Spanish I - The Imperfect Tense | World Languages

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Study GuideSpanish I–The Imperfect Tense1. Regular Verbs in the ImperfectIn Spanish, the preteritetense is used to describe actions that happened in the past. However, someverbs need spelling changes in theyo(I) form to keep the correct pronunciation. This is especiallytrue for verbs that end in-gar,-car, and-zar.1.1Verbs that end in-garIn Spanish, the lettergis pronounced differently depending on the vowel that follows it. When a verbends in-gar, thegis hard (like in “good”). But when you add-éto form theyo(I) preterite, it makesthegsound soft (like in “gym”).To keep the hardgsound, auis added between thegandé. This extraudoesn’t change how wesay the verb. For example, the verbpagar(to pay) changes topaguéin theyoform.1.2Verbs that end in-carThe lettercin Spanish can be hard (like thekin "cat") or soft (like thesin "sea"), depending on thevowel that follows. For verbs that end in-car, thecis hard in the infinitive form. However, when youadd-éto form theyopreterite, it would change thecto a soft sound.To avoid this, thecis changed toquin theyopreterite form, resulting in-qué. So,tocar(to play)becomestoquéin theyoform, pronounced like "Kay."

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Study Guide1.3Verbs that end in-zarWhen a verb ends in-zar, thezchanges to acin theyopreterite form. This is because in Spanish,whenzis followed by ane, it is pronounced asc.For example,cruzar(to cross) changes tocrucéin theyoform.

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Study Guide

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Study Guide1.4I to Y Spelling ChangeWhen a verb stem ends in a vowel and is followed by certain endings, a spelling change happens inthe preterite tense. Specifically, if there are three vowels in a row and the middle vowel isi, theichanges toy.This change happens in thethird-personforms (él, ella, usted, ellos, ellas, ustedes), and anaccent is added to otherivowels.For example,caer(to fall) changes tocayófor theél/ella/ustedform.1.5Other Common Verbs with I to Y ChangesOther verbs that end in-eror-iralso follow thisI to Yrule, likeleer(to read) oroír(to hear). Theseverbs change theiritoyin the third person forms.

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Study Guide•This image shows other common verbs likecreer(to believe),leer(to read), andoír(to hear)that follow theI to Yrule.1.6Verbs that end in-uirVerbs ending in-uir(likeconstruir–to build) also follow similar rules in the preterite. These verbschange their endings in the third-person forms, much likecaer.

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Study GuideConclusionRemember these spelling changes only apply to certain verbs in theyoform of the preterite tenseand follow consistent patterns. By practicing these changes, you’ll be able to use these verbscorrectly and confidently!2. The Three Imperfect IrregularsIn the imperfect tense, most Spanish verbs follow regular patterns. However,three very commonverbs do not follow the usual rules at all:•ser(to be)•ir(to go)•ver(to see)Because these verbs are so important, it’s best tomemorize their imperfect forms. Let’s look ateach one step by step.2.1Ser (to be)–Imperfect TenseThe verbseris completely irregular in the imperfect tense. This means youdo not use regularendingsand youdo not remove an infinitive ending. Instead, you must learn all of its forms as theyare.This table showsall singular and plural formsofserin the imperfect tense, such asera,éramos,anderan. These forms are used to describe what someonewasorused to bein the past.2.2Ir (to go)–Imperfect TenseJust likeser, the verbiris alsocompletely irregularin the imperfect tense. None of its forms followthe regular verb patterns.

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Study GuideThis table shows the full conjugation ofir, including forms likeiba,íbamos, andiban. These forms areused to talk about where someonewas goingorused to goin the past.2.3Ver (to see)–Imperfect TenseThe verbveris a little different. It is considered irregular, butnot for the same reason as ser and ir.At first glance,verlooks regular because it uses thestandard imperfect endings for–er verbs.However, what makesverirregular ishow its stem is formed.2.4Why Ver Is Still IrregularWith most regular–erverbs, you remove the entire–erending before adding imperfect endings.Example:•comer→comíaBut withver, youremove only the final–r, not the entire ending. This leaves the stemve–, which isthen used with regular imperfect endings.That’s why the conjugation looks like:•veía, veías, veía, veíamos, veíanAlso, notice thatall forms of ver have accent marks. This is becauseall regular imperfectendings for–er and–ir verbs include written accents, andverfollows that same pattern.

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Study GuideSummary•Serandirarecompletely irregularin the imperfect tense and must be memorized.•Verusesregular imperfect endings, but its stem is irregular.•All three verbs are very common, so learning them well will make Spanish much easier.3. Quiz: The Three Imperfect Irregulars1. Question¿_____ usted al parque los domingos?Answer Choices•Ibas•Iba•IbanCorrect AnswerIbaWhy This Is CorrectThe sentence is talking about ahabitual action in the past(“on Sundays”), so theimperfect tenseis needed.•“Usted”is asingularsubject.•The correct imperfect form ofirforustedisiba.Why the others are incorrect:•Ibas→ used withtú, not usted•Iban→ used withellos/ustedes(plural)

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Study GuideExample:•Usted iba al parque los domingos.2. QuestionYo _____ la tele durante la noche.Answer Choices•veías•veían•veíaCorrect AnswerveíaWhy This Is CorrectThe subject“Yo”(I) requires thefirst person singularform of the verbverin theimperfect tense.•veía= I was watching / I used to watch•veías= you (tú) were watching•veían= they were watchingThe imperfect tense is used to describeongoing or habitual actions in the past, such as watchingTV at night.Correct sentence:Yo veía la tele durante la noche.3. QuestionDe niño ellos _____ muy simpáticos.

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Study GuideAnswer Choices•era•eran•erasCorrect AnswereranWhy This Is CorrectThe subject“ellos”isplural, so the verbsermust also be in theplural imperfect tense.“Eran”is the correct imperfect form ofserused to describe what people were likein the past.•Era→ singular (he/she/it)•Eras→ singular informalyou(tú)•Eran→ plural (ellos/ellas)✔So, the correct sentence is:De niño ellos eran muy simpáticos.4. Question¿_____ vosotros laspelículas para niños?Answer Choices•Veíais•Veían•VeíamosCorrect AnswerVeíais

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