Pretérito vs. Imperfecto

Let's watch this short story video clip about a puppy growing up. The 'story' is in the imperfect tense, with statements in the preterit tense to say what happened during the time that the puppy was growing up.

Remember, the preterit tense is used for precise things that happened and ended. The imperfect tense is used to describe things in the past, to talk about things that happened during a period of time, and to say what was happening or what things were like when something more precise happened (preterit tense). For example:

La niña estaba (imperfect tense) jugando cuando llegó (preterit tense) su padre.
The girl was playing when her father arrived.

Practice Activities

Activity 1

¿Es pretérito o imperfecto?

Ejemplo: Saqué esta foto de Maggie el día de su llegada. Saqué = Pretérito

Activity 2

Para

Do you know when to use imperfect and when to use preterit tense? Do you remember the conjugation rules for both verbs? Did you struggle to complete these activities? If you answered YES to the last question, please be sure to attempt the activities again and review your notes before moving ahead.

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