evolang.
Browse
About
Spanish · Grammar · A2

Preterite and imperfect: the two Spanish past tenses

Spanish has two simple past tenses where English mostly uses one. The preterite (PREH-teh-reet) reports completed events: what happened. The imperfect describes the background: what was going on, what used to happen, what things were like. In a story, the imperfect sets the scene and the preterite moves the plot forward.

Regular forms Irregular verbs Which one to use One story, both tenses Time words Verbs that change meaning
PAST · · · · · · · · · · · · · · NOW Imperfect: the background Llovía. Leía.It was raining. I was reading. Preterite: the events Sonó el teléfono. Contesté. The phone rang. I answered.
The imperfect is a stretch of time with no clear start or end. The preterite is a point, or a block with a clear end, placed on top of it.

Regular forms

Both tenses are built like the present tense: stem plus ending. In each tense, -er and -ir verbs share the same endings. Watch the accents in the preterite: they put the stress on the ending, and hablo (I speak) becomes habló (she spoke).

PreteriteImperfect
Personhablarcomer / vivirhablarcomer / vivir
yo hablécomí · viví hablabacomía · vivía
tú hablastecomiste · viviste hablabascomías · vivías
él, ella, usted hablócomió · vivió hablabacomía · vivía
nosotros hablamoscomimos · vivimos hablábamoscomíamos · vivíamos
vosotros hablasteiscomisteis · vivisteis hablabaiscomíais · vivíais
ellos, ustedes hablaroncomieron · vivieron hablabancomían · vivían

The “we” form of -ar and -ir verbs is the same in the preterite and the present: hablamos means both “we speak” and “we spoke”. Context, usually a time word like ayer (yesterday), tells you which.

The irregular verbs worth learning first

The imperfect is almost completely regular: only three verbs break the pattern. The preterite has more irregulars, and many of them share a special set of endings with no accents.

Preterite irregulars
ser / irto be / to go fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueronIdentical for both verbs.
estarto be estuve, estuviste, estuvo…New stem estuv- with the special endings -e, -iste, -o.
tenerto have tuve, tuviste, tuvo…Stem tuv-.
hacerto do, make hice, hiciste, hizo…Stem hic-; c becomes z in hizo to keep the sound.
poderto be able pude, pudiste, pudo…Stem pud-.
decirto say dije, dijiste, dijo… dijeronStem dij-; “they” form is -eron, not -ieron.
darto give di, diste, dio, dimos, disteis, dieronUses -er endings without accents.
The only imperfect irregulars
serto be era, eras, era, éramos, erais, eran
irto go iba, ibas, iba, íbamos, ibais, iban
verto see veía, veías, veía, veíamos…
Ser and ir share the same preterite, fui, fuiste, fue…, so fui means “I was” or “I went”. Context always makes it clear.

Which one to use

Ask one question about the action: are you reporting it as a finished event, or describing it as an ongoing situation? Each row pairs the two tenses on the same verb.

IMPERFECT = WHAT WAS GOING ON · PRETERITE = WHAT HAPPENED Estaba en la ducha…es-TAH-bah en lah DOO-chah · I was in the shower … cuando sonó el teléfono.KWAHN-doh soh-NOH el teh-LEH-foh-noh · when the phone rang Estaba: imperfect of estar · sonó: preterite of sonar
The imperfect never says when the shower started or ended; the preterite marks one complete event that interrupts it.
Preterite · one completed event
Ayeryesterdaycomí(I) atepaella.paella
ah-YEHR koh-MEE pah-EH-yah “Yesterday I ate paella.”
Imperfect · a habit
Deasniño,childcomía(I) used-to-eatpaella.paella
deh NEE-nyoh koh-MEE-ah pah-EH-yah “As a child, I used to eat paella.”
Preterite · a finished period
Viví(I) livedeninChileChiletresthreeaños.years
bee-BEE en CHEE-leh tres AH-nyohs “I lived in Chile for three years.”
Imperfect · the situation at that time
Vivía(I) was-livingeninChileChilecuandowhennació.(she) was-born
bee-BEE-ah en CHEE-leh KWAN-doh nah-THYOH “I was living in Chile when she was born.”
Preterite · an interruption
Llegó(he) arrivedJuan.Juan
yeh-GOH hwahn “Juan arrived.”
Imperfect · what it interrupted
Cenábamos(we) were-having-dinnercuando…when
theh-NAH-bah-mohs KWAN-doh “We were having dinner when…”
Preterite · how it went, as a whole
Lathefiestapartyfuewasgenial.great
lah FYES-tah fweh heh-NYAHL “The party was great.”
Imperfect · description, age, time
Eran(it) waslasthedieztenyandtenía(I) hadveintetwentyaños.years
EH-rahn lahs dyeth ee teh-NEE-ah BEIN-teh AH-nyohs “It was ten o’clock and I was twenty.”

One story, both tenses

Read the story sentence by sentence. Verbs in the imperfect paint the scene; verbs in the preterite are the events. Press ▶ to hear each sentence.

  1. 1
    Erait-wassábadoSaturdayyandllovía.it-was-raining
    “It was Saturday and it was raining.”
    Why: Day and weather set the scene: both imperfect.
  2. 2
    YoIestabawasenatcasahomeyandleíawas-readingunalibro.book
    “I was at home, reading a book.”
    Why: An ongoing situation with no start or end in view.
  3. 3
    Deofrepente,suddensonórangeltheteléfono.phone
    “Suddenly the phone rang.”
    Why: De repente (suddenly) signals an event: preterite. Spanish often puts the verb before its subject.
  4. 4
    Contesté.(I) answered
    “I answered.”
    Why: The next event in the plot.
  5. 5
    Erait-wasmimyhermana;sisterquería(she) wantedhablar.to-talk
    “It was my sister; she wanted to talk.”
    Why: Identity and a wish: description, so imperfect.
  6. 6
    Hablamos(we) talkeddostwohoras.hours
    “We talked for two hours.”
    Why: A clear, finished duration makes it a completed block: preterite, even though it lasted a while.

Time words that point to each tense

Some time expressions usually go with one tense. They are strong hints, not absolute rules: the meaning you want always decides.

Usually preterite Words that fix an event at one point, or count it.
ayeryesterdayanochelast nightel año pasadolast yearde repentesuddenlyuna vezonceen 2019in 2019
Usually imperfect Words for repetition, habit and background.
siemprealwaysa menudooftencada díaevery dayde niñoas a childmientraswhilenormalmentenormally

Verbs that change meaning

A few verbs describe states (knowing, wanting, being able). In the imperfect they keep that meaning. In the preterite they mark the moment the state began or was tested, which English often translates with a different verb.

VerbImperfect: the statePreterite: the moment
conocer conocía a AnaI knew Ana conocí a AnaI met Ana
saber sabía la verdadI knew the truth supe la verdadI found out the truth
querer quería irI wanted to go quise irI tried to go
poder podía abrirlaI was able to open it (in general) pude abrirlaI managed to open it

Ser and estar work the same way in the past: era alta (she was tall, a description) but fue un día difícil (it was a hard day, a completed whole). The present forms are in ser and estar.

Where to go next

Next guideThe present tenseThe stems and endings these tenses build on. Next guideSer and estarThe two verbs for “to be”. Next guideStress and written accentsWhy habló has an accent and hablo does not. Course mapSpanish hubThe full course map.