Conjugation of Irregular Verbs in Preterite and Imperfect Tenses
Preterite forms of SER and TENER:
Imperfect forms of SER, IR, and HACER:
Sentence 3: Ella era muy trabajadora cuando era niña. (She was very hardworking when she was a child). Sentence 4: Ustedes siempre iban a la clase a tiempo. (You always went to class on time). Sentence 5: Hacía mucho calor en la playa. (It was very hot at the beach). Explanation: Spanish has two different ways to express past tense. These are: Preterite or simple past and Imperfect. Both of them show actions or situations in the past. Preterite is used to express an action or condition prior to the time it is expressed. It shows something that is already over or finished and is not going to happen again. For example: "I was at the airport yesterday from 2 to 4 pm". This is a situation that is already finished, so the verb "estuve" (preterite) is used instead of "estaba" (imperfect). The same concept applies to the preterite forms of SER and TENER in the sentences provided. On the other hand, Imperfect is used to describe actions or situations in the past that are incomplete, continuous, or coincident with another action. It is usually used to narrate what was happening in the past. For example: "I was at the airport when the airplane arrived". This sentence describes what was happening at the airport when the airplane arrived, so the imperfect verb "estaba" is used. In the sentences provided, the use of Preterite or Imperfect depends on whether the action is completed or ongoing. The verbs are conjugated accordingly to accurately convey the past actions or conditions. Remember to use Preterite when the action is over and not expected to happen again, and use Imperfect to describe ongoing actions or situations in the past.Conjugate the irregular verbs in the preterite and imperfect tenses provided in the sentences above.
I will show you the right conjugation of the verbs for each sentence: Preterite forms of SER and TENER: Sentence Nº 1: estuve Sentence Nº 2: tuvo Imperfect forms of SER, IR, and HACER: Sentence Nº 3: era Sentence Nº 4: iban Sentence Nº 5: hacía