Past Tenses: Preterite vs. Imperfect in Spanish

[love2cu2b]

"She worked at the mall for 10 years". Ella trabajó en el mall por 10 años.

You are right: this sentence is in the preterite. It's over with. If you want to expand your description you will have to use the Imperfect:

"Cuando ella trabajaba en el mall por 10 años, (repetitive action) Imp.

se levantaba temprano. Imp.

[SoThatsJustAboutIt]

I've been taking Spanish for years now, but I've always had trouble with preterito v. imperfecto. This video was the first time I feel like it really sunk in. Muchas gracias!

[Tannazification]

You ARE so much better than my Spanish teacher! thank you

[JenniB2BM]

Great video, finally I will know exactly which tense to use in every situation!

[jhoncena9111]

she ordered lunch.

she read the newspaper.

how is one imperfect and the other preterit?

I noticed u said she WAS READING do that makes it imperfict but can u also say she read and it would be preterit so do both of them work as imperfect and preterit?

[jhoncena9111]

she began to cry.

cant she be crying till now so its not finished why is it preterit?

[WorksGreat]

@jhoncena9111 This is my understanding. The idea of "to begin" is "completed" the moment following the moment of beginning.

So, the "beginning" of her crying is OVER and PAST and happened "in an instant" her crying is continuing. Consider the story. Ella epezo a llorar. So, ella lloraba mucho. Por fin, ella lo terminó (again, for the same reason, "finishing" happens all in one moment).

[JUDGEMENTWITHLOVE]

thank you so much. you taught me this in about 10 mins and my teacher couldnt teach us this in 3 mths

[treanyo]

Damn, I really helps me in the spanish exam I have in like 4 hours.

Living in Spain, and not knowin' crap about spanish xD At least I got 2 other languages, so I'm gonna be a cultivated street sweeper xD

[gorsian1979]

Yes in Imperfect we mustn't connect English translation to Spanish language in the imperfect Ex :

I ate meat yesterday = Ayer Yo comi carne

Everyday I ate meat = todos los días Yo comía carne

So Now the difference is cleared.

[kevincheng96]

Thank you for your help!

[TheDarkchickens]

Thank you! You just managed to teach me something better than my teacher could in a month in 10 minutes.

[sexysadie211]

Thank you for these videos, they are a helpful aid for me in second semester spanish at BU

[mrjustsomedude]

Thank you, u just taught me what my teacher failed to teach me

[bassplayerpet]

Thank you. I know I'm not alone when I say your videos are much appreciated by us learners!

[485726445768]

Hi proffesor Jason! i have a question for you:

Are preterite and imperfect other names for "preterito indefinido" and "preterito imperfecto"?

I had asked you this question because in a spanish grammer book i bought the verbs of preteite and imperfect are written undet these titles.

Thank you very much.

[bevisponcho]

9 college semesters of spanish and counting

Anyway, preterite, imperfect is the most difficult for me... First you said that an interrupting action is in the preterite, then you said an action in progress when interrupted by another action is in the imperfect.

Having been a computer logic troubleshooter for over 40 years, I find these statements totally illogical.. What am I missing? and What is your opinion in general about teaching beginning English students Spanish, totally in Spanish?

[languagenow]

@bevisponcho thanks for watching. You indeed quoted me correctly, but re-read; it's not at all a contradiction... it's a repetition: I said the same thing twice. An ongoing (I was watching TV) is often interrupted (when she turned the channel), ongoing action is imperfect, interrupting is preterite: veía la tele cuando ella cambió el canal. Teaching all in Spanish is effective in an IMMERSION context, not in a 50-minute class, IMHO.

[Jetcalf]

Awesome videos! I am so glad you take the time to produce these videos. Thank you!!!

[faboox3]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!

[sunade143]

professor.. what is the meaning of SE in a the sentence carlos "se" enfermo ella 'se" lavanto and "se" sintio?

[goalieprof]

Some good information and some not so good.

The not so good: The preterite and the imperfect are not different tenses. They are both past tenses, but they are different aspects of the past. Calling the preterite the simple past tense is not helpful since the imperfect is also a simple verb form. Referring to a specific point in time does not necessarily call for the preterite, only if the time reference limits the duration of the action.

