The document discusses the imperfect tense in Spanish conjugations. It notes that the imperfect tense corresponds best to the English phrases "I was doing something" to describe a continuous or ongoing past action, and "I used to do something/I would" to describe repeated past actions. It provides examples of using the imperfect tense and contrasts it with the preterite tense. It also lists the endings for regular AR, ER, IR verbs and the three irregular verbs in the imperfect tense: ir, ver, ser.
Verbs - Teach Verbs using Nursery Rhymes and FairytalesLynn Scotty
Verbs are words that show action, state of being or say something about a noun or pronoun. Learn about present, past, and future tense verbs and regular and irregular verbs. This is done with the help of the three bears, cat with a fiddle, the cow that jumped over the moon, and Humpty Dumpty! Have fun learning
Verbs - Teach Verbs using Nursery Rhymes and FairytalesLynn Scotty
Verbs are words that show action, state of being or say something about a noun or pronoun. Learn about present, past, and future tense verbs and regular and irregular verbs. This is done with the help of the three bears, cat with a fiddle, the cow that jumped over the moon, and Humpty Dumpty! Have fun learning
2. Usage
Corresponds best to English:
“I was doing something” - has to be a continuous action or state that lasted
for a certain amount of time. Compare with the Preterite, which is for a
single event.
e.g. mientras jugaba, se cayó al suelo
While he was playing, he fell to the floor.
“Playing” is a state or an action that was happening for quite some time, and so
we use the Imperfect. But the “fell” to the floor action interrupts this. It's
sudden, and short, and so it is a Preterite.
3. Usage
Corresponds best to English:
“I used to do something/ I would” - in English, I “would” can refer to the
past as well as being a conditional. Think about what you “would” do in your
early morning routine at school years ago.
e.g. todas las dias, me levantaba a las 6.
Every day, I would get up at 6/ Every day I used to get up at 6.
Although the “getting up” is a single, short-lived action, we use the Imperfect
here instead of the Preterite, because it is repeated over a long period of
time!