The Imperfect is used:

Question

1. To express a continuous action in the past. (Juan leía el periódico = John was reading the newspaper.)

2. To express a repeated or customary action in the past. (Yo lo veía todos los días = I saw (=used to see) him every day.)

3. To describe persons or things in the past. (Tenía el pelo negro. - He had black hair.)

4. With hacía + a time expression + que + the imperfect to describe an action that began in the past and continued in the past. (Hacía una hora que estudiaban. - They had been studying for an hour.)

5. With the Preterit to describe what was going on in the past when a definite action occurred (preterit). (Dormían cuando entró. - They were sleeping when he entered.)

The Preterit & Imperfect contrasted.

1. Preterit narrates a completed action (like a still photo) while the Imperfect describes a situation (like a moving picture.) OR / / / vs. ~ ~ ~

2. Preterit indicates a limit of the action or event (either the beginning or the end) while the Imperfect indicates the continuance of an action or event (neither the beginning nor the end, but the "middle:)

3. Preterit translation = DID or "ed" while Imperfect = was/were + ing, used to + infinitive, or "ed"

SPECIAL MEANINGS IN THE PRETERIT:

estuvo allí = he got / arrived there
estaba allí = he was there

pudo ir = he managed to go (did go)
podía ir = he was able or had the opportunity but you don't know if he did

quiso sair = he intended to leave
no quiso salir = he refused to leave
(no) quería = didn't want to or wanted to

supo la verdad = he found out / learned the truth
sabía = knew, was knowing

tuvo el libro = he got / "grabbed" the book
tenía = had, was having

Sra

Answer 1

Thank you! You've really gone above and beyond with helping me with this. I do however have some more questions involving preterites/imperfects.
I've downloaded some practice sheets off the internet, and after your help I can do some of it but not all of it. could you help me with these?
1. Cuando (llegaba/llegue) a la esquina de Broadway y la calle 163, mis amigas Celia y Ester ya me (esperaban/esperaron) alli.
2. Cuando el desfile (comenzaba/comenzo) algunos ninos ya (estaban/estuvieron) cansados de esperar.
3. Mientras que nosotras (caminabamos/caminamos) por la calle Broadway, la gente nos (saludaba/saludo).
4. Al final del desfile, todos (ibamos/fuimos) al monumento a Colon. Unos ninos (compraban/compraron) un ramo de flores para poner delante del monumento.
5. Todos (teniamos/tuvimos) mucha hambre cuando (terminaba/termino) la ceremonia. Pocos minutos despues (comenzaba/comenzo) la feria de comida dominicana.
^ that's a link to a practice sheet my teacher gave everyone for spring break, and i'm pretty lost looking at it. could you clue me in on a few? Particularly #2 and #5. For #2, when the parade began, it seems as though you would use the preterite because something beginning is a definite action, not continuous. but the parade beginning sets the scene for the rest of the sentence (how the children felt), so should I use the imperfect? and to say the children were already tired of waiting, since that is a state of mind, you use the imperfect, correct?

I'm sorry, I know it must be frustrating for me to still not have this completely understood but this has been the hardest thing to learn in spanish so far for me.

thank you for your help.

Answer 2

Here is my thinking for questions 1,3,4,5 (since I didn't post it above):
1: llegaba, since the imperfect sets the scene. then esperaron, just because it happens in a definite time frame
3: caminabamos, because again it sets the scene. then saludo because its a definite action in a time frame
4: preterite (fuimos then compraron) for both because they are completed actions
5: teniamos because hunger is a state of being; then termino and comenzo because a ceremony ending and somebody eating are definite events.

hope I'm doing alright with these. I'm really trying to get this down.

Answer 3

Thank you for trying these exercises! That IS the best way to learn. Sorry that I didn't see this sooner, until I went through several pages. If there is a great time lapse between posts, it's a good idea to use "Post a New Qestion."

Again, check out #1, #2, #3 above in Preterit & Imperfect contrasted.

1. Preterit (action) + Imperfect (existing condition)
2. Preterit + Imperfect
3. Imperfect (the word "mientras" gives it away) + Preterit
4. Preterit + Preterit (2 successive actions, completed)
5. Imperfect (description) + Preterit + Preterit (the last 2 are successive actions completed again.)

Sra

Answer 4

Very cool!