Imperfect vs. Preterit: Basic differences

It's time for some Spanish lesson blogs!  These blogs will not present lessons in a chronological order as if it were a Spanish learning program.  For that, you will have to wait until viperspanish.com is online.  Instead, these are sort of random lessons that target various levels.  However, if you're learning or want to learn Spanish, you will benefit from the majority of these blogs.

Today, we will look at one of the toughest concepts to grasp for English speakers.  Although the basic idea is fairly easy, there continue to be sentences and situations where even advanced Spanish speakers use the wrong tense.  What I'm talking about is what's called imperfect vs. preterit.

This blog will cover the basic differences between the two and how to know which to use.  If you haven't learned yet how to conjugate a verb into the imperfect or preterit, you can still read this lesson to get an idea when to use which for when you later do learn how to conjugate them.

For the most part, these blogs will assume you know the basics of English grammar (the difference between a verb and a noun, for example).  If you need to review these ideas, please visit http://www.engvid.com/basics-noun-verb-adjective-adverb.  Or google "Basic English Grammar."

In Spanish, there are two main ways to talk about the past when using a verb: imperfect (imperfecto) and the preterit (pretérito).  The verb hablar (to talk), for example, can be conjugated in the imperfect (yo hablaba, tú hablabas, él/ella/usted hablaba, nosotros hablábamas, ellos/ellas/ustedes hablaban) or in the preterit (yo hablé, tú hablaste, él/ella/usted habló, nosotros hablamos, ellos/ellas/ustedes hablaron).

The imperfect is used to...

• Refer to periods or stages (I used to live in the university. - Vivía en la universidad.)
• Describe past intentions (I was going to run today. - Yo iba a correr hoy.) 
• Describe an action that was in progress (I was talking to my mom. - Hablaba con mi mamá.)
• Routines or habits (I would wake up every morning at five o'clock. - Me despertaba cada mañana a las cinco.)
• Describe how one felt  (I felt sad and did not want to be there. - Me sentía triste y no quería estar allí.)
• Describe the setting (It was raining and cold that night. - Llovía y hacía frío esa noche.)

The preterit is used to...

• Relate non-routine events that happened once (I ate at an Italian restaurant that day. - Comí a un restaurante italiano ese día.)
• Refer to actions that interrupted another already in progress (...when suddenly you called. - ...cuando de repente llamaste.)
• Relate results or outcomes (I couldn't come because of the storm. - No pude venir debido a la tormenta.)
• React to specfic events (That job was really hard. - Ese trabajo fue muy difícil.)
• A sudden feeling (When I saw her, I felt so excited. - Al verla, me sentí tan emocionado.)
• Refer to events in the past that lasted a specific amount of time; in other words, they had a clear beginning and a clear end (I lived in México for two months. - Viví en México por dos meses.)

 This is a basic idea of when to use what. Although the concept seems not too hard, there are many times when it seems the rules conflict and that either one might work.  This is occasionally but not often the case.  Usually it is correct to use one or the other and although memorizing the rules and practicing writing them definitely helps, this is one of the concepts that takes some immersion to really master.  Try to choose which verb the following sentences would use if translated into Spanish, the imperfect or the preterit:

1. I lived in Hong Kong for five years.
2. When I was a kid, I would go hunting every weekend with my dad.
3. He couldn't make it to the game due to the weather.
4. When I saw my parents, I felt complete anger.
5. I was talking with my brother on the phone...
6. ...when suddenly the phone rang.

Next blog will continue on this subject by looking at the changes of meaning when a particular sentence changes the verb from imperfect to preterit and how it is important to choose the right one, or you may say something completely different.