[JoonMoonJoon]

Professor Jason, ur lessons are extremely helpful..a big thank you

[McLuvin411]

How would I say: I was right.

[lagnam22]

If the sentence is 'She was working at the mall for 10 years'. What will it be imperfect or preterite? i need an answer as soon as possible please.

[languagenow]

@lagnam22 To me that sentence doesn't make sense in English. If you mention the specific 10-year time frame, the sentence should be: She worked at the mall for 10 years. In Spanish, if you mention the action as a completed event, no matter HOW LONG it lasted, it's preterite. Trabajó 10 años en el centro comercial.

[lagnam22]

@languagenow There is an example in my text book .It is ' He had been smoking cigarettes for 10 years when he decided to stop. In the example smoking in in the imperfect but i disagree beacause it has 10 years meaning that it is completed in the past. Ayudame por favor!!☺

[tashibb]

@lagnam22 Ella trabajaba 10 años en el centro comercial.

[sharminx]

@lagnam22 Pretetrite. 

[searize]

it should be "they" arrived last nite

[MrLagvag]

my teacher is really bad at teaching, he gives us quizes every day on shit he cant teach, so i end up failing his class. nice vid anywayz

[SuperTornado2212]

Why the Hell do you teach the vosotros forms!

Hello!  The vast majority of the hispanics don't talk in the vosotros forms!

Why Spanish teachers are teaching it?

Wake Up!

[vathumuttai]

@SuperTornado2212 If you travel to Spain than they use vosotros forms. The choice is yours whether you want learn them or not?

[mrtictac94]

4:54 Shouldn't it be iban not iba because you're talking about the family? Correct me if I'm wrong.

[limasparkle]

thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you

[choubro1]

our spanish class watches you 24/7 J-money ;)

[SirCattlemenJoeseph]

SenoR!!!!!!!! GraciAS!!!!!!

[whipcreamcutiepie]

Thanks so much ! I'm in 8th grade and my spanish teacher was recently fired because she couldn't teach my class anything , this helped a lot !

[Doornroosje8888]

Your lessons are very great and helped me a lot with my Spanish! Could you please also explain in one of your next lessons the difference between using Pasado Continuo and Imperfecto, since there is one confusing moment for me. Both of these Tenses are used for ongoing actions in the past. For instance: I was walking. Should it be translated like: Yo estaba caminando. OR Caminaba. How to distinguish which Tense is appropriate for different situation? Thank you!

[ycst25]

profesor me podria decir donde puedo encontrar ejercicios para aplicar esto.estoy enseñando ele y pues realmente no es mi campo. me podrias dar una mano?

[chacha2sasha]

seriously where do you teach because i might have to change schools!! Your teaching is very understandable and i always go to you for more information on spanish than my actual professor!! haha!!! keep it up prof!

[notdemocratic]

Thank you so much! I am going to get an 'a' bc you helped alot. thanx again, ur awesome!

[alexsur666]

Hey Professor Jason, you are great at explaining things. I was wondering if theres a place where I can download worksheets for personal practice.

Thank you

[AmericasPianoMan]

Since both the preterit and the imperfect express past time, Spanish speakers must decide which tense to use when talking about the past. In general terms, the preterit refers to actions or situations that the speaker views as completed within a specific time period, whereas the imperfect views actions or situations as ongoing in the past.

[Stonas07]

very good explanation! immediately understood the basic difference

[USCSoundCheck]

Las reglas continuado

4. The imperfect is often used with expressions such as muchas veces, a veces, (casi) siempre, and todos los años/días.

Those are all the rules for the imperfect. Hope that helps y'all!

[USCSoundCheck]

Las reglas continuado

2. The verb endings in the imperfect are: A. -ar verbs: -aba, -abas, -aba, -ábamos, -abais, aban B. -er/-ir verbs: -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían

3. Ir, ver, and ser are the only verbs that are irregular in the imperfect. A. De niño, David IBA a clases de kárate todos los días. B. Cuando ERA joven, María practicaba el ateletismo. C. Silvia VEÍA los partidos de básquetbol en la tele todos los sábados.

