Preterite vs imperfect

Take a deep breath. Exhale. Relax your shoulders. I know, trying to figure out the preterite vs imperfect Spanish is rough. It’s this and the subjunctive that really screw us up. But don’t worry, you can do it. I know this because I did it…after a lot of pain and tears. Nonetheless, I believe in you. Because I’m going to simplify it all for you.

So, the preterite vs imperfect tenses in Spanish. They both have their place, and the conjugation you choose is, unfortunately, important. There are a lot of grammar rules that native Spanish speakers can get lazy about, but this isn’t one of them. So let’s conquer it!

• When to use the preterite tense
• When to use the imperfect tense
• Conjugating the preterite
  1. Regular AR verbs
  2. Regular ER/IR verbs
  3. Irregular preterite verbs
• Conjugating the imperfect
  1. Regular imperfect verbs
  2. Irregular imperfect verbs

The difference between preterite and imperfect

The difference between preterite and imperfect tenses in Spanish are used to understand, basically, whether we’re talking about an action that was definitely completed the one time, or something that happened often/was happening when something else happened. Let’s start with the easiest: the preterite tense.

The preterite tense Spanish

The preterite tense is used to talk about something that’s over. It happened once, and then we’re done. These are simple, basic past actions with a definite ending that only occurred once. Technically speaking, the preterite refers to the following actions:

1. Completed events
2. Beginnings and ends
3. Specific dates and times
4. Events in a sequence

But don’t stress yourself out about memorizing these lists. It’s not necessary. Instead, think about whether or not the action you’re conjugating has a definite end. For example,

Me levanté a las dos de la noche
(I woke up at two in the afternoon)

La película terminó
(The movie ended)

Nací en el mes de marzo
(I was born in the month of March)

Cenaste, leíste, y fuiste al cine
(You ate dinner, read, and went to the movies)

As you can see, all of these verbs talks about actions that were one-and-done occurrences. We know that they happened once and ended once. That’s it. They are no longer in the process of happening. It’s in the past.

The imperfect tense Spanish

Now, I like to think of using imperfect Spanish conjugations in situations where the past is…imperfect. Maybe that’s confusing right now, but hear me out. If the preterite tense is used in situations where we know for a fact the thing ended, and we know when it ended, the imperfect tense is used in situations that aren’t quite so perfect - it kept happening again or again, or there isn’t a definite ending.

To be specific and technical, we use imperfect Spanish conjugations when the past actions were:

1. Habitual or repeated
2. Actions in progress in the past (story-telling)
3. Times and dates
4. Age and descriptions

These might seem a bit more complicated, but don’t worry. I’ll break them down for you.

Limpiábamos la casa cada semana
(We cleaned the house every week)

This one’s pretty obvious, actually. It’s a thing that happened consistently in the past. It was a routine in the past.

Iba a la playa cuando ví un perro
(I was going to the beach when I saw a dog)

Okay, this one we’re going to take apart. First, you’ll see that this sentence uses both the imperfect and the preterite. This is not unusual. You’ll see this sometimes, which is why it’s important to pay attention.

The first conjugation, I was, is being used to set the stage for a story. It’s a past action being described as being in progress when something was happening. So, anytime you’re telling a story about something that happened in the past, the verbs you use to explain the scenario at the time will use the imperfect.

After that, I saw, is back to the preterite tense, because it’s describing an action that happened once. Then it was over. Get it? Got it? Good. Moving on.

Eran las nueve de la mañana
(It was nine in the morning)

Don’t get this one mixed up with specific dates and times that we use the preterite for! I know, it’s a very, very small difference, but it is a difference nonetheless. What is the difference? Context.

In this context, you’ll notice it’s similar to our storytelling conjugations. If we tacked a “when” at the ends of those sentences, they would actually follow that second rule. They would become

Eran las nueve de la mañana cuando comí el pan
(It was nine in the morning when I ate the bread)

That being said, keep in mind how the verb is being used: is it describing a past scenario in which something happened, or is it just the thing that happened?

El edificio era alto
(The building was tall)

This one’s easy. We use the imperfect conjugation when describing anything in the past: feelings, conditions, characteristics, or age. Again, you can think about this as storytelling! We’re describing the way something was in the past.

