Two past tenses, two jobs: Spanish has two simple past tenses, and the trick is choosing between them. The preterite reports what happened — single, completed events that move the story forward. The imperfect paints the background — what things were like, what used to happen, what was going on. Most past narration mixes the two: the imperfect sets the scene, the preterite tells the action.
- el pretérito
- the preterite — completed events, what happened, a sequence
- el imperfecto
- the imperfect — background, description, habits, what was going on
- el evento
- the event — a single, finished action (preterite)
- el trasfondo
- the background — the scene against which events happen (imperfect)
- la interrupción
- the interruption — a preterite event cutting into an ongoing imperfect action
- narrar
- to narrate — to tell a past story, normally mixing both tenses
Ask: action or scene?: The single question that decides it: is this the action that happened, or the scene around it? Action that moves forward → preterite. Scene, description or habit → imperfect. Keep that question in mind through the whole micro.
Same past, two viewpoints: Put the two tenses next to each other and the division of labour is clear. The preterite zooms in on a finished action; the imperfect pulls back to the surrounding scene. The classic pairing is «Mientras comía (imperfect), sonó (preterite) el teléfono.» — the ongoing action is the imperfect, the event that cuts in is the preterite.
| Job | Pretérito (event) | Imperfecto (background) |
|---|---|---|
| What it shows | What happened — a completed action | What things were like — the scene |
| Time view | Closed: a start and an end | Open: ongoing, repeated or unfinished |
| Typical use | A single event / a sequence | Description, habit, age, time, weather |
| Example (comer) | comí (I ate — once, finished) | comía (I used to eat / I was eating) |
| In a story | Moves the action forward | Sets the stage around the action |
The classic combo: «Mientras comía, sonó el teléfono.» — While I was eating (imperfect, ongoing background), the phone rang (preterite, the single event that interrupts). When one action is in progress and another suddenly happens, the ongoing one is imperfect and the interrupting one is preterite.
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The trigger markers: Certain time markers pull you towards one tense or the other. Preterite markers point to a single, dated, finished moment; imperfect markers point to repetition, duration or an ongoing scene. Learn these signposts and most choices make themselves.
Marcadores → pretérito
- ayer → fui al cine
- de repente → de repente llamó
- una vez → una vez visité Perú
- el lunes → el lunes empecé el curso
Marcadores → imperfecto
- siempre → siempre comíamos juntos
- normalmente → normalmente iba a pie
- todos los días → todos los días estudiaba
- mientras → mientras leía, escuchaba música
Signpost, then decide: «Ayer, de repente, una vez, el lunes» signal a single completed moment → pretérito. «Siempre, normalmente, todos los días, mientras» signal repetition or an ongoing scene → imperfecto. Spot the marker first, then the tense usually follows.
A short story mixing both: Here's a short past story built one sentence at a time, mixing the two tenses correctly. The English in brackets tells you which tense does which job in each line — imperfect for the scene, preterite for the events. Tap Ver traducción for the full English or 🔊 to hear the Spanish.
Pretérito e imperfecto juntos
Una historia, frase a frase
- Era una noche tranquila y llovía sin parar.
- Yo leía un libro en el salón cuando, de repente, se apagó la luz.
- Me levanté, busqué una linterna y bajé al sótano.
- El sótano estaba oscuro y hacía mucho frío.
- Al final encontré el problema y volvió la luz.
Steal this for your story: Notice the rhythm: set the scene in the imperfect («era», «llovía», «estaba oscuro»), then tell the events in the preterite («me levanté», «busqué», «encontré»). When one action interrupts another, the ongoing one is imperfect and the interruption is preterite. That mix is exactly what examiners reward in the writing task.
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The slips to watch for: The classic confusions go both ways: using the preterite for description, age or weather (which need the imperfect), and using the imperfect for a one-off completed event (which needs the preterite). Compare the right version with the typical mistake.
Correcto
- Tenía ocho años cuando empecé el colegio.
- Hacía frío, así que cerré la ventana.
- Ayer fui al médico.
Error común
- Tuve ocho años cuando empecé el colegio.
- Hizo frío, así que cerré la ventana.
- Ayer iba al médico.
Age, time, weather → imperfect: Two reliable rules to stop the slips: age, time and weather in the past are almost always imperfect (tenía ocho años; eran las tres; hacía frío). And a single dated event that happened once is preterite (ayer fui, una vez visité) — not the imperfect.