What's the difference between the verb tenses preterite and imperfecto in Spanish?

Question

I need to know the difference between these two tenses. Also, does anyone know a good website that gives you info on these two? They tell you how to conjagate and all that?

Answer 1

studyspanish.com is also a good website

Answer 2

Check out the about.com link below.

Answer 3

Since salsera already gave you a pretty accurate explanation, I will give you some examples:

PAST

Yo cociné - I cooked

Ella habló - She talked

Nosotros comimos - We ate

Ellos hicieron - They made

IMPERFECT (called antepreterito)

Yo iba - I used to go

El veía - He used to watch/see

Tu lavabas - You used to wash

Ustedes bebían - They used to drink

The website of the Real Academia de la Lengua Española (www.rae.es) also has a link where you can conjugate any verb you want in all tenses.

Answer 4

Preterite is used for a completed action in the past.  There are also specific words that require the use of the preterite, for example, Two hours ago, last weekend, once, etc.

Imperfecto is used to describe background info in a story (like the weather or description of a person or thing).  It is also used to describe something that used to happen on a regular basis, for example, when I was little, my grandfather used to take me out for ice cream.  Some expressions that require the imperfecto: often, sometimes, always, never, etc.

Web site to practice:

http://www.conjuguemos.com/home/index.ht...

Take a look-the verbs are organized by textbook and chapter.  Yours might be there.  You can get lists of verbs from the site as well.  In general, -ar verbs take the -aba endings, and -ir and -er verbs take the -ía endings.

That's the Reader's Digest version.  There is an inexpensive book-Repaso, that gives more detail about Spanish verbs, like how to form the tenses and when to use them.  Once you learn the difference between the two tenses, you'll then know it for other languages!