Preterite and imperfect Spanish

So there ya have it: the preterite and imperfect Spanish. Hopefully by now you understand when to use preterite vs imperfect, ’cause now we need to move on to how to conjugate these verbs once you decide on said conjugation.

But, if you need a quick, easy, to-the-point summary…

Preterite: used when past actions happened once and then were over.

Imperfect: used to describe a past scenario, or talk about things that happened habitually in the past. Bit more complicated, but that is why they call it the imperfect!

Preterite conjugations

When to use the preterite and when to use the imperfect: check. Now let’s talk about preterite conjugations. Preterite endings…well, unfortunately you’ve gotta learn them. Sorry. The good news is that if you’re comfortable with your present tense conjugations, preterite conjugations aren’t that too far off. (I personally recommend learning these conjugations in context, like in a book or by writing, but that’s just me).

That being said, here are your basic, regular Spanish preterite conjugations. Save this image to your computer, write it down…whatever you do, you need to learn these!

Preterite AR endings

On top of these regular preterite AR endings, we have some verbs that are regular, but need a little help with their spelling to stay regular. And by that I mean the verbs sacar and buscar. These are examples of verbs who alter their spelling to follow the regular pattern. Why?

If you take the infinitive of sacar, for example, and stick a regular ending on it…it doesn’t make sense. Sacé? Well, it could make sense, but it wouldn’t be pronounced as a regular preterite, so it wouldn’t be a regular preterite. Instead, we help these guys out a little bit.

Only the “yo” forms are affected, and it’s just so they can be pronounced as regular verbs. Honestly, just make sure they sound right when you read them phonetically, and you shouldn’t have a problem.

IR/ER Preterite endings

Again, ER and IR endings work just the same as any other type of Spanish conjugation - you just gotta put in the time to learn them.

Irregular preterite conjugations

Spanish preterite conjugations act just like your regular present tense conjugations, with different endings. And with these different endings are our favorite things: irregulars! Yup, we have plenty of irregular preterite verbs to learn. Like, a lot.

In fact, I’m not going to bother listing them all here. I know what it’s like to have to keep looking up the same irregular verbs time after time before you actually remember them, so I’m going to help you out. Don’t worry about scrolling - here’s a list of every single irregular preterite verb, their translations, and conjugations. You’re welcome!

Phew. I know, that’s a lot a lot of verbs. Don’t worry, nobody expects you to get this today, or even tomorrow. This is one of the roughest parts of the Spanish language - there’s a reason why understanding preterite vs imperfect verbs and their conjugations marks the difference between a beginner and intermediate speaker.

But…we still have a teeny bit more to cover! Once we get through this last section, I swear we’re done. Then you can take this home for homework and get yourself through it, little by little. But right now, let’s take a look at imperfect conjugations. Don’t worry, the hard(est) part is over.

Imperfect endings Spanish

Last but not least we have our imperfect conjugations. Remember, these are the ones we use when the actions we’re talking about either happened repeatedly in the past, or describe a situation or person in the past (usually to describe a past scenario).

Let’s start our imperfect conjugations with another table. Again: save it to your computer, print it out, rewrite it…whatever you need to do to get these in your head. You’ll need ‘em!

Regular imperfect endings

Again, let’s do a couple more examples. Personally, I love these, especially the AR conjugations. They’re really fun to say - they really roll off your tongue. And, honestly, they’re pretty simple. Take a look, and don’t forget the accent on the “nosotros” form of your AR verbs!

Irregular imperfect endings

Imperfect verbs in Spanish, again, work just like any other verb: you stick your conjugations on the ends of your infinitives, and, again, some of them are irregular. And yes, you gotta learn your irregulars.

However, I have some good news for you: there are only 3 verbs that are irregular in the imperfect tense. No, that’s not a typo! THREE! Ir, ser, and ver are the only verbs with irregular conjugations in the imperfect tense. Talk about a breath of fresh air after all the irregular preterite conjugations, huh?

Ver imperfect conjugation

Conjugating preterite vs imperfect

So there you go: everything you need to know about deciding if you should be using preterite vs imperfect conjugations, what those conjugations look like, and which irregulars to keep an eye out for.

Like I said, it’s all complicated and it’s okay to feel overwhelmed. All that aside, you better believe you can do it - all you gotta do is practice. And practice some more. Nope, still more. Don’t worry, you’ll get it. Just keep at it, and you’ll be using both past tenses like a pro in no time!