How can I know when to use the preterite or imperfect form of verbs?
Here are some sites with a good explanation of those two tenses.
http://www.drlemon.net/grammar/pretvsimp.html
http://www.studyspanish.com/lessons/pretimp4.htm
http://spanish.about.com/library/weekly/aa070302a.htm
Thank you for using the Jiskha Homework Help Forum. This was always one of my favorite things to teach!
Imagine, if you will, that you are going to paing a mural. You begin with the background (~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ). That is the imperfect, which in one word is "description." Note the English: was + ing, used to + infinitive, "ed" which overlaps with the Preterit. Now you paint the action. This is the Preterit. (/-/-/-/) Note the English: DID or "ed." The lines represent "ongoing event; we have no idea when it began nor if it ver ended = Imperfect vs. the lines that represent an action with a beginning and an ending = Preterit.
To illustrate: I used to be walking toward the door = salía = I was leaving the room. BUT I never go through the door way. This is the Imperfect. Then I walked to the door, through the door and around the corner = I DID leave the room. This is the Preterit. Happily my students always got the difference between the 2 past tenses. This makes the Spanish language so much "richer."
Sra
To determine whether to use the preterite or imperfect form of verbs in Spanish, you need to consider the specific context of the action being described and the speaker's intention. Here are some guidelines to help you decide:
1. Preterite: Use the preterite tense for actions or events that occurred at a specific point in time, with a defined beginning or end. Typically, it is used to describe completed actions in the past.
Example: Ayer, fui al cine. (Yesterday, I went to the movies.)
2. Imperfect: Use the imperfect tense for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, with no specific reference to their beginning or end. It is used to set the background, describe an ongoing state of affairs, or provide details about an event.
Example: Cuando era niño, jugaba mucho fútbol. (When I was a child, I used to play a lot of soccer.)
Here are some additional factors to consider:
1. Duration: If the action has a specified duration or time period, use the imperfect. If the action was brief or sudden, use the preterite.
2. Interrupted actions: If an action in progress was interrupted by another action, use the imperfect for the ongoing action and the preterite for the interrupting action.
3. Descriptions and background information: Use the imperfect to describe people, places, states of being, and ongoing situations in the past.
4. Sequence of events: Use the preterite to indicate a series of completed actions that occurred in sequence.
It is important to note that these guidelines are not absolute rules, and the context and speaker's intention play a significant role in choosing between the preterite and imperfect. Practice and exposure to different examples will help you develop a better understanding of when to use each tense.