📘 Spanish Past Tense Mastery
Preterite vs. Imperfect: When to Use Which?
Spanish has two distinct past tenses. Use the "Camera Analogy" below to never confuse them again.
📸 Pretérito (The Snapshot)
Completed, one-time past actions with a clear start and finish.
Think of a camera taking a quick photo of an event happening.
Key Trigger Words: Ayer (yesterday), anoche (last night), la semana pasada (last week), de repente (suddenly).
Example: Ayer llegué a las 8.
(Yesterday I arrived at 8:00.)
(Yesterday I arrived at 8:00.)
🎥 Imperfecto (The Video)
Ongoing background descriptions, habits, age, and weather in the past.
Think of a rolling video camera setting the background scenery.
Key Trigger Words: Siempre (always), todos los días (every day), a menudo (often), mientras (while).
Example: Hacía mucho frío.
(It was very cold outside.)
(It was very cold outside.)
The Interrupted Action Rule (Combining Both)
When an ongoing action in the past (Imperfect) is interrupted by a sudden one-time event (Preterite):
"Yo estudiaba cuando mi amigo llamó."
(I was studying [Imperfect background] when my friend called [Preterite interruption].)