The preterite Two tenses to indicate actions in the past: the preterite and the imperfect Preterite: describes actions/states that began/were completed at a different time in the past Preterite of regular ?ar, -er, and ?ir verbs comprar vender abrir compré vendí abrí compraste vendiste abriste compró vendió abrió compramos vendimos abrimos comprasteis vendisteis abristeis compraron vendieron abrieron Preterite of regular and some irregular verbs = written accent on endings in yo, usted, él, and ella forms -car, -gar, -zar verbs = spelling change in yo form. All other forms are regular buscar busc- -qu- yo busqué llegar lleg- -gu- yo llegué empezar empez- -c- yo empecé Caer, creer, leer, and oír change I to y in usted, él, ella and ustedes, ellos, ellas forms. Written accent on i in other forms. Verbs ending in ?uir change i to y in 3rd person forms Stem-changing ?ir verbs also stem-change in 3rd person forms. (pedir, dormir, conseguir, consentir, hervir, morir, preferir, repetir, seguir, sentir, servir) ?ar and ?er verbs = no change Many ?er and ?ir verbs are irregular in the preterite. ser and ir = fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron dar = di, diste, dio, dimos, disteis, dieron ver = vi, viste, vio, vimos, visteis, vieron hay = hubo andar = anduve, anduviste, anduvo, anduvimos, anduvisteis, anduvieron estar = estuve, estuviste, estuvo, estuvimos, estuvisteis, estuvieron poder = pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudisteis, pudieron poner = puse, pusiste, puso, pusimos, pusisteis, pusieron saber = supe, supiste, supo, supimos, supisteis, supieron tener = tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvisteis, tuvieron hacer = hice, hiciste, hizo, hicimos, hicisteis, hicieron querer = quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisisteis, quisieron venir = vine, viniste, vino, vinimos, vinisteis, vinieron conducir = conduje, condujiste, condujo, condujimos, condujisteis, condujeron decir = dije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, dijisteis, dijeron traer = traje, trajiste, trajo, trajimos, trajeron The imperfect Imperfect: narrates past events w/out focusing on beginning, end, or completion Imperfect of regular ?ar, -er, and ?ir verbs caminar deber abrir caminaba debía abría caminabas debías abrías caminaba debía abría caminábamos debíamos abríamos caminabais debíais abríamos caminaban debían abrían Ir, ser, ver = only verbs that are irregular in the imperfect Imperfect of irregular verbs ir ser ver iba era veía ibas eras veías iba era veía íbamos éramos veíamos ibais erais veíais iban eran veían Imperfect = what was going on at a certain time in the past. Often indicates what was happening in the background Imperfect of hay is había De niño/a (as a child), todos los días (every day), mientras (while), and siempre (always) are often used w/imperfect because they express habitual or repeated actions The preterite vs. the imperfect Preterite and imperfect = not interchangeable Uses of the preterite -express actions/states viewed by speaker as completed -express beginning/end of a past action -narrate a series of past actions Uses of the imperfect -describe an ongoing past action w/out reference to beginning or end -express habitual past actions -describe mental, physical, and emotional states/conditions -tell time Uses of the preterite and imperfect together -imperfect describes what was happening -preterite describes action that interrupts the ongoing activity -imperfect = background information -preterite = specific events that ?advance the plot? Different meanings in the imperfect and preterite The verbs querer, poder, saber, and conocer have different meanings when used in the preterite. Infinitive Imperfect Preterite querer Quería acompañarte. Quise acompañarte. I wanted to go with you. I tried to go with you (but failed). poder Ana podia hacerlo. Ana pudo hacerlo. Ana could do it. Ana succeeded in doing it. Ana no pudo hacerlo. Ana could not do it. saber Ernesto sabía la verdad. Por fin Ernesto supo la verdad. Ernesto knew the truth. Ernesto finally discovered the truth.
