Difference between Preterit and Imperfect Tenses - Diferencia entre Pretérito e Imperfecto
There are various differences between the uses of the preterit and the uses of the imperfect tenses and all uses are in the past.
This lesson includes information on:
- When to use the Preterit Tense
- When to use the Imperfect Tense
- An action that starts and ends in the past
- Actions that occur only one time
- Conclusions
2.
When to use the Imperfect Tense - The imperfect is commonly used
to express:
- Habits or customs in the past
- Describe people, animals, things, and with descriptive situations
- To tell age, dates, days, and hours
- What had been happening - Usually expressed in Spanish, Hacía + time + que + imperfect.
- Temporary condition of being
- With nouns and the verb tener
- Actions that are interrupted - Usually expressed in Spanish, Cuando + preterit + imperfect or vice versa
- To tell history or stories
- Intention of the actions - Usually expressed in Spanish, Ir + a + infinitive, Querer + infinitive.