Preterite vs imperfect
Foreign LanguagesDefinition
In Spanish, the preterite and imperfect are both past tenses but serve different purposes. The preterite describes completed, one-time actions with clear beginnings or endings, while the imperfect describes ongoing, habitual, or background actions in the past.
Examples
- Preterite: Ayer comí pizza. (Yesterday I ate pizza — one completed event)
- Imperfect: Cuando era niño, comía pizza todos los viernes. (When I was a child, I ate pizza every Friday — habitual)
- Combined: Llovía cuando salí de casa. (It was raining when I left the house — background + interruption)
Key Fact
Preterite = completed action (what happened); Imperfect = background/habitual (what was happening or used to happen)
Study This Concept
Practice preterite vs imperfect with free review games in these units: