Question

What is the difference between preterite and imperfect.

Answer 1

The preterite talks about specific actions that happened at specific times. For example: I dropped my pencil. There is a definative starting and stopping point. The imperfect is more of a general thing. For example I used to play baseball. The imperfect focuses on generalities whereas the preterite focuses on specifics.

Answer 2

Preterite- Something that has been completed. Has a definite beginning and ending.

Ex) Fui al baile anoche. I went to the dance last night.

Phrases that trigger preterite:

• Una vez
• Ayer
• Anteayer
• El otro dia

Imperfecto- This is something that never really ended, is still going, or has been repeated. Is also used to tell age, time, emotional status, what people were doing when something occurred, and weather

I know it's really hard to remember when to use which one. Imperfect was the death of me in Spanish class.