Spanish 1230 Amigo

1 Spanish 1230 Amigo USES OF THE PRETERITE

Act or state viewed as completed. We see the end of the action.

 To state what happened or what somebody did at a particular time. We find time expressions such as: ayer, anteayer, anoche, la semana pasada, hace dos semanas, el año pasado, en 1973, para su cumpleaños, etc.

I took a bath last night. > ______anoche.

I went to Perú in 1, 999. > ______a Perú en 1.999.

 To state that an action or event occurred several times.

They said goodbye 3 times. > ______tres veces.

 To sum up an experience or day’s events.

Yesterday was a fantastic day.> Ayer ______un día fantástico. Las week we had good weather. > La semana pasada ______buen tiempo.

 To express a series of actions (primero, luego, después, finalmente, etc)

Isabel woke up, got up, and got dressed.

Isabel ______, ______y ______

First we drove and then we took the train.

Primero ______y luego ______el tren.

 After the expression “la última vez que”.

They had a lot of fun the last time they came to our house.

______mucho la última vez que ______a nuestra casa.

Beginning of act or state.We see the beginning of the action. Reaction

The child began to cry when we arrived. I got scared [asustarse] when I saw him.

El niño______a llorar cuando ______cuando lo vi. llegamos.

After taking a bath, I felt better. I suddenly felt sick. Después de bañarme, ______mejor. De repente ______enferma. 2 When an action took place for a specific period of time. We see the beginning and the end of the action.

My sister slept for 3 hours > Mi hermana ______por 3 horas.

I studied Spanish for 2 years in Highchool. >

______español por dos años en la escuela secundaria.

USES OF THE IMPERFECT There are different ways to describe the use of the imperfect, but in most cases we use this tense to focus on the middle of the action.

State or situation in progress.

The cat was sleeping under the bed. > El gato ______debajo de la cama.

My mother was cooking, my sister was reading, and I was doing my homework. Mi madre ______, mi hermana ______, y yo ______mi tarea.

To describe people, places, or things (as they usually were; in the middle of being that way)

Physical appearance: My brother was very short when he was in Middle School.> Mi hermano ______muy bajo cuando ______en el colegio.

Non-physical characteristics: Jason was intelligent and hardworking. > Jason ______listo y trabajador.

Mental, physical and emotional states: Pablo was very sick and furious when we arrived. > Pablo______muy enfermo y furioso cuando llegamos.

Personal information: age, name, nationality, religion, etc. I was twenty when I met her. > ______veinte años cuando la conocí.

To give background information (to establish the context):

It was a cold December morning. It was snowing and there was nobody in the streets. ______una mañana fría de diciembre. ______y no ______nadie en las calles.

This is a story about a boy named Paul. He was tall and thin and everybody said that he looked like his mother.

Ésta es la historia de un niño llamado Paul. ______alto y delgado y todo el mundo ______que ______a su madre. 3 Habitual actions in the past.

When I was little, my grandparents would take me to Disneyland every summer. >

Cuando ______pequeña, mis abuelos me ______a Disneilandia todos los veranos.

He used to go outside when it rained. >

______cuando ______.

They never cleaned their apartment when they didn’t have guests.

Nunca ______el apartamento cuando no tenían invitados.

For indirect discourse (to talk about someone else said):

My cousin said that he had to go to see her brother. Mi prima dijo que ______que ir a ver a su hermano.

To express future in relation to the rest of the narration in the past:

I was feeling sad because my ex-boyfriend was going to get married that weekend. Me sentía triste porque mi ex-novio ______ese fin de semana.

That night I was going to have dinner with my friends. > Esa noche ______a cenar con mis amigos.

NOTE: With action that was in progress that is interrupted by another action > Use the imperfect for the action in progress and the preterite for the action that interrupts:

I was watching TV when my mother arrived. I was reading when the phone rang (sonar).

______la televisión cuando mi madre ______cuando ______el teléfono. 4 PRÁCTICA: Traduce solamente los verbos subrayados. Explica por qué usas pretérito o imperfecto.

1. It was 3 o’clock. It was rainy and windy.

2. I was watching TV when suddenly

somebody called me on the phone.

3. The students were talking and the

teacher was listening.

4. You [all] played basketball last week.

5. When I was a child, I would always read a book with my mother.

6. I saw your mother 3 months ago.

7. My nephew got up and opened the door.

8. Ten years ago, all the houses in my neighborhood were white.

9. My cousin went out (salir) with his boyfriend for 10 years.

10. We decided not to go because it was going to rain.