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Flashcards in The Past - The Imperfect Deck (43)
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1
Q

La semana pasada trabajé sesenta horas. Which tense & why?

A

Preterit, frozen in time, “Last week I worked sixty hours.”

2
Q

Las bailarinas descansaban.

A

The ballet dancers were taking a break. Past continuous.

3
Q

Anoche mi hermano lavó los platos. Which tense & why?

A

Preterit, frozen in time, “Last night my brother washed the dishes.”

4
Q

La mujer llevaba zapatos de piel de cocodrilo. Why imperfect?

A

Describing a person. “The woman was wearing cocodrile skin shoes. “

5
Q

what 3 verbs are irregular in the imperfect (and only 3)?

A

ir (to go), ser (to be) and ver (to see).

6
Q

conjugate ser in the imperfect

A

era, eras, era, éramos, erais, eran

7
Q

conjugate ver in the imperfect

A

veía, veías, veía, veíamos, veíais, veían

8
Q

conjugate ir in the imperfect

A

iba, ibas, iba, íbamos, ibais, iban

9
Q

conjugate regular -ir verb in the imperfect (sentir)

A

sent–ía, –ías, –ía, –íamos, –íais, –ían (same as -er verbs)

10
Q

Can also use imperfect to tell what?

A

to tell the time and the age someone of something was in the past.

11
Q

De joven, mi hermano siempre lavaba los platos. Which tense? why?

A

Imperfect, action suspended in the past, “As a young man, my brother would always wash the dishes.”

12
Q

De joven, yo trabajaba en una librería todos los sábados. Which tense & why?

A

Imperfect, action suspended in the past, “As a young man, I worked at a bookstore.”

13
Q

Miguel comía en la cocina.

A

Miguel was eating in the kitchen. Past continuous.

14
Q

Agustín tocaba el saxo en una banda de jazz

A

Agustín played the sax in a jazz band. Simple past.

15
Q

Sentían un profundo amor por sus hijos. Why imperfect?

A

Describing feelings, “They felt a deep love for their children.”

16
Q

conj

ugate regular -ar verb in the imperfect (hablar)

A

com–ía, –ías, –ía, –íamos, –íais, –ían (same as -ir verbs)

17
Q

Ayer fui a la biblioteca a estudiar. Which tense & why?

A

Preterit, frozen in time, “Yesterday I went to the library to study.”

18
Q

El domingo, jugué a fútbol con mis amigos. Which tense & why?

A

Preterit, frozen in time, “On Sunday, I played soccer with my friends.”

19
Q

Imperfect is used to describe 15 different types of things in the past, name them.

A

(i) people, (ii) animals, (iii) weather,
(iv) things, (v) places, (vi) situations,
(vii) sensations, (viii) feelings, (ix) emotions,
(x) moods, (xi) states of mind, (xii) events,
(xiii) scenes, (xiv) attitudes,(xv) convictions, etc.

20
Q

El calor era insoportable. Why imperfect?

A

Describing the weather or a situation, “The heat was unbearable. “

21
Q

Todos los sábados comía en casa de mis abuelos. Which tense & why?

A

Imperfect, action suspended in the past, “Every Saturday I had lunch at my grandparents’.”

22
Q

El sábado pasado comí en casa de mis abuelos. Which tense and why?

A

Preterit, frozen in time, “Last Saturday I had lunch at my grandparents’.”

23
Q

Tú no hablabas por teléfono.

A

You were not talking on the phone. Past continuous.

24
Q

what 2 things does imperfect narrate in the past?

A

(I) habitual or repeated actions or conditions in the past; and
(ii) on going actions in the past

25
Q

Las bailarinas comían una dieta rica en proteínas vegetales.

A

The ballet dancers ate a diet high in proteins. Simple past

26
Q

what type of expressions accompany the imperfect?

A

Expressions which free an action from a specific ending time, and in doing so, such an action remains suspended in the past eg

  • de niño/a (as a child),
  • de mayor (as an adult),
  • todos los días (every day),
  • mientras (while),
  • siempre (always)
27
Q

Cuando tenía ocho años, me gustaba bailar como Michael Jackson.

A

telling the age someone was in the past, “When I was eight years old, I liked to dance like Michael Jackson. “

28
Q

Laura trabajaba en una agencia de viajes.

A

Laura worked at a travel agency. Simple past.

29
Q

Este fin de semana, leí una novela de quinientas páginas Which tense & why?

A

Preterit, frozen in time, “This weekend, I read a five hundred-page novel.”

30
Q

La casa tenía cinco habitaciones. Why imperfect?

A

Describing a place, “The house had five rooms.”

31
Q

¿Por qué gritabas tanto?

A

Why were you yelling so much? Past continuous.

32
Q

Eran las dos de la madrugada y no sabía dónde ir.

A

telling the time in the past, “It was two in the morning and I didn’t know where to go.”

33
Q

what type of expressions accompany the preterit?

A

Expressions which freeze time in the past eg ayer, la semana pasada, hace dos horas, el año pasado, etc

34
Q

Vosotros tomabais el sol en la terraza.

A

You guys were sunbathing on the terrace. Past continuous.

35
Q

Mi vecina dibujaba retratos de famosos para ganarse la vida.

A

My neighbour drew portraits of celebrities to make a living. Simple past.

36
Q

Ongoing actions in past (imperfect) can be expressed in English in 2 different ways. What are they?

A

(I) simple past eg worked, taught; or

(ii) past continuous eg was eating, were playing

37
Q

De niña, iba a la biblioteca a estudiar. Which tense & why?

A

Imperfect, action suspended in the past, “As a child, I used to go to the library to study.”

38
Q

what is the key difference between the preterit and the imperfect?

A

the former describes actions which are considered as completely finished, the latter describes actions which lasted for a while but whose ending is not specified. This is a very clear way to distinguish between the uses of these two tenses.

39
Q

De niño, siempre jugaba a fútbol con mis amigos Which tense & why?

A

Imperfect, action suspended in the past, “As a kid, I would always play soccer with my friends.”

40
Q

conjugate regular -ar verb in the imperfect (hablar)

A

habl–ar: –aba, –abas, –aba, –ábamos, –abais, –aban.

41
Q

Habían muchas personas en la calle. OR

Había muchas personas en la calle. WHICH is correct?

A

The second as “había”, the imperfect of haber, is used for both singular and plural, “There were a lot of people in the street.”

42
Q

De adolescente, siempre empezaba muchas novelas, pero nunca terminaba ninguna. Which tense & why?

A

Imperfect, action suspended in the past, “As a teenager, I began a lot of novels, but I never finished any.”

43
Q

What is the key thing which differentiates imperfect from preterit?

A

Never mention when the action starts or finishes