (AR/ER/ER) 2. Add the endings listed below

AR Verbs (hablar) Yo hablaba Nosotros habl bamos T hablabas l/ella/usted hablaba Ellos/ellas/Ustedes hablaban

ER/IR Verbs (comer/escribir) Yo com a Nosotros com amos T com as l/ella/usted com a Ellos/ellas/ustedes com an

Imperfect Tense Verb Endings Important Note Please note that the yo form and the l/ella/usted forms are the same conjugations

Estar (to be) Yo estaba Nosotros est bamos T estabas l/ella/usted estaba Ellos/ellas/ustedes estaban

Hacer (to do/to make) Yo hac a Nosotros hac amos T hac as l/ella/usted hac a Ellos/ellas/ustedes hac an

Salir (to leave/to go out) Yo sal a Nosotros sal amos T sal as l/ella/usted sal a Ellos/ellas/ustedes sal an

Irregular Imperfect Verbs Ser (to be) There are only 3 verbs that are irregular in the imperfect. (Yay ) Ir (to go) Ver (to see) They are:-

Ser Yo era Nosotros ramos T eras l/ella/usted era Ellos/ellas/ustedes eran

Ir Yo iba Nosotros bamos T ibas l/ella/usted iba Ellos/ellas/ustedes iban

Ver Yo ve a Nosotros ve amos T ve as l/ella/usted ve a Ellos/ellas/ustedes ve an

So, why do you use the imperfect tense? So far, we have learned the preterite to describe the past. ***It is important to note that the preterite describes COMPLETED past actions. In other words, actions that happened once or you can count the number of times it happened. On the other hand, the imperfect is used for the following:

So, when do you use the imperfect tense? Here are some situations when you would use the imperfect tense: 1. To talk about something you used to do. (Repeated past actions) Example: Jugaba al voleibol. I used to play volleyball.

So, when do you use the imperfect tense? Here are some situations when you would use the imperfect tense: 2. To talk about something that was happening. The ing in the past tense. (ongoing or continuing past action) Example: Habl bamos cuando ella lleg . We were talking when she arrived.

So, when do you use the imperfect tense? Here are some situations when you would use the imperfect tense: 3. To describe something. These descriptions could be age, weather, time, physical and emotional (feelings) descriptions. Example: Cuando yo ten a 4 a os... When I was 4 years old .

Expressions used with the Imperfect Generalmente Generally Por lo general Generally A menudo Often Muchas veces Many times/often

Expressions used with the Imperfect Every day/every Monday Todos los d as/lunes nunca never always siempre Every day/every Monday Cada d a/lunes

Prctica del paquete 1. El guerrero ___________ (regresar) a casa con muchos heridos. 2. Cuando t _________ (ser) joven, yo ____________ (tener) celos de t . 3. Mi h roe me ___________ (llevar) porque ______________ (llover)

Prctica del paquete 1. El guerrero regresaba a casa con muchos heridos. 2. Cuando t eras joven, yo ten a celos de t . 3. Mi h roe me llevaba porque llov a.

Prctica.Contesta las siguientes preguntas con la forma correcta del imperfecto. 1. Yo siempre (jugar) 2. Nosotros 3. __________ las nueve y media de la noche. (ser) 4. Mi hermana nunca 5. Mis hermanitos siempre se centro comercial. (comportar) 6. Cuando era ni o, yo mis padres todos los veranos. (ir) 7. Mis amigos cuando eran m s j venes. (salir) con unos juguetes. veintiocho a os. (tener) a los rboles. (trepar) malos en el a Espa a con a las discotecas

Prctica.Contesta las siguientes preguntas con la forma correcta del imperfecto. 1. Yo siempre jugaba con unos juguetes. (jugar) 2. Nosotros ten amos veintiocho a os. (tener) 3. Eran las nueve y media de la noche. (ser) 4. Mi hermana nunca trepaba a los rboles. (trepar) 5. Mis hermanitos siempre se portaban malos en el centro comercial. (portar) 6. Cuando era ni o, yo iba al Espa a con mis padres todos los veranos. (ir) 7. Mis amigos sal an a las discotecas cuando eran m s j venes. (salir)

Ms Prctica The young man was very good looking. The princess was wearing a red dress. The enemy was jealous of the warrior. The princess was living in a palace in the mountains. The princess was a heroine. El joven era muy hermoso. La princesa llevaba un vestido rojo. El enemigo ten a celos del guerrero. La princesa viv a en un palacio en las monta as. La princesa era una hero na. 1. 1. 2. 2. 3. 3. 4. 4. 5. 5.

Ms Prctica Generally the princess cried every day. The princess was in love with the enemy. The young man was 24 years old. Generalmente la princesa lloraba todos los d as. La princesa estaba enamorada con el enemigo. El joven ten a 24 a os. 6. 6. 7. 7. 8. 8.

Ms Prctica She used to study every Monday. I used to finish my homework early. My mom used to read legends to me every night. He used to teach English. I used to have a cat. Ella estudiaba cada lunes/todos los lunes. Yo terminaba mi tarea temprano. Mi mam me le a leyendas cada noche. l ense aba ingl s. Yo ten a un gato. 1. 1. 2. 2. 3. 3. 4. 4. 5. 5.