Spanish 2 chapter 5

Use of the imperfect tense implies that the...

• past action DID NOT have a definite beginning or a definite end

• past action DID have a definite beginning or a definite end

The imperfect tells us...

• specifically when an action took place

• in general when an action took place

The actual, true meaning of the imperfect tense in English is...

• was, were, ing, used to or would

• add ed to the end of a verb or put DID in front of a verb

Which ACRONYMN helps us remember the rule for when to use the IMPERFECT TENSE...

• SAFE

  S = Specific # of instances or times

  A = Action that interrupts another action/event

  F = Focuses on the beginning or end

  E = Enclosed amount of time (duration)

• SWEAT

  S = Setting or description

  W - Weather

  E = Emotion

  A = Age

  T = Time

These endings are used for REGULAR ER/IR VERBS in the IMPERFECT TENSE...

• ía, ías, ía, íamos, íais, ían

• aba, abas, aba, ábamos, abais, aban

These 3 verbs are IRREGULAR in the IMPERFECT TENSE...

• AR, ER and IR verbs

• AR, ER/IR and SER verbs

• SER, IR and VER verbs

• ER/IR, Ser and Ver verbs

Los estudiantes (hablar)...

• hablaba

• hablábamos

• hablababais

• hablaban

Tú (comer)...

• comía

• comías

• comía

• comíais

Mi familia y yo (vivir)...

• vivíamos

• vivíais

• vivían

• vivía

Yo (ver)...

• voy

• vía

• veía

• veo