are these the correct verb tense and conjugations? i have to use either preterite or imperfect.
1. they were looking - buscaban
2. they talked - hablaban
3. they thought - piensaron
4. they liked - gustaron
5. they needed - necesitaron
6. they asked - pidieron
7. they were ready - fueron listos
8. they met - reunieron
9. they began - empiezaron
10. they arrived - lleguaron
11. they told - dijaron
12. it was - era
13. they had - divertian
14. he was - era
15. he told - dijo
2. they talked could be the primary meaning of the Preterit OR the terciary meaning of the Imperfect.
Preterit = they talkED, they DID talk
Imperfect = they WERE talkING, they USED TO talk, they talkED
Therefore I would be more comfortable with the Preterit = hablaron.
Sometimes ONLY the speaker can decide, depending upon the context, but there is no context here.
3. they thought, yes the Preterit but only a few -ir verbs have a single vowel change in the Preterit and pensar is not one = pensaron.
(pedir = pidieron = e--->i only in the 3rd person, singular and plural)
4. they liked. With gustar you would have to know what pleased them. This verb usually is the 3rd person singular or plural. Examples: They liked the book = Les gustó el libro. BUT They liked the books = Les gustaron los libros. The subject is actually the THING(S) liked. Literally: the book did please them (ws pleaning TO THEM) or the books did please them = but the verb gustar takes an indirect-object pronoun to say to WHOM it pleased.
7. they were ready = I would say this is NOT action (Preterit) BUT description (Imperfect) = estaban listos This would be estar and not ser.
8. they met could also be encontraron because reunir is usually reflexive = se reunieron CON (someone)
9. they began = yes, Preterit but this is NOT an -ir verb (like #3 but an -ar verb) = empezaron OR commenzaron or even se pusieron a + infinitive
10. they arrived = spelling is off = llegaron
11. they told = spelling is off (-er verb with a special stem (dij) using unstressed Preterit endings and after the letter "j" (or ñ or ll) the "i" disappears.
12. it was = this depends upon the context, but with out a context, I like your choice
13. they had (tener not divertirse = to have fun) = tuvieron (Preterit)
14. he was = just like #12
The rest are fine!
Sra
Let's go through each sentence to determine if the verb tense and conjugation are correct using either the preterite or imperfect tense.
1. They were looking - buscaban
- Correct in the imperfect tense, which is used for ongoing or repeated actions in the past.
2. They talked - hablaban
- Also correct in the imperfect tense, indicating an ongoing action in the past.
3. They thought - piensaron
- Incorrect tense. Here, you should use the imperfect tense: pensaban, as it refers to an ongoing action or a state of mind in the past.
4. They liked - gustaron
- Incorrect tense. When referring to "they" liking something, you should use the imperfect tense: les gustaba, indicating an ongoing state or repeated action in the past.
5. They needed - necesitaron
- Correct in the preterite tense, which represents a completed action in the past.
6. They asked - pidieron
- Correct in the preterite tense, indicating a specific completed action in the past.
7. They were ready - fueron listos
- Incorrect conjugation. Instead, you should say: estaban listos, as estar is used to express states of being, including temporary conditions like being ready.
8. They met - reunieron
- Correct in the preterite tense, representing a specific completed action in the past.
9. They began - empiezaron
- Incorrect conjugation. You should use empezaron, as empezar is conjugated as empezaron in the preterite tense.
10. They arrived - lleguaron
- Incorrect conjugation. The correct form in the preterite tense is llegaron, as llegar is conjugated as llegaron in the third person plural.
11. They told - dijaron
- Incorrect conjugation. The correct form in the preterite tense is dijeron, as decir is conjugated as dijeron in the third person plural.
12. It was - era
- Correct in the imperfect tense, which describes a continuous or habitual action in the past.
13. They had - divertian
- Incorrect conjugation. You should use divertían, as tener is conjugated as tenían in the imperfect tense.
14. He was - era
- Correct in the imperfect tense, representing a continuous or habitual action in the past.
15. He told - dijo
- Correct in the preterite tense, representing a specific completed action in the past.
To summarize, the correct verb tense and conjugations are:
1. they were looking - buscaban
2. they talked - hablaban
3. they thought - pensaban
4. they liked - les gustaba
5. they needed - necesitaron
6. they asked - pidieron
7. they were ready - estaban listos
8. they met - reunieron
9. they began - empezaron
10. they arrived - llegaron
11. they told - dijeron
12. it was - era
13. they had - tenían
14. he was - era
15. he told - dijo