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Spanish · Past tenses
Spanish: Preterite vs. Imperfect
12 terms · by ineedtostudy · updated 4 hours ago
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Terms in this set
ayer
Preterite. A finished action at a fixed point. Ayer fui al mercado.
siempre
Imperfect. Habit, repeated with no endpoint. Siempre íbamos a la playa en agosto.
de repente
Preterite. An interruption breaking into a scene. De repente sonó el teléfono.
mientras
Imperfect. Two actions running at once. Leía mientras llovía.
todos los días
Imperfect. Ongoing routine. Todos los días caminaba al trabajo.
una vez
Preterite. One completed occurrence. Una vez vi un oso.
eran las tres
Imperfect. Time, age and weather in the past take the imperfect.
supe vs sabía
Supe = found out, at a moment. Sabía = already knew, ongoing.
quise vs quería
Quise = tried. No quise = refused. Quería = wanted, with no outcome implied.
conocí vs conocía
Conocí = met for the first time. Conocía = was acquainted with.
pudo vs podía
Pudo = managed to, succeeded. Podía = was able to, in general.
tuvo que vs tenía que
Tuvo que = had to and did. Tenía que = was supposed to, outcome unstated.