A2.14 - University degree

Expressions with past tenses: "Ayer", "De repente", "El mes pasado", etc...

Expresiones con los tiempos del pasado: "Ayer", "De repente" , "El mes pasado" , etc...

Estas expresiones indican si una acción en el pasado fue habitual o puntual.

(These expressions indicate whether an action in the past was habitual or punctual.)

Indefinido vs. Imperfecto: choose the past with the time marker

Your decision is usually made by the time expression. Many Spanish learners struggle less with verb endings than with when to choose each past.

Ask yourself If the answer is “yes”… Use
Is it a finished, completed event (one step in a story)? It happened and ended. Pretérito indefinido
Is it background, a routine, or an ongoing situation? It was in progress / repeated / descriptive. Pretérito imperfecto

Time markers that strongly “pull” one tense

Think of these markers as signals. They don’t describe the verb; they describe the type of past.

Marker Meaning in practice Typical tense
ayer, el mes pasado Closed time period (finished) indefinido
de repente Sudden, punctual event (a “click” moment) indefinido
al principio, al final Story milestones (beginning/end of a sequence) indefinido
muchas veces Habit / repeated action in the past imperfecto
durante + period Duration as background (“throughout that time”) imperfecto
anteriormente “Back then / before that”: previous situation or habit imperfecto (most common)

How these markers work in real sentences (model patterns)

  • Ayer + completed action → indefinido
    • Ayer visité la academia por primera vez.
  • Muchas veces + repeated past habit → imperfecto
    • Muchas veces leía en la biblioteca por la tarde.
  • De repente + sudden event → indefinido
    • De repente cerró la puerta del aula.
  • Durante + background duration → imperfecto
    • Estudiaba durante toda la mañana para el examen.
  • El mes pasado + finished time period → indefinido
    • El mes pasado empecé un nuevo curso de máster.

The most useful “story formula”: background (imperfecto) + event (indefinido)

This is the key combination in conversation: you set the scene, then you report what happened.

  • Background / in progress (imperfecto): Mientras estudiaba… / Durante la mañana trabajaba…
  • Interrupting event (indefinido): …de repente sonó el móvil / …entró el profesor.

Example: Durante la mañana estudiaba en la biblioteca y de repente sonó mi móvil.

Common mistakes to avoid (fast self-correction)

  • Don’t mix “habit” with a one-time marker
    • Muchas veces aprobé el examen ayer.
    • Muchas veces aprobaba el examen (sin estudiar mucho).
    • Ayer aprobé el examen.
  • “Ayer” in Spain normally prefers indefinido, not perfecto
    • Ayer he ido → Ayer fui.
  • “De repente” needs a punctual verb form
    • De repente sonaba el móvil. → De repente sonó el móvil.
  • “Durante” is usually background
    • Durante dos horas estudiaba (focus: the process/time as background).
    • Two-hour time blocks can also appear with indefinido in other contexts, but for A2: treat durante as a strong imperfecto signal.

Mini checklist: choose the tense in 10 seconds

  1. Circle the marker: ayer / muchas veces / de repente / durante / el mes pasado / anteriormente / al principio / al final.
  2. Classify it:
    • Closed / milestone / sudden → indefinido
    • Habit / duration / background → imperfecto
  3. Say it out loud once. If it sounds like a “single step in a story”, you want indefinido.

What you should be able to do after this

  • Tell a short study story using background + event: “During…, I was… and suddenly…”
  • Use ayer / el mes pasado for completed actions in a professional context (courses, tuition, internships).
  • Use muchas veces / durante / anteriormente to describe habits and ongoing situations in the past.
Expresión (Expression)Tipo de pasado (Type of past)Ejemplo (Example)
Ayer (Yesterday)IndefinidoAyer visité la academia por primera vez. (Yesterday I visited the academy for the first time.)
Muchas veces (Many times)ImperfectoMuchas veces leía en la biblioteca por la tarde. (Many times I read in the library in the afternoon.)
De repente (Suddenly)IndefinidoDe repente cerró la puerta del aula. (Suddenly he/she closed the classroom door.)
Durante (During)ImperfectoEstudiaba durante toda la mañana para el examen. (I studied all morning for the exam.)
El mes pasado (Last month)IndefinidoEl mes pasado empecé un nuevo curso de máster. (Last month I started a new master’s course.)
Al principio (At first)IndefinidoAl principio entró sin decir nada. (At first he/she came in without saying anything.)
Al final (In the end)IndefinidoAl final presentó su proyecto al grupo. (In the end he/she presented his/her project to the group.)

