Preterite vs. Imperfect

Kurz erklärt

Spanish uses both the preterite and the imperfect for past situations, but they present those situations differently. The preterite treats an event as complete or bounded: it happened, ended, or moved a story forward. The imperfect looks inside an ongoing past situation or provides background without focusing on its endpoint. It is common for descriptions, repeated habits, age, time, and actions already in progress. In a story, the imperfect often sets the scene while the preterite introduces the event that occurred.

Bildung

Choose the preterite for a completed or bounded event and the imperfect for background, habitual, or ongoing past situations; then use the corresponding past-tense form of the verb.

Verwendung

• Use the preterite for a completed action or a sequence of finished events.
• Use the imperfect for habitual or repeated actions in the past.
• Use the imperfect for background descriptions, age, time, and ongoing states.
• Use the imperfect for an action in progress and the preterite for an event that interrupts it.

Beispiele

• Ayer terminé el informe y se lo envié a mi jefe. — Yesterday I finished the report and sent it to my boss.
• Cuando vivíamos cerca del mar, caminábamos por la playa cada domingo. — When we lived near the sea, we walked on the beach every Sunday.
• Eran las ocho y hacía frío. — It was eight o’clock, and it was cold.
• Yo preparaba la cena cuando sonó el teléfono. — I was making dinner when the phone rang.

Typischer Fehler

❌ Cuando fui niño, jugaba fútbol todos los días.

✅ Cuando era niño, jugaba fútbol todos los días.

English uses a single simple past form in both parts, but Spanish normally uses the imperfect for age or life-stage background and for a repeated past habit.

Merke

Use the imperfect to set the scene and the preterite to say what happened. The difference is often about how the speaker views the past situation, not simply how long it lasted.