Imperfect, Preterite & Future Tenses - On Holiday
This card basically goes through the main tenses in for GCSE Spanish folks
- Created by: Kris Gray
- Created on: 01-07-08 16:11
Imperfect 1
IMPERFECT TENSE
The imperfect tense is used to refer to actions in the past that occurred repeatedly.
I used to walk every day.
Yo caminaba cada día.
The imperfect tense is also used to refer to actions in the past that occurred over an extended period of time.
I swam in the swimming pool every morning.
Yo nadaba en la piscina cada mañana.
The imperfect tense is also used to "set the stage" for an event that occurred in the past.
We were coming home when we saw Juan.
Veníamos para casa cuando vimos a Juan.
Actions which are not physical, that is feelings and mental actions, in the past are usually expressed with the imperfect tense.
Juan was feeling sick.
Juan estaba enfermo.
Imperfect 2
The tense is used to describe something in the past tense.
The hotel was fantastic and luxorious.
El hotel era fantástico y lujoso.
The imperfect is frequently associated with phrases that describe the frequency of past actions.
a menudo a veces cada día cada año
often sometimes every day every year
con frecuencia de vez en cuando en aquella época
frequently from time to time at that time frecuentemente generalmente muchas veces much frequently usually many times a lot
nunca por un rato siempre tantas veces
never for awhile always so many times
todas las semanas todos los días todo el tiempo varias veces every week every day all the time several times
Imperfect 3
Regular forms of the imperfect are formed by adding the following endings to the stem of the verb:
-ar verbs
aba
abas
aba
ábamos
abais
aban example: hablar
hablaba
hablabas
hablaba
hablábamos
hablabais
hablaban <#document-fragment> -er verbs
Imperfect 4
-ir verbs
ía
ías
ía
íamos
íais
ían example: vivir
vivía
vivías
vivía
vivíamos
vivíais
vivían <#document-fragment>
Imperfect 5
Only three verbs are irregular in the imperfect:
ser
era
eras
era
éramos
erais
eran ver
veía
veías
veía
veíamos
veíais
veían ir
iba
ibas
iba
íbamos
ibais
iban
Preterite 1
PRETERITE TENSE
The preterite tense is used to refer to actions that occurred at a fixed point in time.
I called at 1:00.
Llamé a la una.
The preterite tense is also used to refer to actions in the past that were performed a specific number of times.
I called you twice.
Te llamé dos veces.
The preterite tense is also used to refer to actions that occurred during a specific enclosed period of time.
He lived there for 5 years.
Él vivió allí por cinco años.
The preterite is also used for actions that are part of a chain of events.
I bought a hat, sat down on a bench and fell asleep.
Compré un sombrero, me senté en un banco y me dormí.
Preterite 2
The preterite is also used for sudden changes of mood, feelings or opinions.
At that moment, I was not afraid.
En ese momento, no tuve miedo.
The preterite is frequently associated with phrases that pinpoint a particular occasion or specific time frame.
ayer
yesterday
ayer por la mañana
yesterday morning
ayer por la tarde
yesterday afternoon
anteayer
the day before yesterday
anoche
last night
desde el primer momento
from the first moment
después
afterwards
durante dos siglos
for two centuries
Preterite 3
el año pasado
last year
el lunes por la noche
Monday night
el mes pasado
last month
el otro día
the other day
en ese momento
at that moment
entonces
then
esta mañana
this morning
esta tarde
this afternoon
hace dos días, años
two days, years ago
la semana pasada
last week
Preterite 4
If the action is in the past, and you can determine precisely when it occurred, or how many times it occurred, then you will use the preterite.
Regular forms of the preterite are formed by adding the following endings to the stem of the verb:
-ar verbs
é
aste
ó
amos
asteis
aron example: hablar
hablé
hablaste
habló
hablamos
hablasteis
hablaron <#document-fragment> -er verbs
Preterite 5
-ir verbs
í
iste
ió
imos
isteis
ieron example: vivir
viví
viviste
vivió
vivimos
vivisteis
vivieron example: comer
comí
comiste
comió
comimos
comisteis
comieron
Future 1
Future Tense
The future tense is used to tell what "will" happen, or what "shall" happen.
I will go to the beach next month.
I shall write the letter next week.
But, the future tense is not used to express a willingness to do something. For this, use the verb "querer."
¿Quieres ir a la tienda?
Will you go to the store?
The future tense is also used to express wonder or probability in the present state.
¿Quién será ella?
I wonder who she is? (Who could she be?)
Estará viajando solo.
He is probably traveling alone.
Future 2
For actions that will occur in the near future, the present tense is more commonly used.
Esta noche voy al cine.
Tonight I'm going to the movies.
Further in the future, use the future tense.
El año que viene iré a España.
Next year I'm going to Spain.
Regular verbs in the future tense are conjugated by adding the following endings to the infinitive form of the verb: -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án.
hablaré
hablarás
hablará
hablaremos
hablaréis
hablarán
Future 3
There are twelve common verbs that are irregular in the future tense. Their endings are regular, but their stems change. Since the endings are the same as all other future tense verbs, we show only the "yo" form, and have underlined the irregular stem. We have also grouped them according to their patterns of change.
caber
yo cabré poner
yo pondré decir
yo diré haber
yo habré salir
yo saldré hacer
yo haré poder
yo podré tener
yo tendré querer
yo querré valer
yo valdré saber
yo sabré venir
yo vendré <#document-fragment>
Future 4
Note that compound verbs based on the irregular verbs inherit the same irregularities. Here are a few examples:
desquerer
yo desquerré
resaber
yo resabré
anteponer
yo antepondré
mantener
yo mantendré
prevaler
yo prevaldré
Let's add two flashcards for the future tense:
Future 5
Verb Flashcards
- Future Tense
Infinitive + ending
(-é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án)
- Future Tense Irregulars
caber
yo cabré poner
yo pondré decir
yo diré haber
yo habré salir
yo saldré hacer
yo haré poder
yo podré tener
yo tendré querer
yo querré valer
yo valdré saber
yo sabré venir
yo vendré
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