Prompts

Day # 1
















Using ONLY IMPERFECT, write about this image of Martin Luther King. How do you think he was?What characteristics do you think he possessed?

Prompts

Day # 2

Using this image as a guide, ONLY use the  PETERITE to write what you see, feel, and hear.

Prompts

Day # 3

Thinking about your childhood, use both the PRETERITE and IMPERFECT to describe how were you? What activities did you enjoy. What was your personality?

Now test yourself

Er/Ir verbs

To conjugate regular er/ir verbs in the preterite, simply drop the ending (er/ir) and add one of the following:

Preterite: regular -er
Yo-í
Tu-iste
El/ella/ud-ió
Nos-imos

-Ellos.ellas/uds-ieron

Preterite: regular -ir verbs
Yo-í
Tu-iste
El/ella/ud-ió
Nos-imos

Elloa/ellas/uds.-ieron

One way to determine if a verb is actually the imperfect is to try substituting one of the following: was/were ...ing used to ... would (meaning used to) ... The following examples show how to use this substitution test for the imperfect: I worked in the agency during the day. I was working in the agency during the day. I visited my grandmother every day. I used to visit my grandmother every day. Every afternoon I took a nap. Every afternoon I would take a nap. One does not normally think of a general mental state or physical sensations as having a definite beginning or end, and so they are usually expressed in the imperfect. Ramón tenía miedo de hablar en público. Ramón was afraid to speak in public. Yo creía que Juan podía hacerlo. I thought that Juan could do it. Me gustaba el coche. I liked the car. (The car was pleasing to me.) The imperfect is used to describe how things were or what things were like. Use the imperfect when describing the characteristics of people, things or conditions. Era un muchacho muy inteligente. He was a very intelligent boy. Era una señorita muy guapa. She was a beautiful young lady. Las ventanas estaban abiertas. The windows were open. La casa era blanca. The house was white.

ar verbs

To conjugate regular -ar verbs in the preterite, simply drop the ending (-ar) and add one of the following:

Yo-é
Tu- aste
El/ella/ud- ó
Nos- amos
Ellos/ellas/uds.aron

To conjugate regular -er and -ir verbs in the preterite, simply drop the ending (-er or -ir) and add one of the following:

Yo-í
Tu-iste
El/ella/ud.-ió
Nos-imos
Ellos/ellas/uds.-ieron

Here is an example of a regular preterit verb.

hablar
hablé
hablaste
habló
hablamos
hablasteis
hablaron

Note: the nosotros forms for -ar verbs are the same in both preterite and present tenses: hablamos


The preterite is used for actions that can be viewed as single events.

Ella caminó por el parque.
She walked through the park.
Ellos llegaron a las ocho.
They arrived at eight o'clock.

The preterite is used for actions that were repeated a specific number of times, or occurred during a specific period of time.

Ayer escribí tres cartas.
Yesterday I wrote three letters.
Vivimos allí por cuatro años.
We lived there for four years.

The preterite is used for actions that were part of a chain of events.

Ella se levantó, se vistió, y salió de la casa.
She got up, dressed, and left the house.

The preterite is used to state the beginning or the end of an action.

Empezó a nevar a las ocho de la mañana.
It began to snow at eight in the morning.

The above examples all fall within our general rule for using the preterite:
The preterite is used for past actions that are seen as completed.