Clear rules for choosing between preterite and imperfect tenses
Practical acronyms to remember when to use each tense
Real-life examples showing both tenses used together
DELE A2 focused practice with our specialized quiz
Welcome to the most important grammar guide for DELE A2: Preterite vs Imperfect. Many students find this challenging, but with our clear explanations and examples, you’ll master the difference. This knowledge is crucial for telling stories and describing past events accurately in your exam.
The Golden Rule of Past Tenses Remember this simple distinction:
Preterite = Completed actions (what happened)
Imperfect = Background information (how things were)
When to Use Each Tense: Clear Rules
Use Preterite For:
Completed Actions: Single events with a clear end
“**Compré un libro ayer.” (I bought a book yesterday.)
Specific Number of Times: Actions that happened a certain number of times
“**Fui al médico tres veces.” (I went to the doctor three times.)
Interrupted Actions: When one action interrupts another
“**Caminaba cuando *escuché un ruido.” (I was walking when I heard a noise.)
Series of Completed Events: Chains of actions
“**Me levanté, desayuné y **salí.” (I got up, ate breakfast, and left.)
Use Imperfect For:
Habitual Actions: Repeated actions in the past
“**Iba al gimnasio todos los días.” (I used to go to the gym every day.)
Descriptions: People, places, weather, emotions
“**Era una persona muy amable.” (He was a very kind person.)
Time and Age: Telling time or stating age
“**Eran las dos de la tarde.” (It was two in the afternoon.)
Ongoing Actions: Actions in progress
“**Estudiaba cuando llegaste.” (I was studying when you arrived.)
Easy Memory Tricks
Use IMPERFECT for: H – Habits A – Age T – Time E – Emotions/Descriptions
Use PRETERITE for: S – Single events I – Interruptions C – Completed actions
DELE A2 Examples Showing Both Tenses
Example 1: A Typical Day *”Cuando era joven, vivía con mis padres. Todos los días me levantaba a las siete y desayunaba rápido. Un día, ocurrió algo especial: conocí a mi mejor amigo.”
Example 2: A Past Event *”Eran las ocho de la noche y llovía mucho. Caminaba por la calle cuando vi un accidente. Llamé a la policía inmediatamente.”
DELE A2 Exam Tips
Speaking Section: Use both tenses when describing past experiences
Writing Section: Show you can use both tenses correctly in stories
Listening Section: Recognize the difference in audio passages
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Don’t use imperfect for single completed actions
Don’t use preterite for descriptions or habits
Remember time expressions that trigger each tense
Practice with Real Context Try creating your own sentences using this structure:
[Imperfect description] + [Preterite action]
“Estaba en el parque cuando empezó a llover.”
Next Step: Test Your Knowledge! Think you understand the difference? Prove it with our comprehensive quiz!
If you need help with the conjugations you can use the free Online Conjugator tool, just type in the verb and press conjugate! You can also download and print the conjugation charts!
What’s Next in Your DELE A2 Journey?
Need to review? Return to DELE A2 Preterite Tense
Want more practice? Try DELE A2 Imperfect Tense
Ready for the next topic? Study DELE A2 Present Perfect
Master this topic and you’ll be well on your way to passing DELE A2!
Frequently Asked Questions About Preterite vs Imperfect in Spanish
The preterite describes completed past actions with a clear beginning and end. The imperfect describes ongoing, habitual, or repeated past actions. Examples: “Comí pizza ayer” (I ate pizza yesterday – preterite, completed). “Comía pizza cada viernes” (I used to eat pizza every Friday – imperfect, habitual). Think: preterite = snapshot, imperfect = video.
Use preterite for: 1) Completed actions with specific time: “Ayer compré un coche” (Yesterday I bought a car). 2) Actions that happened once: “Llamé a mi mamá” (I called my mom). 3) The beginning or end of an action: “Empezó a llover” (It started to rain). 4) Sequences of events: “Llegué, entré y saludé” (I arrived, entered, and greeted). 5) Specific number of times: “Viví en México por tres años” (I lived in Mexico for three years – completed period).
Use imperfect for: 1) Habitual past actions: “Corría todos los días” (I used to run every day). 2) Ongoing actions with no specified end: “Llovía cuando salí” (It was raining when I left). 3) Descriptions (age, time, weather, feelings): “Tenía 10 años, eran las 8, hacía frío, estaba feliz” (I was 10, it was 8, it was cold, I was happy). 4) Background information: “La casa era grande y tenía un jardín” (The house was big and had a garden).
