{"id":7092,"date":"2013-06-19T08:00:59","date_gmt":"2013-06-19T12:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/?p=7092"},"modified":"2013-06-17T21:19:19","modified_gmt":"2013-06-18T01:19:19","slug":"the-past-tense-in-spanish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/the-past-tense-in-spanish\/","title":{"rendered":"The Past Tense in Spanish"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Choosing between using the Pret\u00e9rito Perfecto<\/strong> or Indefinido<\/strong> in Spanish may cause a little trouble for learners, so let me share some tips to help you use these tenses correctly:<\/p>\n

Sentences with Time Expressions<\/strong><\/p>\n

We use the Indefinido<\/em> with obvious time expressions like ayer<\/em> (yesterday), anteayer<\/em> (the day before yesterday), anoche<\/em> (last night), la semana pasada<\/em> (last week), el a\u00f1o pasado<\/em> (last year), etc. Some examples:<\/p>\n

Ayer le\u00ed el peri\u00f3dico. = I read the newspaper yesterday.
\nVi a tu hermano anteayer. = I saw your brother the day before yesterday.
\n\u00bfD\u00f3nde trabajaste el a\u00f1o pasado? = Where did you work last year?<\/p>\n

As we know, the Pret\u00e9rito Perfecto is also used with the following expressions: hoy<\/em> (today), esta ma\u00f1ana<\/em> (this morning), esta tarde<\/em> (this afternoon), a\u00fan \/ todav\u00eda<\/em> (still, et), among others. It shows that the time the action (has) happened is not over yet or we have a time expression related to the present (even though it’s a past tense). Some examples:<\/p>\n

Hoy he le\u00eddo el peri\u00f3dico. = I have read the newspaper today. (Today’s not over and I haven’t said when I read the newspaper. Maybe I will read it again later on.)<\/p>\n

Todav\u00eda no he hecho mis debers. = I still haven’t done my homework. (I may actually do it, or not.)<\/p>\n

Siempre y nunca<\/strong><\/p>\n

With siempre and nunca we can use both tenses, with a difference in meaning:<\/p>\n

Ella nunca estudi\u00f3 espa\u00f1ol. = She never studied Spanish. [and she never will]
\nElla nunca ha estudiado espa\u00f1ol. = She has never studied Spanish. [but she can if she wants to – it’s still possible]<\/p>\n

Ella siempre tuvo suerte. = She always had luck. [a constant action in the past]
\nElla siempre ha tenido suerte. = She’s always had luck. [this aciton is still true in the present]<\/p>\n

No time expression<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is correct to use both tenses when we don’t have a time expression in the sentence with a little difference in meaning. Some examples:<\/p>\n

\u00c9l lleg\u00f3 a Espa\u00f1a. = He arrived in Spain. [a definite action in the past – we don’t know when exactly]
\n\u00c9l ha llegado a Espa\u00f1a. = He has arrived in Spain. [maybe I’m telling this to someone because it’s news!]<\/p>\n

Roughly, the Indefinido<\/em> is used mostly in Latin America in situations grammatically appropriate for the Pret\u00e9rito Perfecto<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Tip Plus!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pay close attention to how the past tenses are used in Spanish when you read a text, listen to a dialogue or even talk with native speakers!<\/p>\n

Want more free resources to\u00a0learn Spanish<\/a>? Check out the other goodies we offer to help make your language learning efforts a daily habit.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Choosing between using the Pret\u00e9rito Perfecto or Indefinido in Spanish may cause a little trouble for learners, so let me share some tips to help you use these tenses correctly: Sentences with Time Expressions We use the Indefinido with obvious time expressions like ayer (yesterday), anteayer (the day before yesterday), anoche (last night), la semana…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":7094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[358365],"class_list":["post-7092","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grammar","tag-grammar"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t