Emergency services
Servicios de emergencia
- Know the names of emergency services of your new country.
- Calling and advising about situations.
- The imperfect tense of regular verbs
- The imperfect past tense of irregular verbs
This lesson introduces emergency situations vocabulary such as "accidente" (accident), "ambulancia" (ambulance), and "bomberos" (firefighters), while focusing on the pretérito imperfecto tense of regular and irregular verbs to describe ongoing past actions clearly.
Listening & reading materials
Practice vocabulary in context with real materials.
Vocabulary (14) Share Copied!
Exercises Share Copied!
These exercises can be done together during conversation lessons or as homework.
Exercise 1: Translate and use in a sentence
Instruction: Pick a word, translated and use the word in a sentence or dialogue.
1
El botiquín de emergencia
The emergency first-aid kit
2
Las urgencias
The emergency department
3
Tener una emergencia
To have an emergency
4
Tener miedo
To be afraid
5
Llamar a la policia
Call the police
Exercise 2: Dialogue Cards
Instruction: Select a situation and practice the conversation with your teacher or fellow students.
Exercise 3: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct solution
1. Cuando ______ a la policía, explicaba la situación con calma.
(When I ______ the police, I explained the situation calmly.)2. La ambulancia ______ rápido porque conocía bien la ciudad.
(The ambulance ______ quickly because it knew the city well.)3. ______ al centro de salud cada vez que teníamos una emergencia.
(______ to the health center every time we had an emergency.)4. Ella ______ paramédica y ayudaba a las personas con cuidado.
(She ______ paramedic and helped people carefully.)Exercise 4: A call to the emergency phone
Instruction:
Verb Tables
Ir - Ir
Pretérito imperfecto
- Yo iba
- Tú ibas
- Él/Ella iba
- Nosotros íbamos
- Vosotros ibais
- Ellos iban
Llamar - Llamar
Pretérito imperfecto
- Yo llamaba
- Tú llamabas
- Él/Ella llamaba
- Nosotros llamábamos
- Vosotros llamabais
- Ellos llamaban
Ayudar - Ayudar
Pretérito imperfecto
- Yo ayudaba
- Tú ayudabas
- Él/Ella ayudaba
- Nosotros ayudábamos
- Vosotros ayudabais
- Ellos ayudaban
Ser - Ser
Pretérito imperfecto
- Yo era
- Tú eras
- Él/Ella era
- Nosotros éramos
- Vosotros erais
- Ellos eran
Exercise 5: El pretérito imperfecto de verbos regulares
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
Grammar: The imperfect tense of regular verbs
Show translation Show answersatendían, ayudaban, visitaban, miraba, llamaba, escuchabais, usabas, trabajábamos
Exercise 6: El pretérito imperfecto de verbos irregulares
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
Grammar: The imperfect past tense of irregular verbs
Show translation Show answersveías, veíamos, iban, íbamos, eran, era
Grammar Share Copied!
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A2.11.3 Gramática
El pretérito imperfecto de verbos irregulares
The imperfect past tense of irregular verbs
Verb conjugation tables for this lesson Share Copied!
Ir to go Share Copied!
Pretérito imperfecto
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| (yo) iba | I used to go |
| (tú) ibas | You were going |
| (él/ella) iba | he/she was going |
| (nosotros/nosotras) íbamos | we were going |
| (vosotros/vosotras) ibais | you went |
| (ellos/ellas) iban | they went |
Ayudar to help Share Copied!
Pretérito imperfecto
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| (yo) ayudaba | I used to help |
| (tú) ayudabas | you helped |
| (él/ella) ayudaba | he/she was helping |
| (nosotros/nosotras) ayudábamos | we helped |
| (vosotros/vosotras) ayudabais | You helped |
| (ellos/ellas) ayudaban | they helped |
Llamar to call Share Copied!
Pretérito imperfecto
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| (yo) llamaba | I used to call |
| (tú) llamabas | you called |
| (él/ella) llamaba | he/she called |
| (nosotros/nosotras) llamábamos | we called |
| (vosotros/vosotras) llamabais | You were calling |
| (ellos/ellas) llamaban | they called |
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Emergency Services: Learning Spanish for Real-Life Situations
This lesson focuses on communicating effectively in Spanish during emergency situations, which is crucial for everyday safety and well-being. It combines essential vocabulary, practical dialogues, and the use of the pretérito imperfecto (imperfect past tense) of both regular and irregular verbs to describe ongoing or repeated past actions and states.
Key Content Overview
- Emergencies at the beach – Examples show how to discuss accidents and urgent medical needs.
- Imperfect tense of regular verbs – Learn conjugations such as llamaba (I/he/she was calling), ayudaba (I/he/she was helping).
- Imperfect tense of irregular verbs – Practice with verbs like ir (to go), ser (to be), which have special forms: iba, era.
- Practical dialogues – Simulated phone calls describing accidents, fires, allergic reactions, and other emergencies, helping you practice useful phrases.
Useful Phrases and Vocabulary
Familiarize yourself with vital expressions such as:
- Hola, necesito ayuda, hubo un accidente en la calle Mayor. (Hello, I need help, there was an accident on Main Street.)
- ¿Está consciente y respirando? (Is he/she conscious and breathing?)
- La ambulancia está llegando. (The ambulance is arriving.)
- Mantenga la calma y salga del edificio. (Stay calm and leave the building.)
The Pretérito Imperfecto Explained
This past tense is used to describe ongoing or habitual past actions and states, especially useful when recounting emergency events or describing symptoms & situations over time.
| Verb | Yo (I) | Tú (You) | Él/Ella (He/She) | Nosotros (We) | Vosotros (You all) | Ellos (They) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ir (to go) | iba | ibas | iba | íbamos | ibais | iban |
| Llamar (to call) | llamaba | llamabas | llamaba | llamábamos | llamabais | llamaban |
| Ayudar (to help) | ayudaba | ayudabas | ayudaba | ayudábamos | ayudabais | ayudaban |
| Ser (to be) | era | eras | era | éramos | erais | eran |
Short Analyzed Story
The mini story Una llamada al teléfono de emergencia illustrates typical conversation using the imperfect tense to explain what was happening during an emergency call, helping you get used to framing ongoing situations in Spanish.
Notes on Language Differences
Unlike English, Spanish uses the pretérito imperfecto to talk about ongoing or habitual past actions, which has no direct equivalent tense in English but often translates as "was/were doing" or "used to". For example, "Cuando llamaba a la policía" means "When I was calling the police" or "When I used to call the police."
Useful phrases to compare:
- Estoy llamando – "I am calling" (present continuous) vs.
- Llamaba – "I was calling" or "I used to call" (imperfect past)
Understanding this difference will help you describe emergency events naturally and clearly in Spanish.
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