[USCSoundCheck]

Me gusta este vídeo. Aquí son las reglas (for those who want a physical copy)

¡Gracias por el vídeo!

1. The imperfect tense is used to talk about past events. It tells what one used to do, how things used to be, or what happened in general. Imperfect is CAPITALIZED in all the examples. Ejemplos: A. De niño, me FASCINABAN los rompecabezas. B. En la escuela primaria, las niñas JUGABAN al tenis cada día. C. En esos días, no TENÍAMOS mucho tiempo libre.

[bigdawg3511]

muchas gracias! This was so helpful! I had an idea of when to use either preterito o el imperfecto, but sometimes I was iffy. Thanks!!

[MrCosmo314]

another example of how Modern English is vastly superior to spanish. One simple past tense...does not matter if the action is over not or if it is wednesday or if it is night. You can talk important things not the correct ridiculous verb conjugation.

[natuls16]

My exam grade thanks you, as do I!

[Knhyd]

great!! very helpful! gracias! ^__^

[hnodri]

Muchas gracias! Soy de Islandia y estudio espanol aqui para 2 anos y manana tengo un examen tan grande y me has ayudado muchissimo. Con tan solo un youtube video ahora comprendo todo mucho mejor. Muchos youtube videos como así son raros y pesados pero tus videos fueron genial y me ayudaron mucho.

Recuerdos de Islandia

[TheFurryFeline]

Thank you!

[laxchic2013]

wow this was a great video thank u soooo much! idk what id do without youtube (: haha

[SaveTheJinjos]

Thank you, this has helped a lot!

[boredom1000]

Thank you!

...you may consider a new camera, though.

[ghspenn]

Where do you teach at sir?

[Star2Bear]

@ghspenn he teaches at Missouri State University. He's my teacher this semseter and next

[IloveRotelle]

Jason, are you in your bedroom?

[imihas23]

AMAZING thanks a ton

[imihas23]

AMAZING thanks

[epiqism]

thanks so much, bro! my spanish teacher failed at teaching this to us, but this helped like crazy!

[Cinnamonbeauty7]

muchas gracias! i'm a student on study abroad in argentina and our classes are taught in spanish, my profesor really wasn't able to break down the difference between preterito perfecto y preterito imperfecto como vos. muchas gracias!!!

[languagenow]

@Cinnamonbeauty7 de nada! That's me... always breakin down stuff so people can understand better :) Have fun in Argentina!

[mauea30]

@Cinnamonbeauty7 i'm from Argentina, the problem with language teachers here is that they seem to be obsessed with the idea of teaching English in English or Spanish in Spanish, I mean, they think it helps students to learn the language aurally, but it sometimes doesnt work, especially when students are tired of trying to understand what the teacher is saying. i think that is the reason why these kind of video tutorials are welcomed by learners

[AthosAmo]

Aprendi mas con este video que en un semestre en una clase de espanol en mi high school en Miami. Lo unico de lo que hablo mi maestra era el imperfecto (estoy exagerando un poquito), y al fin del ano, yo todavia no sabia lo que era. Yo era un poco vago, pero aun asi deberia aprender algo! Que perdida de tiempo y dinero es la escuela publica tipica en los EE. UU. en mi experiencia.

[languagenow]

@AthosAmo uau! escribes muy bien en espãnol, algo debes de haber aprendido! gracias por tu comentario!

[AthosAmo]

@languagenow La clase es en Miami, donde muchos inmigrantes hispanos viven. Yo soy uno de ellos, pero no soy Cubano, chico :-)

Y por ser un hispano, no hablo bien el espanol. Si fuera gringo, seria diferente.

[AthosAmo]

@AthosAmo Carambas. "Cubano" no se escribe con mayuscula. You see?

[macooper1234]

Is it trabajado or trabajo at 2:10

[languagenow]

@macooper1234 the correct form is the one I use: trabajó, trabajar in the third-person singular of preterite. The form trabajado is only used with the perfect tenses (with haber)

[macooper1234]

At 2:10, is it Trabajado

[macooper1234]

The KhanAcademy has a placement for each--he organizes his videos--you might want to try that.

