My time at school
Mi tiempo en la escuela
- Learn about the country's education system.
- Talk about your time at school and childhood memories.
- The imperfect past tense or the simple past tense?
Explore the Spanish school system and learn to use the pretérito imperfecto (e.g., venía, aprobaba) and pretérito indefinido (e.g., suspendió, fue) to describe past events and experiences at school.
Listening & reading materials
Practice vocabulary in context with real materials.
Vocabulary (22) 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
La escuela primaria
The primary school
2
Hacer errores
Making mistakes
3
Echar de menos
To miss
4
Enseñar
To teach
5
El bachillerato
The sixth form
Ejercicio 2: Conversation exercise
Instrucción:
- Describe the education path of Eva. (Describe the education path of Eva.)
- Describe where you studied at high school. (Describe where you studied at high school.)
- Talk about what you studied at school. (Talk about what you studied at school.)
Teaching guidelines +/- 10 minutes
Example phrases:
|
Durante los primeros años Eva estuvo en la escuela primaria. For the first years Eva was in primary school. |
|
Luego, ella estaba en la escuela secundaria. Siempre fue una estudiante trabajadora con buenas calificaciones. Then she was in secondary school. She always was a hard-working student with good grades. |
|
Terminó el instituto cuando tenía 18 años. She finished high school when she was 18 years old. |
|
Fui a la universidad y estudié derecho. I went to university and studied law. |
|
Terminé el instituto cuando tenía 18 años. I finished high school when I was 18 years old. |
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Ahora trabajo en un colegio y enseño. Now I work in a school and teach. |
| ... |
Exercise 3: Dialogue Cards
Instruction: Select a situation and practice the conversation with your teacher or fellow students.
Exercise 4: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct solution
1. Cuando era niño, siempre ___ a la escuela en bicicleta.
(When I was a child, I always ___ to school by bike.)2. El año pasado ___ el bachillerato con buenas notas.
(Last year I ___ high school with good grades.)3. El profesor ___ a varios compañeros por cometer errores en el examen.
(The teacher ___ several classmates for making mistakes in the exam.)4. Mientras ___ de clase, de repente empezó a llover.
(While ___ from class, it suddenly started to rain.)Exercise 5: My time at school
Instruction:
Verb Tables
Venir - To come
Pretérito imperfecto
- yo venía
- tú venías
- él/ella/Ud. venía
- nosotros/-as veníamos
- vosotros/-as veníais
- ellos/ellas/Uds. venían
Aprobar - To pass
Pretérito imperfecto
- yo aprobaba
- tú aprobabas
- él/ella/Ud. aprobaba
- nosotros/-as aprobábamos
- vosotros/-as aprobabais
- ellos/ellas/Uds. aprobaban
Suspender - To fail
Pretérito indefinido
- yo suspendí
- tú suspendiste
- él/ella/Ud. suspendió
- nosotros/-as suspendimos
- vosotros/-as suspendisteis
- ellos/ellas/Uds. suspendieron
Acordarse - To remember
Pretérito imperfecto
- yo me acordaba
- tú te acordabas
- él/ella/Ud. se acordaba
- nosotros/-as nos acordábamos
- vosotros/-as os acordabais
- ellos/ellas/Uds. se acordaban
Dar - To give
Pretérito imperfecto
- yo daba
- tú dabas
- él/ella/Ud. daba
- nosotros/-as dábamos
- vosotros/-as dabais
- ellos/ellas/Uds. daban
Ser - To be
Pretérito indefinido
- yo fui
- tú fuiste
- él/ella/Ud. fue
- nosotros/-as fuimos
- vosotros/-as fuisteis
- ellos/ellas/Uds. fueron
Exercise 6: ¿El pretérito imperfecto o el pretérito indefinido?
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
Grammar: The imperfect past tense or the simple past tense?
Show translation Show answersencontré, suspendimos, explicaba, organizó, enseñabas, venía, aprobé, escribían, venían, tenía
Grammar Share Copied!
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A2.12.2 Gramática
¿El pretérito imperfecto o el pretérito indefinido?
The imperfect past tense or the simple past tense?
Verb conjugation tables for this lesson Share Copied!
Venir to come Share Copied!
Pretérito imperfecto
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| (yo) venía | I was coming |
| (tú) venías | You were coming |
| (él/ella) venía | he/she was coming |
| (nosotros/nosotras) veníamos | we were coming |
| (vosotros/vosotras) veníais | You came |
| (ellos/ellas) venían | they were coming |
Aprobar to pass Share Copied!
Pretérito imperfecto
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| (yo) aprobaba | I used to pass |
| (tú) aprobabas | you were passing |
| (él/ella) aprobaba | he/she was passing |
| (nosotros/nosotras) aprobábamos | we passed |
| (vosotros/vosotras) aprobabais | You all passed |
| (ellos/ellas) aprobaban | they passed |
Suspender to fail Share Copied!
Pretérito indefinido
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| (yo) suspendí | I failed |
| (tú) suspendiste | You failed |
| (él/ella) suspendió | he/she failed |
| (nosotros/nosotras) suspendimos | We failed |
| (vosotros/vosotras) suspendisteis | You failed |
| (ellos/ellas) suspendieron | they failed |
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Understanding the Spanish School System and Past Tenses
This lesson focuses on discussing the educational system in Spain while practicing two important past tenses in Spanish: the pretérito imperfecto and the pretérito indefinido. Through dialogues and exercises, learners will explore how to describe ongoing past situations and narrate specific past events, which are essential skills at the A2 level.
Key Content of the Lesson
- Spanish Educational System: Learn vocabulary related to school life, such as "escuela primaria" (primary school), "asignaturas" (subjects), and typical activities done in school settings.
- Past Tenses Usage: The pretérito imperfecto is used for habitual actions and descriptions in the past (e.g., "En España, los niños empezaban la escuela primaria a los seis años.") while the pretérito indefinido narrates specific completed events (e.g., "Un día, el profesor suspendió la clase por una tormenta.") .
- Useful Verbs and Expressions: Verbs like venir (to come), aprobar (to pass), suspender (to fail), and expressions such as "recuerdo que" (I remember that) help to vividly describe school experiences.
Lesson Highlights and Examples
Examples like "Cuando era niño, siempre jugaba en el patio durante el recreo" showcase the use of imperfect tense for habitual past actions. Specific events, such as "Una vez, hice una presentación sobre la historia de Madrid," demonstrate the use of indefinido for one-time occurrences.
Comparing Spanish with English Instructions
While English directly communicates events using simple past forms, Spanish distinguishes between ongoing or habitual past scenes (pretérito imperfecto) and completed, specific past actions (pretérito indefinido). For example, English often uses the simple past both for descriptions and single events, but in Spanish, these require different verb tenses.
Useful Phrases and Their English Equivalents
- Recuerdo que... - "I remember that..." (sets a past scene or repeated experience)
- Un día... - "One day..." (introduces a specific past event)
- Cuando era niño... - "When I was a child..." (used for descriptions or habitual actions in the past)
- El profesor suspendió la clase. - "The teacher cancelled the class." (specific completed action)
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