Preterite and Imperfect Uses

The preterite tells us specifically when an action took place, while the imperfect tells us in general when an action took place. The preterite is used in the following situations: For actions that can be viewed as single eventsFor actions that were repeated a specific number of timesFor actions that occurred during a specific period of timeFor actions that were part of a chain of eventsTo state the beginning or the end of an action The imperfect is used in the following situations: For actions that were repeated habituallyFor actions that "set the stage" for another past actionFor telling timeFor stating one's age For weather descriptionFor mental states (usually)For physical sensations (usually)To describe the characteristics of people, things or conditions There are only three irregular verbs in the imperfect: sereraeraseraéramoseraiseran iribaibasibaíbamosibaisiban verveíaveíasveíaveíamosveíaisveían Some words and phrases indicate specific time frames, and therefore signal the use of the preterite. ayer (yesterday)anteayer (the day before yesterday)anoche (last night)desde el primer momento (from the first moment)durante dos siglos (for two centuries)el otro día (the other day)en ese momento (at that moment)entonces (then)esta mañana (this morning)esta tarde (this afternoon)la semana pasada (last week)el mes pasado (last month)el año pasado (last year)hace dos días, años (two days, years ago)ayer por la mañana (yesterday morning)ayer por la tarde (yesterday afternoon) Other words and phrases indicate repetitive, vague or non-specific time frames, and therefore signal the use of the imperfect. a menudo (often)a veces (sometimes)cada día (every day)cada semana (every week)cada mes (every month)cada año (every year)con frecuencia (frequently)de vez en cuando (from time to time)en aquella época (at that time)frecuentemente (frequently)generalmente (usually)muchas veces (many times)mucho (a lot)nunca (never)por un rato (for awhile)siempre (always)tantas veces (so many times)todas las semanas (every week)todos los días (every day)todo el tiempo (all the time)varias veces (several times)