Many students have trouble knowing when to use the preterit tense or the imperfect tense, as they both refer to actions in the past. There are several general rules you can follow to know when to use one tense or another. We have now learned about both past tenses and how they are used in Spanish: the Preterit Tense and the Imperfect Tense. Now, we’re going to learn how to choose when to use each tense.
As we have discussed, the Preterit Tense is used to talk about what we will refer to simply as a “one and done” action in the past tense. The Imperfect Tense is used to talk about what we will refer to simply as “over and over” actions done in the past tense.
There are key words that you can look and listen for that will tell you whether to use the Preterit or Imperfect. Let’s check them out…
Key Words
| Preterit | Imperfect |
| Ayer (yesterday) | A veces (sometimes) |
| Anoche (last night) | Cada día/semana/mes (every day/week/month) |
| Anteayer (the day before yesterday) | De vez en cuando (from time to time) |
| Esta mañana/tarde (this morning/afternoon) | Frecuentemente (frequently) |
| Hace un día/mes (one day/month ago) | Generalmente (generally) |
| La semana pasada (last week) | Nunca (never) |
| El mes pasado (last month) | Siempre (always) |
| El año pasado (last year) | Todo el tiempo (all the time) Todos los días (every day) |
Now that you know these words and phrases, choosing between Preterit and Imperfect will be a breeze!