[macooper1234]

The KhanAcademy is a placement for each--he organizes his videos--you might want to try that.

[macooper1234]

commie

[languagenow]

@macooper1234 what are you talking about...? commie? huh?I

[joeshmoethe3rd]

thanks so much for these videos! they're so helpful! especially when reviewing for a test - its like having your own personal teacher in the room!!

[goose434343]

you only use examples that are fairly easy. If you are an expert, which you seem to be, i suggest uploading an advanced guide to el pasado or something.

como "cuando tenìa diecisèis años, decidiò aprender español cada dìa hasta 2012."

[abunaji100]

muchas gracias sus lecciones estan muy bien . usted es el perfect professor en el mundo.

[reagansmash68]

I literally have you to thank for passing spanish.

[mikeyorange]

way complicated!

[mariannerdavis]

This was really great...thank you for the video. I'm at an Intermediate level, but the Preterit vs. Imperfect still gives me trouble sometimes.

Again, thank you.

[Msfootie10]

Hi again, does 'se' mean 'got'? Because i have an online translator that says 'se' means himself. I am sorry, but i am learning spanish by myself =s

Thank you!

[jLantxa]

@Msfootie10 "Se" has no meaning by itself. It's a grammar word. However it has a close relation with the English word "get" (actually I had the same problems when I was learning English :P) i.e. My brother got ill = Mi hermano SE puso malo (enfermo). You can't say "Mi hermano puso malo", you need to indicate to whom the action is directed (in this case to HIMSELF).

It is something really difficult to explain because it has a lot of uses.

Hope it helps!

[sarah10011]

thanks 4 making my life easier!

[faroges]

thank you so much, everything you said concurs with my spanish teacher and what she said. I apreciate it and hope that it will help of my final tomorrow !

[LeafVillItachi]

just found your video's! I'm in Spanish 2 right now, and im not doing so hot. Have a Spanish Final Oral tomorrow, Well its too late for your help now, but i'll be sure to come and watch all your video's and hope that i'll make it too spanish 3 with better understandings of the material thanks to you!

[laballaz13]

use LAWTAPE

LOCATION

AGE

WEATHER

TIME

APPEARANCE

PERSONALITY

EMOTION

if under lawtape use imperfect

[laballaz13]

theres a easy rule for using imperfect that helps me a lot.

LAWTAPE

Stands for

Location

Age

Weather

Time

Appearance

Personality

Emotion

[slayakidps3]

i learned more from you than my spanish teacher all year...thank you soooooo mcuh

[skinnerwc]

@fastandfurious2367  Me too.

[starwarsfreakdood]

Your like senor chang from community

[nospocnephets]

I thought when you use "mientras," you're suppose to use the imperfect. ( Talking about 3:18 )

[Lanziee01]

thank you so much

it helped me a lot for a test tomorroww :D

[RatchetClank93]

No tengo animales

[smerrigan]

wouldn't @ 4:54 conjugation be IBAN for Suarez family?

[shooterman13]

preterite is an action used in the past, imperfect is something that happend repeatedly or to describe something from the apst like weather, time, a person.

[butterbutta14]

thanks

[tylerpwny]

Thanks, great video! I like the subtitles, and you're much easier to understand than my book.

[caniplayguitar]

i suck at spanish and this helped thanx

[shaykay1995]

I'm sorry but this video is wrong. Preterite is something that happened once. Imperfect is just something that happened more than once.

[trillionairette]

thats what he said...

[languagenow]

;-)

[languagenow]

sorry shaykay, you're not necessarily but your exeplanations is REALLY incomplete. Watch the video again for a more complete explanation. I'm kind of an expert...

[azn921]

@languagenow NICE!

[slayakidps3]

@shaykay1995 ur correct in the sense that imperfect is plural however preterite is something that is SPECIFIC not necessarily once

[reagansmash68]

@shaykay1995 shaykay where'd you get your spanish degree, taco bell?

