Preterite vs Imperfect in Spanish

Front

Completed actions in the past

Back

Preterite tense usage

Front

Ongoing or habitual past actions

Back

Imperfect tense usage

Front

Key difference: Preterite vs Imperfect

Back

Preterite is for specific events; Imperfect is for general descriptions

Front

Preterite example: "I ate"

Back

Comí

Front

Imperfect example: "I was eating"

Back

Comía

Front

Preterite trigger words

Back

Ayer, anoche, el año pasado

Front

Imperfect trigger words

Back

Siempre, a menudo, todos los días

Front

Common mistake: Mixing tenses

Back

Use preterite for completed actions, imperfect for ongoing actions

Front

Preterite conjugation: -ar verbs

Back

é, aste, ó, amos, asteis, aron

Front

Imperfect conjugation: -ar verbs

Back

aba, abas, aba, ábamos, abais, aban