Madrigals Magic Key to Spanish (140 page)
Read Madrigals Magic Key to Spanish Online
Authors: Margarita Madrigal
Tags: #Reference, #Language Arts & Disciplines
Notice that there is no difference between the first person and the third man form in the singular.
AR verbs
Following is a list of infinitives converted into the preterite and imperfect tenses.
- Cover up the two right-hand columns.
- Remove “ar” from the infinitive in the left-hand column.
- Add the letter “é” (as in the second column below) for the preterite.
- Add the letters “aba” (as in the third column below) for the imperfect.
- Check your columns with the columns below.
| INFINITIVES | PRETERITE | IMPERFECT |
| comprar, to buy | compré, I bought | compraba, I used to buy |
| estudiar, to study | estudié, I studied | estudiaba, I used to study |
| tomar, to take | tomé, I took | tomaba, I used to take |
| hablar, to speak | hablé, I spoke | hablaba, I used to speak |
| copiar, to copy | copié, I copied | copiaba, I used to copy |
| trabajar, to work | trabajé, I worked | trabajaba, I used to work |
| visitar, to visit | visité, I visited | visitaba, I used to visit |
ER and IR verbs
- Cover up the two right-hand columns.
- Remove “er” or “ir” from the infinitives in the left-hand column.
- Add the letter “í” (as in the second column below) for the preterite.
- Add the letters “ía” (as in the third column below) for the imperfect.
| INFINITIVES | PRETERITE | IMPERFECT |
| vender, to sell | vendí, I sold | vendía, I used to sell |
| correr, to run | corrí, I ran | corría, I used to run |
| ofrecer, to offer | ofrecí, I offered | ofrecía, I used to offer |
| escribir, to write | escribí, I wrote | escribía, I used to write |
| recibir, to receive | recibí, I received | recibía, I used to receive |
| decidir, to decide | decidí, I decided | decidía, I used to decide |
| salir, to go out | salí, I went out | salía, I used to go out |
1. Cover up the right-hand column.
2. Translate the verbs in the left-hand column.
3. Check your translations with those below.
| I had, used to have | tenía |
| I wanted, used to want | quería |
| I knew, used to know | sabía |
| we sold, used to sell | vendíamos |
| we had, used to have | teníamos |
| they were, used to be (estar) | estaban |
| they sang, used to sing | cantaban |
| they did, used to do | hacían |
| they worked, used to work | trabajaban |
| they bought, used to buy | compraban |
| he made, used to make | hacía |
| she could, used to be able to | podía |
| you went out, used to go out | salía |
| he said, used to say | decía |
| we took, used to take | tomábamos |
| we danced, used to dance | bailábamos |
| they wrote, used to write | escribían |
| they came, used to come | venían |
| she spoke, used to speak | hablaba |
| we spoke, used to speak | hablábamos |
| he used, used to use | usaba |
| she prepared, used to prepare | preparaba |
| I thought, used to think (opinion) | creía |
| they said, used to say | decían |
| we imported, used to import | importábamos |
| she described, used to describe | describía |
| I read, used to read | leía |
| she learned, used to learn | aprendía |
| I hoped, used to hope | esperaba |
| we deposited, used to deposit | depositábamos |
| you ate, used to eat | comía |
| we walked, used to walk | caminábamos |
| they took care of, used to take care of | cuidaban |
| I helped, used to help | ayudaba |
| he won, used to win | ganaba |
| she played, used to play ( game ) | jugaba |
Following are examples of the use of the preterite as compared to the imperfect. Remember that the preterite is used for a single completed action and is represented by a dot. The imperfect is used to express continuous or repeated action and is represented by a long line or a series of dashes.
| PRETERITE | María tomó un taxi esta mañana. Mary took a taxi this morning . |
| IMPERFECT — — — — | María tomaba un taxi todas las mañanas. Mary used to take a taxi every morning . |
| PRETERITE • | Marta compró el pan. Martha bought the bread. |
| IMPERFECT — — — — | Marta siempre compraba el pan. Martha always bought the bread. |
| PRETERITE • | Luis preparó la lección. Louis prepared the lesson . |
| IMPERFECT — — — — | Luis siempre preparaba la lección. Louis always prepared the lesson . |
| PRETERITE • | Eduardo vino a la fiesta. Edward came to the party . |
| IMPERFECT — — — — | Eduardo venía a mi casa todas las tardes. Edward used to come to my house every afternoon . |
| PRETERITE • | Juan escribió un artículo. John wrote an article . |
| IMPERFECT — — — — | Juan escribía un artículo todos los días. John wrote ( used to write ) an article every day . |
| PRETERITE • | Mi tío pagó la cuenta. My uncle paid the bill. |
| IMPERFECT — — — — | Mi tío siempre pagaba las cuentas. My uncle always paid the bills . |
| PRETERITE • | Carlos jugó tenis. Charles played tennis. |
| IMPERFECT — — — — | Carlos jugaba tenis todos los días. Charles played ( used to play ) tennis every day. |
| PRETERITE • | Elena hizo la cama. Helen made the bed. |
| IMPERFECT — — — — | Elena hacía la cama todas las mañanas. Helen used to make the bed every morning . |
| PRETERITE • | Tuve dolor de cabeza. I had a headache. |
| IMPERFECT — — — — | Tenía un perro. I had ( used to have ) a dog . |
There are only three verbs that are
irregular in the imperfect.
| 1. ser, to be | era, I was, used to be |
| 2. ir, to go | iba, I went, used to go, was going |
| 3. ver, to see | veía, I saw, used to see |
Use of QUE ERA,
that it was, that you were, that he, she, it was
1. Alberto dijo que era terrible.
Albert said that it was terrible
.
2. Dorotea dijo que era chistoso.
Dorothy said that it was funny
.
3. Mi hermana dijo que era imposible.
My sister said that it was impossible
.
4. Creí que era su tío.
I thought that he was your uncle.
5. Creí que María era italiana.
I thought that Mary was Italian
.
SER,
to be
IR,
to go
