The secret lives of verbs Flashcards
(50 cards)
El sí como mucho
He does eat a lot
se va
she’s going (note no progressive tense)
te cuento
te contaré
mañana te cuento
I’ll tell you (now)
I’ll tell you (someday)
I’ll tell you tomorrow
Vuelvo en seguida
I’ll be right back
Quién habra sido?
Who might that have been?
te habría gustado
you would have like it
“used to” verb
“would” verb
use imperfect
Estaba en casa cuando se fue la luz
I was at home when the lights when out.
Imperfect waiting for something to happen.
Quisieron
vs
Querían
They wanted (and did/got)
The wanted (but didn’t)
No quería ir a la fiesta
No quise ir a la fiesta
I didn’t want to the party (but went anyway)
I didn’t want to go (and didn’t go)
No quisieron dar sus nombres
They refused to give their names
pudo
vs
podía
could (and did)
could (in theory)
pudo
vs
podía
could (and did)
could (in theory)
No podía caminar
No pudo caminar
I couldn’t walk (perhaps because tired)
I couldn’t walk (and implied that actually tried and failed)
for saying “to find out” (saber) use…
imperfect
No sabía eso
I didn’t know that
sabía que llegarías
I knew you’d show up
Sabías hablar español cuando llegaste aqui?
Did you know how to speak Spanish when you got here?
for “found out” as in heard, use…
preterite (supe, supiste, supo)
Supiste que gané la lotería
Did you hear that I won the lottery?
Estaba agotado
he was worn out (at that moment)
Fue agotado
he was worn out (from something)
Estaba destruido
vs.
Fue destruido
It was destroyed (unclear how)
It was destroyed (implied by something)
Las tiendas son cerradas a las nueve
vs.
Las tiendas están cerradas a las nueve
The shops close at nine.
The shops are closed by nine (but may have closed earlier than nine)