-AR verbs: hablé, hablaste, habló, hablamos, hablasteis, hablaron. -ER/-IR verbs: comí, comiste, comió, comimos, comisteis, comieron; viví, viviste, vivió, vivimos, vivisteis, vivieron. Note: -ER and -IR verbs have the same preterite endings. Accent marks are important: hablé (I spoke) vs hable (subjunctive).
-AR verbs: hablaba, hablabas, hablaba, hablábamos, hablabais, hablaban. -ER/-IR verbs: comía, comías, comía, comíamos, comíais, comían; vivía, vivías, vivía, vivíamos, vivíais, vivían. Imperfect endings are much easier: just remove the -ar/-er/-ir and add the endings. No stem changes in imperfect!
Common irregular preterite verbs: ser/ir → fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron; dar → di, diste, dio, dimos, disteis, dieron; ver → vi, viste, vio, vimos, visteis, vieron; hacer → hice, hiciste, hizo, hicimos, hicisteis, hicieron; tener → tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvisteis, tuvieron; estar → estuve, estuviste, estuvo, estuvimos, estuvisteis, estuvieron; poder → pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudisteis, pudieron; poner → puse, pusiste, puso, pusimos, pusisteis, pusieron.
Only THREE verbs are irregular in the imperfect: ser (era, eras, era, éramos, erais, eran), ir (iba, ibas, iba, íbamos, ibais, iban), and ver (veía, veías, veía, veíamos, veíais, veían). That’s it! All other verbs follow regular imperfect patterns. This makes imperfect much easier to learn than preterite.
Preterite trigger words: ayer (yesterday), anteayer (day before yesterday), anoche (last night), el año pasado (last year), la semana pasada (last week), entonces (then), esta mañana (this morning), hace dos días (two days ago), en ese momento (at that moment), de repente (suddenly), por fin (finally). Example: “Ayer estudié mucho” (Yesterday I studied a lot).
Imperfect trigger words: siempre (always), a menudo (often), frecuentemente (frequently), generalmente (generally), cada día/semana/año (every day/week/year), todas las semanas (every week), de niño/a (as a child), mientras (while), antes (before), normalmente (normally). Example: “De niño, jugaba en el parque” (As a child, I used to play in the park).
Some verbs change meaning: saber → supe (found out) vs sabía (knew); conocer → conocí (met) vs conocía (knew); querer → quise (tried) vs quería (wanted); no querer → no quise (refused) vs no quería (didn’t want); poder → pude (managed to) vs podía (was able to); tener → tuve (received/got) vs tenía (had). Examples: “Lo supe ayer” (I found out yesterday) vs “Lo sabía” (I knew it).
Yes! Very common. The imperfect sets the scene/background, and the preterite interrupts or completes the action. Examples: “Leía (imperfect) cuando el teléfono sonó (preterite)” (I was reading when the phone rang). “Caminaba (imperfect) por la calle y de repente vi (preterite) a mi amigo” (I was walking down the street and suddenly I saw my friend).
Common mistakes: 1) Using preterite for habitual actions: “Ayer comía pizza” (should be “comí”), 2) Using imperfect for completed actions: “De niño jugué en el parque” (should be “jugaba”), 3) Forgetting irregular preterite forms, 4) Confusing meaning-changing verbs (saber, conocer, querer), 5) Using imperfect when describing a sequence of completed events, 6) Not using imperfect for descriptions (age, time, weather).
The imperfect tense alone expresses “used to.” You do NOT need an extra word. Examples: “Yo corría todos los días” (I used to run every day). “Nosotros vivíamos en Madrid” (We used to live in Madrid). You can also use “soler” (to usually do) + infinitive: “Solía correr todos los días” (I used to run every day), but this is less common for beginners.
Use the imperfect progressive: estaba/estabas/estaba/estábamos/estabais/estaban + gerund (-ando/-iendo). Examples: “Estaba comiendo cuando llegaste” (I was eating when you arrived). “Estaban durmiendo” (They were sleeping). However, the simple imperfect alone can also express this: “Comía cuando llegaste” (I was eating when you arrived) is also correct and very common.
Best ways to practice: Take our Preterite vs Imperfect Quiz, write two short paragraphs about your childhood (use imperfect) and what you did yesterday (use preterite), read Spanish stories and identify why each verb tense is used, practice with our Spanish Verb Conjugation Tool, and use the acronyms “COMPLETED” for preterite and “HABITUAL” for imperfect.
