Spanish grammar

Preterite or imperfect?

Spanish has two simple past tenses. The preterite tells what happened, and the imperfect describes what was going on or what used to happen.

English often uses one form, "I ate", for very different ideas: "I ate pizza yesterday" and "I ate pizza every Friday as a kid". Spanish separates them. The preterite is for completed events, and the imperfect is for the background, habits and ongoing situations.

A helpful picture: the preterite is a photo of a moment that is over, and the imperfect is a video playing in the background.

Use the Preterite For

A completed action at a specific time: Ayer comí pizza. - Yesterday I ate pizza.
A sequence of events: Llegué, cené y me acosté. - I arrived, had dinner and went to bed.
An action that interrupts: ... cuando sonó el teléfono. - ... when the phone rang.
A set length of time or a set number of times: Viví tres años en Lima. - I lived in Lima for three years. Te llamé dos veces. - I called you twice.

Signal words: ayer (yesterday), anoche (last night), el lunes (on Monday), el año pasado (last year), una vez (once), de repente (suddenly).

Use the Imperfect For

Habits and "used to": De niño, comía pizza todos los viernes. - As a kid, I used to eat pizza every Friday.
Something in progress, "was -ing": Leía cuando sonó el teléfono. - I was reading when the phone rang.
Description and background: Hacía frío y la calle estaba vacía. - It was cold and the street was empty.
Time and age: Eran las diez. - It was ten o’clock. Tenía quince años. - I was fifteen.
Feelings and states of mind: Estaba cansado y quería dormir. - I was tired and wanted to sleep.

Signal words: siempre (always), todos los días (every day), a menudo (often), mientras (while), de niño (as a kid).

Paired Examples

Each pair uses the same verb. Notice how the meaning shifts.

Preterite	Imperfect
Fui a la playa el sábado. - I went to the beach on Saturday.	Iba a la playa cada verano. - I used to go to the beach every summer.
Llovió toda la noche. - It rained all night.	Llovía cuando salí. - It was raining when I left.
Estuve enfermo una semana. - I was sick for a week.	Estaba enfermo, así que no fui. - I was sick, so I didn’t go.
Trabajé hasta las ocho. - I worked until eight.	Trabajaba en un banco. - I used to work at a bank.
La película fue muy buena. - The movie was very good.	La película era de terror. - The movie was a horror movie.

Telling a Story

Most stories mix the two tenses. The imperfect sets the scene, and the preterite moves the action forward:

Era sábado. Hacía sol y yo caminaba por el parque. De repente, vi a mi amigo Carlos. Me saludó y fuimos a tomar un café.

It was Saturday. It was sunny and I was walking through the park. Suddenly, I saw my friend Carlos. He said hello and we went to get coffee.

Here era, hacía and caminaba paint the background, while vi, saludó and fuimos are the events.

Verbs That Change Meaning

A few verbs translate differently depending on the tense:

Verb	Preterite	Imperfect
conocer	Conocí a Ana en 2020. - I met Ana in 2020.	Conocía a Ana. - I knew Ana.
saber	Supe la verdad. - I found out the truth.	Sabía la verdad. - I knew the truth.
querer	No quise ir. - I refused to go (and didn’t).	No quería ir. - I didn’t want to go.
poder	Pude abrir la puerta. - I managed to open the door.	Podía abrir la puerta. - I could open the door (I had the ability, whether or not I did it).

When in Doubt

Ask: is this an event that happened and finished, or is it a description of how things were? If it’s an event, use the preterite. If it’s background or a habit, use the imperfect.

Ayer hacía calor, así que fui a la playa. - Yesterday it was hot, so I went to the beach. The heat is background; going to the beach is the event.