Pretérito e imperfecto (Preterite and Imperfect)
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When you are telling a story or recalling events in the past in Spanish, it is important to know when to use the preterite and when to use the imperfect. The key difference lies in how you see the action happening.
Use the preterite for:
- Actions that are completed. These are actions that happened once and ended in the past.
- Actions that have a clear beginning and end.
- A series of completed actions.
Use the imperfect for:
- Ongoing, repeated or habitual actions in the past.
- Descriptions in the past (people, places, feelings).
- Background information (think of it as “setting the scene”).
Often, you will use both tenses in a story and they work together in the following ways:
- The imperfect is used to provide background (description, feelings, habitual actions).
- The preterite is used for specific actions that advance the story.
- Caminábamos 👣 por el parque y mientras veíamos 😊a los perros 🐕 jugar, un hombre 👴🏽 se acercó a nosotros y nos preguntó dónde estaba el metro.
- Llegué a mi residencia 🌆 a las siete de la noche y cuando fui a abrir la puerta 🚪 de mi apartamento me di cuenta de que estaba abierta, me asusté 😱 mucho y llamé 📲 a mi papá. Cuando entré al apartamento, encendí la luz 💡 y todos mis amigos saltaron gritando, 😨 “¡SORPRESA!” 🥳
So, remember:
- If you’re describing what was happening over time or what used to happen (habitual actions, feelings, setting), use the imperfect tense.
- If you’re talking about specific actions that occurred once or at a definite time, or if there is an action that interrupted an ongoing action in the past, use the preterite tense.
Note: There are 5 important verbs that change meaning depending on whether you are using the preterite (completed past) or the imperfect (ongoing, habitual, descriptive past):
- Conocer – to know/to meet
Tense | Example | Meaning in context |
Preterite | Yo conocí a Ana ayer. | I met Ana (for the first time) yesterday. |
Imperfect | Yo conocía a Ana. | I knew Ana (for some time). |
📌 In the preterite, it means the moment you met someone.
📌 In the imperfect, it means you already knew them.
- Saber – to know/to find out
Tense | Example | Meaning in context |
Preterite | Tú supiste la verdad anoche. | You found out the truth last night. |
Imperfect | Tú sabías la verdad. | You knew the truth. |
📌 The preterite shows the moment you learned something.
📌 The imperfect means you already knew it/had the knowledge of it.
- Haber – there was/there were
Tense | Example | Meaning in context |
Preterite | Hubo una fiesta el sábado. | There was a party on Saturday. (event) |
Imperfect | Había mucha gente. | There was a lot of people. (description) |
📌 Use hubo for events that happened and ended and había for descriptions.
- Poder – to be able to/to manage to
Tense | Example | Meaning in context |
Preterite | Ella pudo viajar para la boda de su hermano. | She managed to travel for her brother’s wedding. (She did it.) |
Preterite (neg.) | Ella no pudo viajar para la boda. | She did not manage to travel for the wedding. |
Imperfect | Ella podía comprar el vestido en línea o en la tienda. | She could buy the dress online or at the store. (Had the ability) |
Imperfect (neg.) | Ella no podía comprar el vestido en línea… | She could not (did not have the ability to) purchase the dress online. |
📌 In the preterite, it means someone succeeded in doing it.
📌 In the imperfect, it means they had the ability, but we don’t know if they did it or not.
- Querer – to want/to try or refuse
Tense | Example | Meaning in context |
Preterite | Yo quise ir al cine. | I tried to go to the movies. |
Preterite (neg.) | Yo no quise ir. | I refused to go. |
Imperfect | Yo quería ir al cine. | I wanted to go to the movies. |
📌 In the preterite, it means you tried or refused (negated).
📌 In the imperfect, it’s the desire or intention, not the action.