[dfbgfbgfbf]

if i was talking about the weather, and wanted to say

"It rained last Monday"

how would i say that?

would it be "Lluevio en lunes"?

thanks

[MuzikFtwDoG]

@dfbgfbgfbf well it would be preterite because you said "it rained" making it completed. also the conjugation would be "Llovio el lunes" in Spanish for saying on a day you say "el" instead of "en"

hope this helped (:

[shaykay1995]

it would be Lluvio el Lunes. That was close.

Your welcome :)

[languagenow]

muzik was correct: It rained last Monday = LLOVIÓ el lunes (pasado).

[edweenahowe]

thanks! this actually made sense! :)

[0stillalive]

hmm also.. why is it that you say about her: LE dolia la cabeza, instead of, LA dolia la cabeza

..because the head hurts HER?

for 'I had a headache', wouldn't it be: me dolia la cabeza?

thanks for the explanation!

[0stillalive]

I've got a question for the translation of "Jose called me while I was watching TV"

can you also say:

Jose me llamo mientras estaba mirando la TV.

Thanks for all the videos, by the way, very very helpful.

[languagenow]

yes, that is also perfectly OK

[tim2swt]

I enjoyed the lesson Prof Jason!

[FrostedGunmetal84]

that was very helpful, thanks prof. jason

[smerrigan]

Jason: at 4:55; wouldn't it be conjugated as "IBAN" (vs.IBA as you have) because la familia is the pronoun "they" ?Please let me know which is correct and why..thanks

[languagenow]

good question! Spanish is very rigorous about subject-verb agreement. "La familia" is a singular noun even though it implies a group of people. Technically, this is the same in English: The family that prays together stays together (The verb agree with the singular also!). Make sense?

[lobito532004]

it's correct to say... la familia iba...

you conjugate as "they" because you can consider them "a" group or team...if you have 2 families.. you would say "iban" because here you hace 2 groups.. and you can consider them "they".... if you have any question or comment please tell me I'm a mexican spanish teacher, and I teach spanish to americans in my country.

[alphaacad]

what country is that?

[nattysonic]

la familia is considered as one so it would be iba

[hyigene14]

you taught me more than my teacher did. thanks a ton

[baszoot123]

Thnx professor jason, that was very helpful.

[cambridgegirl100]

Thanks so much for all your video lessons.... am seven months into learning Spanish with a private tutor and find them invaluable.... great resource.

[languagenow]

you're super welcome! just uploaded 2 new ones! ;-)

[galdestiny23]

I love you where have you been all my life have been learning the language for the past year and have had a terrible time with the two tenses last semester. And to give so freely of your time Thank you and God Bless you ...

[languagenow]

I've been here all along ;-) Bestr of luck to you!

[elarrozconfrijoles]

Thanks Jason. Thanks alot for that video. I appriciate it. Please put up some more videos about the imperfect and maybe some songs about that

[poshemuuu]

Sorry for offtopic, but I always thought that it is impossible to say " Ana lived in London for three years:" "She was living" -if she lives now somewhere els or -"She has been living" if she is still in London.

What is my mistake?

[gongghi]

Wonderful videos, I am learning a lot.

I am wondering if you can recommend a few good Spanish grammar books and dictionary.

Thanking you in advance.

[favelento3]

ohh one little brazil banner , master say hello to us we liked you so much i have USA banner too we love USA bye

[viva1ajessica]

this was so helpful! i have a huge test tmrw & was so confused over when to use each tense. you made it a lot clearer to understand than my teachers did.

thanks again.

[jahthoughts]

Gracias Senor Jason!

[rag2574]

thanks a lot, it really helped. i wish you were my college professor for Spanish....

[GoldenGoddessO9]

thank you very much! This video cleared up alot of things for me that weren't so clear when my instructor taught this lesson!

[QuieroJalon]

Excellent work! This has really helped me to grasp the past tense because you've made it so clear. Thank You! Now for the learning off part...if only you could do that too:)

[cheekyMonkey725]

muchísimas gracias, este video ayudó =]

[DANiKKA310]

HOLA ! You're amazing ! i love this so much. Spanish is my passion and I love studying @ home with these videos. thank you very much

[jodicatlow]

Excellent, very helpful. thank you!

[seiferzion]

This is one of the most difficult issues that I had in Spanish - when to use what past tense. But not anymore!

Definitely a 5 star video!

