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- The imperfect tense and the past continuous
The imperfect tense and the past continuous
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The imperfect describes what used to happen and what things were like. At Foundation you need the singular forms; the plural forms are Higher.
Uses
What used to happen: Cuando era pequeño, jugaba en el parque.
Descriptions in the past: Hacía sol. Había mucha gente (there were lots of people). Tenía diez años (I was ten).
Ongoing states: Estaba cansado.
Descriptions in the past: Hacía sol. Había mucha gente (there were lots of people). Tenía diez años (I was ten).
Ongoing states: Estaba cansado.
Endings
Remove -ar, -er or -ir and add these. Only three verbs are irregular.
Past continuous
estaba + gerund = was doing: Estaba viendo la tele cuando sonó el teléfono.
The imperfect sets the scene; the preterite (sonó) is the single action that interrupts it.
Present continuous: estoy comiendo = I am eating (right now).
The imperfect sets the scene; the preterite (sonó) is the single action that interrupts it.
Present continuous: estoy comiendo = I am eating (right now).
Translate: When I was little I used to live in Bilbao.
- when I was little: description, so era pequeño (or pequeña)
- used to live: imperfect of vivir = vivía
Answer: Cuando era pequeño, vivía en Bilbao.
Imperfect = used to / was ...ing / description. -ar: -aba; -er and -ir: -ía. Irregular: era, iba, veía. Estaba + gerund = was doing. Había = there was / there were.
The interactive lesson includes the diagrams for this topic.
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