One of the main difficulties you may have had if you are studying Spanish is the difference between these two verb tenses: the pretérito indefinido and pretérito imperfecto.
Why is it that hard? One of the main reasons is because there are many cases in which you can use them. There is also a difference between how natives use it in Spain and in Latin America (check my blog on Main Differences Between Spanish in Spain and Latin America). Last but not least, if you compare it to your own language, you may not use them in the same way.
Today, I will help you learn the difference between these two tenses.
When should you use pretérito indefinido?
The pretérito indefinido is used to talk about actions that happened and finished in the past and the time markers are:
Ayer (yesterday) el año/mes pasado (last year/month), la semana pasada (last week), hace dos años/ semanas / días (two years/ weeks/ days ago), en 2009/ 2020… (in 2009/2020)
You can see that these are all things that took place in the past, so you can say:
– -La semana pasada me compré un coche nuevo, estoy muy contenta.
Last week I bought a new car, I’m excited.
-Hace dos años viajé a España por primera vez, fue una experiencia fantástica.
Two years ago, I travelled to Spain for the first time, it was a fantastic experience.
It is clear that you refer to an action that took place at some point in the past and the conjugation of the regular verbs is as follows:
COCINAR (to cook): yo cociné / tú cocinaste / él, ella, usted cocinó / nosotros, nosotras cocinamos / vosotros, vosotras cocinasteis / ellos, ellas, ustedes cocinaron
APRENDER (to learn): yo aprendí / tú aprendiste / él, ella, usted aprendió / nosotros, nosotras aprendimos / vosotros, vosotras aprendisteis / ellos, ellas, ustedes aprendieron
ESCRIBIR (to write): yo escribí / tú escribiste / él, ella, usted escribió / nosotros, nosotras escribimos / vosotros, vosotras escribisteis / ellos, ellas, ustedes escribieron
When should you use pretérito imperfecto?
The pretérito imperfecto is usually used to refer to routines in the past:
-Cuando era pequeña jugaba con coches.
When I was little, I used to play with cars.
The conjugation is as follows:
COCINAR: yo cocinaba/ tú cocinabas / él, ella, usted cocinaba / nosotros, nosotras cocinábamos / vosotros, vosotras cocinabais / ellos, ellas, ustedes cocinaban
For verbs finishing in ER and IR the conjugation is the same:
APRENDER: yo aprendía / tú aprendías / él, ella, usted aprendía / nosotros, nosotras aprendíamos / vosotros, vosotras aprendíais / ellos, ellas, ustedes aprendían
ESCRIBIR: yo escribía / tú escribías / él, ella, usted escribía / nosotros, nosotras escribíamos / vosotros, vosotras escribíais / ellos, ellas, ustedes escribían
Good news! There are only three irregular verbs in the pretérito imperfecto:
IR: yo iba / tú ibas / él ella, usted iba / nosotros, nosotras íbamos / vosotros, vosotras ibais / ellos, ellas, ustedes iban
SER: yo era / tú eras / él, ella, usted era / nosotros, nosotras éramos / vosotros, vosotras erais / ellos, ellas, ustedes eran
VER: yo veía / tú veías / él, ella, usted veía / nosotros, nosotras veíamos / ellos, ellas, ustedes veían
- It is also used to describe things in the past to give background information:
Era un día nublado entonces nos quedamos en casa.
It was a cloudy day so we stayed home.
- To refer to a longer action interrupted by a shorter one:
Mientras corría por el bosque se tropezó y se cayó.
While running through the woods he tripped and fell.
What most books mention at higher levels and what I consider super important to know, is that the pretérito imperfecto is also used to be more polite.
Quería saber a qué hora abre la tienda.
I wanted to know what time the shop opens.
The last one is very important and you can start using it straight away. You will definitely sound more polite and natural.
Do you have questions related to the use of these two tenses? Drop them in the comments below and we’ll be happy to help you!
If you would like to advance your level and become more fluent in Spanish and need a professional to guide you, do book a free session with Daiana and LET’S TALK about your needs!
