A2.12 - My time at school

The imperfect tense or the simple past?

¿El pretérito imperfecto o el pretérito indefinido?

Explicación breve sobre la direfencia entre el pretérito imperfecto y el pretérito indefinido.

(Brief explanation of the difference between the pretérito imperfecto and the pretérito indefinido.)

Two past tenses: what’s the real difference?

Pretérito indefinido = the event is “boxed”: it happened and finished.

Pretérito imperfecto = the past is “open”: background, routine, description, in-progress.

Think in English Spanish tense Typical use
I did / I went / I finished Indefinido Completed action, specific event, result
I was doing / I used to / it was Imperfecto Background, habit, ongoing action, description

A fast decision tool (ask yourself 3 questions)

  1. Is it a completed event? (one thing that happened) → indefinido

    Aprobé el máster en 2022.

  2. Is it a habit / routine / “used to”? → imperfecto

    En Madrid enseñaba en una escuela primaria.

  3. Is it describing the scene? (how someone/something “was”) → imperfecto

    La escuela era antigua y tenía un patio grande.

Typical time expressions that “push” you to one tense

Often with indefinido (closed time) Often with imperfecto (open time)
  • ayer, anoche
  • en 2022, el lunes pasado
  • una vez, de repente
  • siempre, a menudo, normalmente
  • antes, de niño/a, cuando era...
  • mientras (for the action in progress)

Note: these words are strong clues, not automatic rules. Meaning still matters.

Imperfecto + indefinido in the same story (the most common pattern)

Use imperfecto to set the scene (what was going on) and indefinido for the interrupting event (what happened).

  • Mientras volvíamos de clase, mi madre nos llamó.

    Background: volvíamos (ongoing) + Event: llamó (punctual)

  • Mientras dábamos clase, el director entró en el aula.

Common learner mistakes (and how to fix them)

  • Habit vs. one-time event

    Ayer iba al curso. → Ayer fui al curso. (specific day = event)

    Cuando era niño, fui al colegio todos los días. → Cuando era niño, iba al colegio todos los días. (routine)

  • Description vs. change

    La escuela era antigua. (description/background)

    La escuela fue famosa ese año. (more like: “it became/was (as a fact) that year”)

  • With “mientras”, don’t use indefinido for the ongoing action

    Mientras vinimos de clase, mi madre nos llamó. → Mientras veníamos de clase, mi madre nos llamó.

Self-check: choose the tense before you conjugate

  1. Underline the verb. Decide: scene or event?

  2. Add a label: habit / description / in progress → imperfecto.

  3. Add a label: finished / one time / specific moment → indefinido.

Goal: in conversation, use imperfecto to paint the background, then switch to indefinido to report what happened.

Tiempo verbal (Verb tense)Regla (Rule)Ejemplo (Example)
Pretérito IndefinidoEvento en el pasado (Event in the past)Aprobé el máster en 2022 (I passed my master’s in 2022)
Pretérito IndefinidoUna acción que pasó y terminó en el pasado (An action that happened and ended in the past)El profesor suspendió la clase por la lluvia (The teacher canceled the class because of the rain)
Pretérito ImperfectoAcción habitual o repetida en el pasado (Habitual or repeated action in the past)En Madrid enseñaba en la escuela primaria (In Madrid I taught at a primary school)
Pretérito ImperfectoDescripción en el pasado (Description in the past)La escuela era antigua y tenía un patio grande (The school was old and had a big playground)
Pretérito Imperfecto + Pretérito IndefinidoEl imperfecto describe la situación, y el indefinido dice qué pasó (The imperfect describes the situation, and the preterite says what happened)Mientras volvíamos de clase, mi madre nos llamó  (While we were coming back from class, my mother called us )

 

Exceptions!

  1. Both tenses can appear in the same narration.

Exercise 1: Multiple choice

Instruction: Choose the correct answer

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1. Cuando era niño, siempre ______ buenas notas en matemáticas.

When I was a child, I always ______ good grades in mathematics.

2. Ayer me ______ en un curso de bachillerato para adultos.

Yesterday I ______ in a high school course for adults.

3. La escuela primaria ______ antigua y tenía un patio grande.

The primary school ______ old and had a big playground.

4. Mientras dábamos clase, el director ______ en el aula y habló con el profesor.

While we were teaching, the principal ______ the classroom and spoke with the teacher.

Exercise 2: Rewrite the phrases

Instruction: Rewrite the sentences by changing the verbs to the correct tense: use the simple past (pretérito indefinido) for completed actions and the imperfect past (pretérito imperfecto) for descriptions or habits (example: Antes estudiaba mucho, pero ayer estudié poco).

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  1. En 2022 yo (aprobar) el máster y (empezar) a trabajar en una empresa.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    En 2022 yo aprobé el máster y empecé a trabajar en una empresa.
    (In 2022 I passed my master’s degree and started working at a company.)
  2. Cuando era niño, siempre (ir) a la escuela a pie y (jugar) en el patio.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Cuando era niño, siempre iba a la escuela a pie y jugaba en el patio.
    (When I was a child, I always went to school on foot and played in the schoolyard.)
  3. La escuela (ser) antigua y (tener) un patio grande.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    La escuela era antigua y tenía un patio grande.
    (The school was old and had a big schoolyard.)
  4. Mientras (venir) de clase, mi madre me (llamar).
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Mientras veníamos de clase, mi madre me llamó.
    (While we were coming home from class, my mother called me.)

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