Certain Spanish verbs, like saber and querer, can change meaning depending on whether they are used in the preterite or imperfect tense. Other verbs, like poder, have distinct meanings in each past tense. The imperfect tense is used to talk about intentions in the past with ir a + infinitive, and to describe actions that were ongoing in the past with the imperfect progressive tense, which is formed using the imperfect of estar + the present participle. Examples are given to illustrate expressing intentions with iba a and describing ongoing actions with the imperfect progressive.

1. Más sobre el pretérito y el
imperfecto
More on the Preterite and the
Imperfect

2. Certain verbs can change meaning
when used in the Preterite Tense.
 Saber Present Tense = “to know”
Preterite Tense =“found out”
 Querer Present Tense = “to want”
Preterite Tense = “tried”
No Querer Preterite Tense = “refused”

3. Other verbs have different meanings
based on which past tense is used.
couldn’t do,
tried and failed
No
poder
couldn’t do,
wasn’t able
No
poder
accomplished,
managed to do
poder
could do,
was able
poder
met
conocer
knew
conocer
PreteriteImperfect

4. To talk about intentions in the past,
use the Imperfect of ir a + infinitive.
Iba a comprar un coche nuevo, pero
estaba muy caro.
I was going to buy a new car, but it
was very expensive.

5. To express action that was going on in the
past, the Imperfect Progressive can be used.
This tense is formed as follows:
Imperfect Tense of
Estar
estaba estábamos
estabas estabaís
estaba estaban -Ir Verbs
end with “iendo”
-Er Verbs
end with “ando”-Ar Verbs
Present Participle
(-ing form)

6. Examples
Estaba comiendo cuando sonó el
teléfono.
I was eating when the phone rang.
¿Qué estaban haciendo al momento
del crimen?
What were you (they) doing at the
time of the crime?

7. Examples
Estaba comiendo cuando sonó el
teléfono.
I was eating when the phone rang.
¿Qué estaban haciendo al momento
del crimen?
What were you (they) doing at the
time of the crime?