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The imperfect is used for actions that are not countable .

Uses of the imperfect. The imperfect is used for actions that are not countable . Used to do or used to happen (Habitual actions) Yo iba al consultorio cada a ñ o. I used to go to the doctor’s office each year. Was/Were verb+ing (On-going actions in progress)

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The imperfect is used for actions that are not countable .

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  1. Uses of the imperfect • The imperfect is used for actions that are not countable. Used to do or used to happen (Habitual actions) Yo ibaal consultorio cada año. I used to go to the doctor’s office each year. Was/Were verb+ing (On-going actions in progress) Yo jugaba cuando me lastimé. I was playing when I hurt myself.

  2. The imperfect is also used to express non-actions. Non-actions include: • Descriptions/Circumstances • Existence • Descriptions, circumstances, and existence are not actions. They do not express what happened, what someone did, what was happening, what someone was doing, what used to happen, or what was happening.

  3. The imperfect is used to express existence, or in otherwords,what used to be.(can’t count the times of being) The imperfect form of hay is había(there was; there were; there used to be). Like hay, habíacan be followed by a singular or plural noun. Habíaun chico en el parque. There was one boy in the park. Había dos chicos en el parque. There were two boys in the park.

  4. Descriptions and circumstances express how a thing was/things were or what a person was like /people were like. (can’t count the times of a non-action) • El parque estaba en la ciudad. • The park was in the city. • Mi abuelo era médico. • My grandfather was a doctor. • Mis zapatos eran blancos. • My shoes were white.

  5. Uses of the imperfect

  6. When the day, month, year, date, or season expresses circumstance (background to the main action) rather than reporting a fact, the Imperfect is used instead of the preterit. Telling the dayEralunes. It was Monday. Telling the monthEraabril. It was April. Telling the yearErael año 2006. It was the year 2006. Telling the dateErael 5 de mayo de 2006. It was May 5,2006. Telling the seasonEra la primavera. It was spring. IN CONTRAST: To report a fact, the preterit is used: Ayer fue lunes. Yesterday was Monday.

  7. Uses of the imperfect

  8. To describe the weatherLlovía cuando salimos. (When it refers to what the weather It was raining when we left. was like as background information Fui a la playa porque hacía to the main action use imperfect.) sol. I went to the beach because it was sunny. To report what weather Llovió ayer. happened, use preterit. It rained yesterday. Hizo sol el lunes pasado. It was sunny last Monday.

  9. Physical characteristics El médicoeraalto y guapo. (to describe from the point of The doctor was tall and handsome. view of the past; as though you are mentally there in the past describing) Ella teníael pelo rubio. She had blond hair. El chico llevabapantalones cortos. The boy was wearing shorts. Mis zapatos eran de cuero. My shoes were leather. NOTE: If you are reporting a physical characteristic as a fact from the present point of view rather than describing it from the past point of view, use the preterit. This is considered a summary of actions or circumstances viewed as a whole and completed, rather than description. Mi abuelo fue alto. My grandfather was tall. El chico llevó pantalones cortos ayer. The boy wore shorts yesterday.

  10. Preterit for: • Action (countable number of times, including one time implied) • Reaction (countable number of times, including one time implied) • Summary statement (series of actions or circumstances viewed as a whole and completed)

  11. Imperfect for: • Habitual actions (can’t be counted=used to) • On-going actions in progress (can’t be counted = was/were doing) • Descriptions, circumstances, and existence • * Ir+ a + infinitive in the past always uses the imperfect. Iban a estudiar. They were going to study.

  12. RULE OF THUMB FOR VERBS IN THE PAST TENSE IN SPANISH CAN’T COUNT THE TIMES = IMPERFECT CAN COUNT THE TIMES = PRETERIT

  13. To narrate a story in the past tense, both preterit and imperfect are needed. • You will also see the preterite and the imperfect together in narratives such as fiction, news, and retelling of events. In these cases the imperfect provides all of the background information, such as time, weather, and location, while the preterite indicates the specific events that occurred to advance the plot.

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