{"id":5664,"date":"2012-09-25T03:50:41","date_gmt":"2012-09-25T07:50:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/?p=5664"},"modified":"2012-09-25T03:50:41","modified_gmt":"2012-09-25T07:50:41","slug":"beginner-spanish-lesson-40-the-other-past-simple-in-spanish-el-preterito-imperfecto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/beginner-spanish-lesson-40-the-other-past-simple-in-spanish-el-preterito-imperfecto\/","title":{"rendered":"Beginner Spanish Lesson 40 The other Past Simple in Spanish &#8211; El Pret\u00e9rito Imperfecto"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Beginner Spanish Lesson 40 The other Past Simple in Spanish - El Pret\u00e9rito Imperfecto\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bvIiO2xtm0I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In Spanish there are two grammar tenses which are equivalent to the English Past Simple tense. In the previous beginner Spanish lesson we looked at one of the Spanish Past Simples &#8211; El Pret\u00e9rito Indefinido \u2013 and today we are going to see El Pret\u00e9rito Imperfecto.<\/p>\n<p>El Pret\u00e9rito Imperfecto is used differently to El Pret\u00e9rito Indefinido and its verbs are conjugated in different ways, but both tenses are used to describe actions in the past in a similar way to the English Past Simple.<\/p>\n<p>First, let\u2019s look at how to conjugate regular Spanish verb endings according to whether the verb ends in -ar, -er or \u2013ir with El Pret\u00e9rito Imperfecto.<\/p>\n<p>-AR:<\/p>\n<p>Hablar: To speak:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 (Yo) hablaba: I spoke\/I used to speak\/I was speaking<br \/>\n\u2022 (T\u00fa) hablabas: You spoke\/you used to speak\/you were speaking (friendly)<br \/>\n\u2022 (Usted) hablaba: You spoke\/you used to speak\/you were speaking (formal)<br \/>\n\u2022 (\u00c9l\/ella) hablaba: He\/She spoke\/he\/she used to speak\/he\/she was speaking<br \/>\n\u2022 (Nosotros\/as) habl\u00e1bamos: We spoke\/we used to speak\/we were speaking<br \/>\n\u2022 (Vosotros\/as) hablabais: You spoke\/you used to speak\/you were speaking (group\/friendly)<br \/>\n\u2022 (Ustedes) hablaban: You spoke\/you used to speak\/you were speaking (group\/formal)<br \/>\n\u2022 (Ellos\/as) hablaban: They spoke\/they used to speak\/they were speaking<\/p>\n<p>-ER\/-IR:<\/p>\n<p>Comer: To eat:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 (Yo) com\u00eda: I ate\/I used to eat\/I was eating<br \/>\n\u2022 (T\u00fa) com\u00edas: You ate\/you used to eat\/you were eating (friendly)<br \/>\n\u2022 (Usted) com\u00eda: You ate\/you used to eat\/you were eating (formal)<br \/>\n\u2022 (\u00c9l\/ella) com\u00eda: He\/She ate\/he\/she used to eat\/he\/she was eating<br \/>\n\u2022 (Nosotros\/as) com\u00edamos: We ate\/we used to eat\/we were eating<br \/>\n\u2022 (Vosotros\/as) com\u00edais: You ate\/you used to eat\/you were eating (group\/friendly)<br \/>\n\u2022 (Ustedes) com\u00edan: You ate\/you used to eat\/you were eating (group\/formal)<br \/>\n\u2022 (Ellos\/as) com\u00edan: They ate\/they used to eat\/they were eating<\/p>\n<p>Next, let\u2019s look at some important irregular verbs connected with the Spanish Pret\u00e9rito Imperfecto:<br \/>\n(these are verbs which don\u2019t follow the rules I have just discussed on how to conjugate regular verbs)<\/p>\n<p>Ser: to be:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 (Yo) era: I was\/I used to be\/I was being<br \/>\n\u2022 (T\u00fa) eras: You were\/you used to be\/you were being (friendly)<br \/>\n\u2022 (Usted) era: You were\/you used to be\/you were being (formal)<br \/>\n\u2022 (\u00c9l\/ella) era: He\/She was\/he\/she used to be\/he\/she was being<br \/>\n\u2022 (Nosotros\/as) \u00e9ramos: We were\/we used to be\/we were being<br \/>\n\u2022 (Vosotros\/as) erais: You were\/you used to be\/you were being (group\/friendly)<br \/>\n\u2022 (Ustedes) eran: You were\/you used to be\/you were being (group\/formal)<br \/>\n\u2022 (Ellos\/as) eran: They were\/they used to be\/they were being<\/p>\n<p>Ir: to go:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 (Yo) iba: I went\/I used to go\/I was going<br \/>\n\u2022 (T\u00fa) ibas: You went\/you used to go\/you were going (friendly)<br \/>\n\u2022 (Usted) iba: You went\/you used to go\/you were going (formal)<br \/>\n\u2022 (\u00c9l\/ella) iba: He\/She went\/he\/she used to go\/he\/she was going<br \/>\n\u2022 (Nosotros\/as) ibamos: We went\/we used to go\/we were going<br \/>\n\u2022 (Vosotros\/as) ibais: You went\/you used to go\/you were going (group\/friendly)<br \/>\n\u2022 (Ustedes) iban: You went\/you used to go\/you were going (group\/formal)<br \/>\n\u2022 (Ellos\/as) iban: They went\/they used to go\/they were