El
Imperfecto:
 Description
Exercises
(Click on the dot to go directly to related
exercises)
Verb
List (Click on the dot to see some verbs
often used in the imperfect)
Seriously: Here's a secret I don't tell just anyone (unless they happen to visit the web site, be a student in my class, or just ask me). The Imperfect verb tense is one of the easiest things you'll do EVER! Enjoy the simplicity of a verb tense with no stem-changes, few irregulars, and one that encourages you to reminisce about your childhood. What could be sweeter and easier than THAT?! Yup. Sweet! Dude!
Imagine going to see a play. You
enter the theater and take your seat. When the curtain opens the first
thing you (usually) notice is: the scenery. Your brain is working
to figure out important details to help you understand when and where
the play is taking place. When you see the performers your brain checks
out what the actors look like to better understand the characters
actions. Later on, when you are asked about the play, what the actors
said and did would be very "pretérito". For all the
description, however, you would need a "softer, gentler" verb
tense: El imperfecto.
The
imperfect is a past tense (Remember: The pretérito is
often referred to as "the" past tense, but it's only one of
several options for communicating about the past!). Here are some common
uses. Note how they differ from the uses of the pretérito.
-
DESCRIBES
: people, weather, time, background information in the past
(these aren't events )
-
"USED
TO" in English:
a repeated activity or habit ( not a single event
)
-
ACTIVITIES
that are INTERRUPTED ("WAS or WERE" DOING )
(the interruption, which is a specific event at a specific moment
is often el pretérito)
These
DESCRIPTIONS or ACTIVITIES do
not have a specific beginning and end point like
el
pretérito. Instead they focus on the activity, not specifically
when (or whether) it finished. Note the difference between an
action (pretérito) and an activity (imperfecto).
The imperfect is useful for helping us set the scene, give background
information, tell what the weather was, help our listener or reader envision
the people or places that are an important part of our stories. If there
were only action with no description, imagine how dull the story
would be!
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NO
VERBS STEM-CHANGE IN ANY FORM AT ANY TIME!
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REGULAR
VERB ENDINGS:
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|
-ar
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| aba
abas
aba
|
ábamos
-----
aban
|
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-er/-ir
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ía
ías
ía
|
íamos
-----
ían
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bailar
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| bailaba
bailabas
bailaba
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bailábamos
----- bailaban
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aprender
|
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aprendía
aprendías
aprendía
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aprendíamos
-----
aprendían
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vivir
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vivía
vivías
vivía
|
vivíamos
-----
vivían
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Reminder:
verbs which stem-change in the present indicative DO
NOT CHANGE AT ALL !!
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jugar:
En la escuela
primaria yo siempre jugaba al fútbol.
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poder:
Yo
podía bailar.
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| IRREGULAR
VERBS (only THREE!) |
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|
ser
|
| era
eras
era
|
éramos
-----
eran
|
|
|
ir
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|
iba
ibas
iba
|
íbamos
-----
iban
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ver
|
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veía
veías
veía
|
veíamos
----- veían
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| some
words that often accompany el imperfecto: |
|
siempre
todos
los días / años / etc . . .
cada
día /semana / verano / etc . . .
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Some
examples of the imperfect:
Mi
hermana era
muy baja cuando ella tenía 5
años.
( DESCRIPTION )
Eran
las
dos de la tarde y nevaba
mucho.
( DESCRIPTION/BACKGROUND INFORMATION )
Cuando
yo era
joven mi familia siempre visitaba
a mis abuelos en el verano.
( REPEATED ACTION )
Yo tenía
12 años cuando yo viajé
a España por primera vez.
( DESCRIPTION + one-time, specific action
)
Felipe
andaba
en la calle cuando un carro lo atropelló
.
( INTERRUPTED ACTIVITY + one-time, specific action
)
IMPORTANT:
el imperfecto
works WITH el pretérito in order to permit us to talk about
the past. It is normal to need both description and action when
communicating about the past.
DESCRIPTION
(el imperfecto)
and activities we USED TO DO A LOT (el imperfecto)
along with SUDDEN
or ONE-TIME EVENTS (el pretérito).
DON'T
BE AFRAID TO USE THEM BOTH, though each is unique.
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