Imperfect, Preterite & Future Tenses - On Holiday

IMPERFECT TENSE

The imperfect tense is used to refer to actions in the past that occurred repeatedly.

I used to walk every day.
Yo caminaba cada día.

The imperfect tense is also used to refer to actions in the past that occurred over an extended period of time.

I swam in the swimming pool every morning.
Yo nadaba en la piscina cada mañana.

The imperfect tense is also used to "set the stage" for an event that occurred in the past.

We were coming home when we saw Juan.
Veníamos para casa cuando vimos a Juan.

Actions which are not physical, that is feelings and mental actions, in the past are usually expressed with the imperfect tense.

Juan was feeling sick.
Juan estaba enfermo.

The tense is used to describe something in the past tense.

The hotel was fantastic and luxorious.

El hotel era fantástico y lujoso.

The imperfect is frequently associated with phrases that describe the frequency of past actions.

a menudo                         a veces                            cada día                           cada año
often                                   sometimes                        every day                          every year
con frecuencia                        de vez en cuando                        en aquella época
frequently                                    from time to time                             at that time              frecuentemente               generalmente                   muchas veces                      much            frequently                            usually                                  many times                             a lot
nunca              por un rato                   siempre                     tantas veces
never                 for awhile                       always                        so many times
todas las semanas              todos los días                 todo el tiempo           varias veces      every week                             every day                           all the time                    several times

Regular forms of the imperfect are formed by adding the following endings to the stem of the verb:

-ar verbs

aba
abas
aba
ábamos
abais
aban example: hablar

hablaba
hablabas
hablaba
hablábamos
hablabais
hablaban <#document-fragment> -er verbs

-ir verbs

ía
ías
ía
íamos
íais
ían example: vivir

vivía
vivías
vivía
vivíamos
vivíais
vivían <#document-fragment>

Only three verbs are irregular in the imperfect:

ser

era
eras
era
éramos
erais
eran ver

veía
veías
veía
veíamos
veíais
veían ir

iba
ibas
iba
íbamos
ibais
iban 

PRETERITE TENSE

The preterite tense is used to refer to actions that occurred at a fixed point in time.

I called at 1:00.
Llamé a la una.

The preterite tense is also used to refer to actions in the past that were performed a specific number of times.

I called you twice.
Te llamé dos veces.

The preterite tense is also used to refer to actions that occurred during a specific enclosed period of time.

He lived there for 5 years.
Él vivió allí por cinco años.

The preterite is also used for actions that are part of a chain of events.

I bought a hat, sat down on a bench and fell asleep.
Compré un sombrero, me senté en un banco y me dormí.

The preterite is also used for sudden changes of mood, feelings or opinions.

At that moment, I was not afraid.
En ese momento, no tuve miedo.

The preterite is frequently associated with phrases that pinpoint a particular occasion or specific time frame.

ayer
yesterday
ayer por la mañana
yesterday morning
ayer por la tarde
yesterday afternoon
anteayer
the day before yesterday
anoche
last night
desde el primer momento
from the first moment
después
afterwards
durante dos siglos
for two centuries

el año pasado
last year
el lunes por la noche
Monday night
el mes pasado
last month
el otro día
the other day
en ese momento
at that moment
entonces
then
esta mañana
this morning
esta tarde
this afternoon
hace dos días, años
two days, years ago
la semana pasada
last week

If the action is in the past, and you can determine precisely when it occurred, or how many times it occurred, then you will use the preterite.

Regular forms of the preterite are formed by adding the following endings to the stem of the verb:

-ar verbs

é
aste
ó
amos
asteis
aron example: hablar

hablé
hablaste
habló
hablamos
hablasteis
hablaron <#document-fragment> -er verbs

-ir verbs

í
iste
ió
imos
isteis
ieron example: vivir

viví
viviste
vivió
vivimos
vivisteis
vivieron example: comer

comí
comiste
comió
comimos
comisteis
comieron 

Future Tense

The future tense is used to tell what "will" happen, or what "shall" happen.

I will go to the beach next month.

I shall write the letter next week.

But, the future tense is not used to express a willingness to do something. For this, use the verb "querer."

¿Quieres ir a la tienda?
Will you go to the store?

The future tense is also used to express wonder or probability in the present state.

¿Quién será ella?
I wonder who she is? (Who could she be?)

Estará viajando solo.
He is probably traveling alone.

For actions that will occur in the near future, the present tense is more commonly used.

Esta noche voy al cine.
Tonight I'm going to the movies.

Further in the future, use the future tense.

El año que viene iré a España.
Next year I'm going to Spain.

Regular verbs in the future tense are conjugated by adding the following endings to the infinitive form of the verb: -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án.

hablaré
hablarás
hablará
hablaremos
hablaréis
hablarán

There are twelve common verbs that are irregular in the future tense. Their endings are regular, but their stems change. Since the endings are the same as all other future tense verbs, we show only the "yo" form, and have underlined the irregular stem. We have also grouped them according to their patterns of change.

caber
yo cabré poner
yo pondré decir
yo diré haber
yo habré salir
yo saldré hacer
yo haré poder
yo podré tener
yo tendré querer
yo querré valer
yo valdré saber
yo sabré venir
yo vendré <#document-fragment>

Note that compound verbs based on the irregular verbs inherit the same irregularities. Here are a few examples:

desquerer
yo desquerré

resaber
yo resabré

anteponer
yo antepondré

mantener
yo mantendré

prevaler
yo prevaldré

Let's add two flashcards for the future tense:

Verb Flashcards

1. Future Tense

   Infinitive + ending

   (-é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án)

2. Future Tense Irregulars

   caber
   yo cabré poner
   yo pondré decir
   yo diré haber
   yo habré salir
   yo saldré hacer
   yo haré poder
   yo podré tener
   yo tendré querer
   yo querré valer
   yo valdré saber
   yo sabré venir
   yo vendré