Preterite vs. Imperfect. Preterite vs. Imperfect 2 - Spanish Practice. Preterite vs Imperfect. Trying to decide when to use the Preterite and when to use the Imperfect is one of the challenges of learning these two tenses. Review the uses of the Imperfect and the Preterite, and make a chart for yourself listing the differences. The Imperfect past tense is used to describe a scene while the Preterite is used to list series of completed actions. It can be a little more subtle, especially with verbs that change meaning depending on the tense.
You will use the Imperfect When you "set a scene" describing what your house or dog used to look like and what your family was like. For example, let's set a scene: Eran las nueve de la noche. This has all been written in the Imperfect. But now let's get to the action: De repente, ¡Entró un ladrón! This is a series of actions in the Preterite which happened within the setting established by the Imperfect. The focus of the Preterite is on completed action(s). Let's look at some examples: Examples of how these verbs change in meaning: Spanish I: Quiz: Preterite-Imperfect Formulas. Spanish I: Preterite-Imperfect Formulas.