[Yildiz175]

Hello ,I am from Turkey.

You teach exellently.Thank you very much.

[Mig25foxhound]

thank you so much man my teacher doesn't give specific examples.. i have a quiz tomorrow, thanks alot man great job

[history4us]

Thanks for all your help!!! My spanish 102 teacher only speaks in Spanish and she talks very fast! I wouldn't be passing my class without your help!

[peteandmindy2pm]

I am a high school Spanish teacher who is always trying to brush up on my skills. Thank you for your teaching!

[teacherchic88]

Professor, thank you for posting this video. I'm currently in my senior year of college and I'm studying to become a Spanish teacher- after tutoring my students at the university, I had shown your video to give them another idea of the concept. Gracias por su video! I'm glad we're on the same team!

[ssips720]

thank you fromt he bottom of my heart!! you are a greeeeeaaaat teacher .. keep it up!

[nollid558]

Wow!!! Thank you soo much for your lessons, they are a huge help!!! :)

[bbzmami]

Profesor Jason - muchísimas gracias por haber puesto todos estos videos aquí en You Tube. Me gustaron mucho tus clase de español cuando yo estaba en la universidad y ahora estas "clases" ayudan a mis estudiantes a tener otra explicación de unos asuntos difíciles. Gracias de nuevo.

KD Clase de 06

[lStrikeCs]

tiras tu lota man!! ¿alguien me entiende? xD

[jamal93yall]

lol te entiendi! haha eres muy comico

[hockeyshot24024]

Wow, I have never had anyone teach it to me that well before, thank you so much for your help.

-Shedy.

[ejol31004]

WOW!! la mejor explicacion del español que me sirvio para mi ingles... de verdad que tienes una buena pedagogia , asi aprendiendo portugues, repaso mi ingles .. dos en uno.. perfecto.. tienes pag web?

[xopAnicAtTHEdIsCoX33]

wow! Thank you so much!  I ahd such a hard time in my spanish classes but know I understand it better.

[jelusy1982]

Thanks alot for your lessons they are extremely helpful. I have been having a very hard time with these tenses. The only problem with this lesson is that all your examples were in spanish. Is there anyway you could do the same lesson but with portuguese examples?

[tacnaidamo]

Gracias por esto!!!

[littlelaurapetal]

Thanks, that was a great help. :)

[thuglifenos]

thanks a lot. that was really helpful

[Fireman58FD]

I have been trying to tell the difference and you went into more detail than most other descriptions, great video, subscribed.

[nwaairlinkazo]

muy bien

[1yK3Y4]

Wow, eres excelente maestro. Aunque he aprendido el espanol por muchos anos todavia tengo problemas con distinguir entre el preterito y el subjuntivo. Me gusta que este video es muy claro y contesta todas mis preguntas. Gracias!

[thekillers4life]

what would: they saw a cross and wanted to pass it?

preterite or imperfect? for the verb saw and wanted

[zunitz999]

This is the best explanation i've ever heard in 7 min.

Muchas Gracias

[kumquatic]

Thank you so much! I understand it now too!

[aishawithkay]

You are an unbelievable person. Thank you for this lesson especially.

[Stusamuso]

Where did Por vs Para go to? I watched it once and now can't find it again.

Stuart.

[gibsonlpstudioalpine]

this helped more than this whole week of spanish class

[amandahackman]

mucho gracias

[Piquerodetercio]

Muchas Gracias ^^

[posty92]

I learned more in the 7 minutes of this video than I did in hours of class with my teacher, Mrs. Drobnis. Thanks, Prof. Jason!

[pepxxx]

Muchas gracias para la leccion.

[AS2036]

Thanks, this is really going to help me with my spanish test

[wegger7stars]

thanks so much i now understand the difference .. before i felt like they were the same and i didnt understand when to use imperfect or the preterite ...THANKS!!

[LerTheBlur]

Thank you! I have a test on this tomorrow, and I really need to do well... this helped :)

[phillies80]

yeah you are a better Spanish teacher than the one I have.

[deutschdemon]

Jason, nos gusta su video mucho PERO

se le olvido' "Y" in "they arrived."

Que le vaya lindo....