 

Exercise 1: Multiple choice

Instruction: Choose the correct answer

1. _____ pagué la matrícula del máster en la academia y guardé el recibo.

_____ I paid the master's tuition at the academy and kept the receipt.

2. _____ estudiaba en la biblioteca después del curso para preparar los exámenes.

_____ I studied in the library after the course to prepare for exams.

3. _____ se acabaron mis ahorros y tuve que buscar prácticas para ganar experiencia.

_____ my savings ran out and I had to look for internships to gain experience.

4. _____ empecé un nuevo curso y conocí a otros becarios.

_____ I started a new course and met other scholarship holders.

Exercise 2: Multiple Choice

Instruction: Choose the correct sentence.

1.
With "yesterday" the simple past is normally used for a specific action: it should be "I went"; "I was going" is a typical mistake.
In Spain, with "yesterday" the present perfect ("I have gone") is not usually used, but the simple past ("I went").
2.
"Suddenly" indicates a specific, completed action; here the simple past is needed: "rang".
It mixes "suddenly" (specific) with "every day" (habitual) and also uses the past continuous; it is incoherent for this use.

Exercise 3: Rewrite the phrases

Instruction: Rewrite each sentence using the indicated time marker (yesterday, many times, suddenly, during, last month, previously, at the beginning, at the end) and put the verb in the correct past tense (simple past or past continuous).

Show/Hide translation Show/Hide hints
  1. Hint Hint (Ayer) Visito la academia por primera vez.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Ayer visité la academia por primera vez.
    (Yesterday I visited the academy for the first time.)
  2. Hint Hint (Muchas veces) Leo en la biblioteca por la tarde.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Muchas veces leía en la biblioteca por la tarde.
    (Many times, I used to read in the library in the afternoon.)
  3. Hint Hint (De repente) Cierra la puerta del aula.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    De repente cerró la puerta del aula.
    (Suddenly, he/she closed the classroom door.)
  4. Hint Hint (Durante) Estudio toda la mañana para el examen.
    ⇒ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Durante toda la mañana estudiaba para el examen.
    (During the whole morning, I used to study for the exam.)

Exercise 4: Grammar in action

Instruction: Talk for two minutes and compare your studies using past-tense expressions.

Show/Hide translation
Situation
En la academia, cuentas a un compañero tu máster y tus prácticas recientes.
(At the academy, you tell a classmate about your master’s degree and your recent internship.)
Discuss
  • ¿Qué hiciste ayer o el mes pasado para tu título de grado o máster? (What did you do yesterday or last month for your bachelor’s or master’s degree?)
  • Muchas veces, ¿qué hacías durante el curso para aprobar? ¿Dónde estudiabas: academia o casa? ¿Qué habilidad desarrollabas? (Many times, what did you do during the course to pass? Where did you study: at the academy or at home? What skill did you develop?)
Useful words and phrases
  • pagar la matrícula (pay the tuition)
  • hacer prácticas / ser becario (do an internship / be a scholarship holder)
  • ganar experiencia / desarrollar habilidades (gain experience / develop skills)
Use in conversation
  • ayer, el mes pasado (indefinido) (yesterday, last month (preterite))
  • muchas veces, durante, anteriormente (imperfecto) (many times, during, previously (imperfect))
  • de repente, al principio, al final (indefinido) (suddenly, at the beginning, at the end (preterite))

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