Imperfect Tense Taylor McBurney & Clare Lang HOW TO FORM THE IMPERFECT 1. Take the root form of the verb and remove the AR/ER/IR 2. Add the endings: AR ER/IR aba ábamos ía íamos abas abais ías íais aba aban ía ían EXAMPLES OF AN AR VERB Yo caminaba a escuela todos los días. ➔ I walked to school every day. Tú caminabas a escuela todos los días. ➔ You (singular/familiar) walked to school every day. Ella caminaba a escuela todos los días, ➔ She walked to school every day. Nosotros caminábamos a escuela todos los días. ➔ We walked to school every day. Vosotros caminabais a escuela todos los días. ➔ You (plural/familiar) walked to school every day. Ustedes caminaban a escuela todos los días. ➔ You (plural/polite) walked to school every day. EXAMPLES OF AN ER VERB Yo comía la carne todos los días. ➔ I used to eat meat everyday. T(u) comías la carne todos los días. ➔ You used to eat meat everyday. Ella comía la carne todos los días. ➔ She used to eat meat everyday. Nosotros comíamos la carne todos los días. ➔ We used to eat meat everyday. Vosotros comíais la carne todos los días. ➔ You (plural/familiar) used to eat meat everyday. Ustedes comían la carne todos los días. ➔ You (plural/formal) used to eat meat everyday. EXAMPLES OF AN IR VERB Yo sentía enfermo todos los días. ➔ I felt sick every day. Tú sentías enfermo todos los días. ➔ You felt sick every day. Ella sentía enfermo todos los días. ➔ She felt sick every day. Nosotros sentíamos enfermo todos los días. ➔ We felt sick every day. Vosotros sentíais enfermo todos los días. ➔ You (plural/familiar) felt sick every day. Usted/Ella sentían enfermo todos los días. ➔ You (plural/formal)/They felt sick every day. IRREGULARS ● ● There are only 3 irregulars! :) SER (to be), IR (to go), VER (to see) Ser Ir Ver Yo Era Iba Veí Tú Eras Ibas Veías Era Iba Veía Nosotros/as Éramos Íbamos Veíamos Vosotros/as Erais Ibais Veías Ellos, ellas, ustedes Eran Iban Veían Él, ella, usted EXAMPLES OF IRREGULARS Ser: Cuando yo era un niña, yo era adorable. Ir: Nosotros íbamos a la escuela la semana pasada. Ver: Ustedes veían un ave en el árbol. WHEN IS IT USED IN ENGLISH ● The imperfect is equivalent to the past perfect in English ● There is no tense called the imperfect in English ● Used in English for interrupted actions PRETERITE VS. IMPERFECT ● Preterite is used for an action at a set moment in time that already happened and is COMPLETED. It is also used when it is known how many times the action was done. (Actions have definite beginning and an end) ● Imperfect actions have no specific time, but are an action that was either completed over a long period of time or are NOT COMPLETED. It is also used when it is unknown how many times an action has been completed. WHEN THE IMPERFECT IS USED ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Habitual Actions Emotional/Mental State Interrupted Actions Background/Description Repeated/Continued Actions Time/Age Physical Characteristics TRIGGER WORDS todos los días everyday cada día every day cada mes every month siempre always nunca never a veces sometimes muchas veces many times frecuentemente frequently a menudo often casi siempre almost always todo el tiempo all the time todos los lunes every Monday EXAMPLES PRETERITE VS. IMPERFECT ● Imperfect: Tú nadaba en la piscina. (No specific time frame, continuous action that was completed at an unknown time) ● Preterite: Tú nadaste en la piscina a las ocho a diez de la noche. (specific time frame, action is completed) ● Imperfect: Yo siempre caminaba a mi casa desde la escuela todos los días. (the action was done an unspecified amount of time) ● Preterite: Julio vivió en una casa en Swampscott para ocho años. (the action was completed in a set period of time) WAYS TO REMEMBER WHEN TO USE THE IMPERFECT Continuous Activity Habitual Action Interrupted Action Repeated Activity Physical Characteristics Description Emotional state mental Background Time/age http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHxnqP9Dh9o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxGDBwsLPuU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k-gWwkWCBI IMPERFECT YOUTUBE VIDEO