EL IMPERFECTO   - LWS CU1

nota aqui - http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/courses/imperf.htm

practicamos aqui - http://www.elearnspanishlanguage.com/tests/te-imperfect.html

Como usamos el imperfecto?  

leemos aqui:

For example, let's set a scene:




•Eran las nueve de la noche. Era viernes. Hacía mal tiempo. Llovía. Todos estábamos en casa. Mamá y Papá miraban la televisión; yo leía una novela de StarTrek; mi hermana hablaba por teléfono con su novio en su cuarto. Esnupi (nuestro perro) dormía detrás del sillón en la sala.

•It was 9:00 at night. It was Friday. It was bad weather. It was raining. We were all at home. Mom and Dad were watching television; I was reading a StarTrek novel; my sister was talking on the phone with her boyfriend in her room. Esnupi (our dog) was sleeping behind the armchair in the living room.


This has all been written in the Imperfect.






But now let's get to the action:


•De repente, ¡Entró un ladrón! Pasó por la escalera y caminó hasta la recámara de mis padres. Miró en el cuarto cuando oyó la voz de mi hermana. Se volvió y bajó las escaleras. Trató de huir de la casa, pero Esnupi se despertó y mordió la pierna del ladrón.

 •Suddenly, a robber entered! He went upstairs and walked down to my parent's bedroom. He looked in the room but then he heard my sister's voice. He turned and went down the stairs. He tried to flee the house, but Esnupi woke up and bit the robber's leg.



This is a series of actions in the Preterite which happened within the setting established by the Imperfect.






The focus of the Preterite is on completed action(s). The Imperfect focuses on a state of being.






Let's look at some examples:


Preterite


(completed action)


Imperfect


(description, scene)






Comí la cena. Comía la cena...


I ate my dinner (and I finished it) I was eating my dinner...[when something happened]


-or- I used to eat my dinner...


Tuvo que devolver la camisa      Tenía que devolver la camisa


She had to -and did- return the shirt. She had to return the shirt (She was supposed to return it - but we don't know if she did or not.)

NOW, AHORA, try these games to practice ---

http://www.quia.com/pop/87619.html?AP_rand=1742290518

http://www.purposegames.com/game/imperfect-and-present-tense-spanish-verbs-quiz

FOR HOMEWORK - Tareas - for manana.

Tell me what all of the sentences mean in English for the last game you played.

=)