When do you use preterite in spanish

Ya lavamos , planchamos y doblamos nuestra ropa We already washed, ironed and folded our clothes. Notice that example 3 uses reflexive verbs. When learning past tense, many learners have issues conjugating these types of verbs. But aside from adding the right pronoun, you should follow the appropriate conjugation rules. As mentioned earlier, the preterite Spanish tense implies that there is a clear starting or ending point for the subject at hand.

As a result, this tense is commonly used when talking about or referring to specific dates or amounts of time. Although you could use numbers to refer to a date, you can also use time expressions with the same purpose. Here are some examples and a phrase structure. Ayer terminamos de trabajar a las 10 Yesterday we finished working at You might notice in Spanish conversations that people might place the date or time before the conjugated verb. This type of structure is very common in casual or conversational Spanish:.

For that situation, you will need to use the imperfect tense. For that reason, we also use this tense when talking about the frequency of an action.

In other words, anytime you want to express the number of times that an action was performed, you will need to use the Spanish preterite tense. Below there is a phrase structure that you can follow as well as some examples of how to apply it:. He called me liked ten times.

In Spanish, a common use of preterite is to form sentences with simultaneous actions actions that took place at the same time. In these types of sentences, the preterite tense is used to introduce an action that interrupted another one.

Even though sentences with simultaneous actions are quite common in Spanish, they might be a little more complicated since they require you to use two different past tenses: preterite and imperfect or pluscuamperfecto. One way this pair of tenses is often used is to talk about an ongoing action or event that was interrupted in the past. In such case, the interrupted action is given in the imperfect tense, while the interrupting action is given in the preterite.

Generally, the preterite is used for completed actions actions that have definite beginning and end points. These can be actions that can be viewed as single events, actions that were part of a chain of events, actions that were repeated a very specific number of times, or actions that specifically state the beginning and end of an action. There are many helpful words and phrases that indicate specific time frames, therefore signaling that the preterite should be used.

Here are a few:. Some verbs used to talk about events with a very definite beginning and end are almost always used in the preterite. Here are a few examples. The imperfect tense is generally used for actions in the past that do not have a definite end. These can be actions that are not yet completed or refer to a time in general in the past. It can also be used to talk about:.

Here are some helpful words and phrases that often signal that a verb should be used in the imperfect. Learn Spanish. Por ejemplo:. Perhaps they are yet to be completed or they refer to a general time in the past.

Lucky for you, there are also a bunch of words and phrases that tend to signal that a verb should be used in the imperfect! These past tense forms are often used to talk about an ongoing action or event that was interrupted. Here, the interrupted action uses the imperfect tense, while the interrupting action uses the preterite.

I was walking to the library when I met the love of my life. Juana and Alberto were talking about the meeting when I got to the office. The rule of thumb for determining which tense to use is that the preterite talks about what you did, and the imperfect talks about what you were doing or what you used to do.

Notice how the meaning changes for these verbs in the preterite vs the imperfect. To test your knowledge of when to use the preterite versus the imperfect, fill in the blank s by correctly conjugating the verbs in parenthesis.

Looking for some more ways to study and practice with the past tense in Spanish? Here are a few fun ideas:. Mastering Spanish grammar is tough! Practicing with another person who can give you feedback and constructive criticism is one of the most efficient ways to improve.

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