going<\/p>\n<p>Now, we will analyse the different uses of the Spanish Pret\u00e9rito Imperfecto so that you are clear on when exactly to use it:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 To express habitual actions:<\/p>\n<p>Cuando yo era peque\u00f1o, jugaba con mis amigos: When I was a child, I used to play with my friends<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 To make descriptions in the past:<\/p>\n<p>Mi abuelo era un hombre fuerte: My grandfather was a strong man<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 To describe an action happening in the past:<\/p>\n<p>Cuando com\u00edamos, la luz se apag\u00f3: When we were eating, the light went off<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 To express two simultaneous actions in the past:<\/p>\n<p>Siempre que ven\u00eda a vernos, tra\u00eda un regalo: Every time he came to see us, he brought a present<\/p>\n<p>Next, we will see some typical phrases and key words that are used with El Pret\u00e9rito Imperfecto:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Generalmente: Generally<br \/>\n\u2022 A veces: Sometimes<br \/>\n\u2022 Casi siempre: Nearly always<br \/>\n\u2022 Normalmente: Usually<br \/>\n\u2022 Muchas veces: Many times<br \/>\n\u2022 Nunca: Never<br \/>\n\u2022 Antes: Before<br \/>\n\u2022 Siempre: Always<br \/>\n\u2022 Casi nunca: Hardly ever<br \/>\n\u2022 Todos los d\u00edas: Every day<br \/>\n\u2022 Todas las semanas: Every week<br \/>\n\u2022 Todas las ma\u00f1anas: Every morning<br \/>\n\u2022 Todas las tardes: Every afternoon<br \/>\n\u2022 Todas las noches: Every evening\/Every night<\/p>\n<p>Finally, let\u2019s take a look at the Spanish verb Soler (\u201cUsed to\u201d) that is commonly used with El Pret\u00e9rito Imperfecto:<\/p>\n<p>Soler: Used to<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 (Yo) sol\u00eda: I used to<br \/>\n\u2022 (T\u00fa) sol\u00edas: You used to (friendly)<br \/>\n\u2022 (Usted) sol\u00eda: You used to (formal)<br \/>\n\u2022 (\u00c9l\/ella) sol\u00eda: He\/She used to<br \/>\n\u2022 (Nosotros\/as) sol\u00edamos: We used to<br \/>\n\u2022 (Vosotros\/as) sol\u00edais: You used to (group\/friendly)<br \/>\n\u2022 (Ustedes) sol\u00edan: You used to (group\/formal)<br \/>\n\u2022 (Ellos\/as) sol\u00edan: They used to<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Yo sol\u00eda jugar al baloncesto los domingos: I used to play basketball on Sundays<br \/>\n\u2022 \u00bfSol\u00edas comer en casa de tu abuela?: Did you use to eat at your grandmother\u00b4s house?<\/p>\n<p>So that\u2019s all for today about the Spanish grammar tense El Pret\u00e9rito Imperfecto. In future videos we will be looking at the differences between El Pret\u00e9rito Imperfecto and El Pret\u00e9rito Indefinido so that you are 100% clear on when to use one or the other.<\/p>\n<p>The Spanish Past Simple is more complex than the English Past Simple. In English you have lots of irregular verbs to contend with, but there is only one version of the Past Simple and most of the verbs are conjugated simply with the addition of \u2013ed. Try not to get too frustrated with learning El Pret\u00e9rito Indefinido and El Pret\u00e9rito Imperfecto. Take your time, be patient and practice as much as you can.<\/p>\n<p>In the first instance I recommend going back and reviewing my previous Spanish lesson on El Pret\u00e9rito Indefinido.<\/p>\n<p>Have a great week and see you next time with more Spanish!<\/p>\n<p>\u00a1Hasta luego!<\/p>\n<p>I hope you are enjoying my weekly Spanish lessons. Follow this link for many more great resources to help you <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.transparent.com\/learn-spanish\/\" target=\"_blank\">speak Spanish<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Spanish there are two grammar tenses which are equivalent to the English Past Simple tense. In the previous beginner Spanish lesson we looked at one of the Spanish Past Simples &#8211; El Pret\u00e9rito Indefinido \u2013 and today we are going to see El Pret\u00e9rito Imperfecto. El Pret\u00e9rito Imperfecto is used differently to El Pret\u00e9rito&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/beginner-spanish-lesson-40-the-other-past-simple-in-spanish-el-preterito-imperfecto\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[61202,6,13,2617],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5664","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-learning-2","category-grammar","category-vocabulary","category-videos"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5664"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5688,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5664\/revisions\/5688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}