Two past tenses, one English past
English has a single simple past, so "I read" can mean a finished act or a habit. Spanish forces you to choose. The preterite moves the story forward; the imperfect paints the scene it happens in.
- La película empezó a las ocho. — The film started at eight. (one finished event)
- La película era muy larga. — The film was very long. (description)
The basic split
| Preterite | Imperfect |
|---|---|
| a finished event | background, scenery, description |
| an action counted or dated | a habit, something repeated |
| the start or end of something | something already going on |
| a change | how things used to be |
- Ayer fui al gimnasio. — Yesterday I went to the gym. (one time)
- Antes iba al gimnasio cada mañana. — I used to go to the gym every morning.
Interrupted actions
The imperfect sets up what was going on; the preterite cuts in.
- Leía cuando sonó el teléfono. — I was reading when the phone rang.
- Dormíamos cuando llegaron los vecinos. — We were sleeping when the neighbours arrived.
- Mientras ella cocinaba, yo puse la mesa. — While she was cooking, I set the table.
Two imperfects mean two things happening at once: Mientras yo leía, él veía la tele.
Trigger words
| Preterite | Imperfect |
|---|---|
| ayer, anoche | siempre, nunca |
| la semana pasada, en 2019 | todos los días, cada verano |
| de repente, entonces | normalmente, a menudo |
| una vez, dos veces | mientras, de pequeño |
These are habits, not laws: siempre can take the preterite when the whole period is closed (Siempre fue un buen amigo).
Verbs that change meaning
| Verb | Preterite | Imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| conocer | conocí — I met (for the first time) | conocía — I knew, was familiar with |
| saber | supe — I found out | sabía — I knew |
| querer | quise — I tried; no quise — I refused | quería — I wanted |
| poder | pude — I managed to; no pude — I failed to | podía — I was able to, I could |
| tener | tuve — I got, I received | tenía — I had |
| haber | hubo — there was (an event) | había — there was (a description) |
- Conocí a Marta en 2015. — I met Marta in 2015.
- Ya conocía a Marta. — I already knew Marta.
- Hubo un accidente. — There was an accident. / Había mucha gente. — There were a lot of people.
Watch out as an English speaker
- A habit is never the preterite. ✗ Cuando era niño, fui al parque todos los días. / ✓ Cuando era niño, iba al parque todos los días.
- "Was ...-ing when" needs both tenses. ✗ Leí cuando sonó el teléfono. / ✓ Leía cuando sonó el teléfono.
- "Met" and "knew" are not the same verb form. ✗ Conocía a mi mujer en 2010. / ✓ Conocí a mi mujer en 2010.
- Don't pick by the English words alone. "I had a car" is tenía un coche (I owned one) but "I had an idea" as a sudden event is tuve una idea.
Example dialogue
¿Qué tal el viaje? — How was the trip?
Bien, pero llovía todos los días. — Good, but it rained every day.
¿Y no salisteis? — And you didn't go out?
Sí. Un día fuimos al museo y allí conocí a un chico de Bilbao. — Yes. One day we went to the museum and there I met a guy from Bilbao.
¿Hablabais en español? — Were you speaking in Spanish?
Lo intenté, pero no pude entender nada. — I tried, but I couldn't understand a thing.