Talking about the Past Using the Imperfect

The preterite tense speaks about a completed action in the past. Now you'll find out about another past tense, called the imperfect.
You can use the imperfect in the following ways:

• to speak about background events in a story
• to talk about something you used to do as a matter of habit
• to speak about how old someone was
• to say what time is was

The following chart shows you how to form the imperfect of regular verbs:
-ar -er -ir
cantar tener salir
Yo: cantaba tenía salía
Tú: cantabas tenías salías
Usted: cantaba tenía salía
Nosotros: cantábamos teníamos salíamos
Ustedes: cantaban tenían salían

The following example uses imperfect because it describes continuing actions in the past.

Don Miguel tragajaba en el banco todos los días.
Don Miguel worked in the bank every day.

The only verbs that don't follow the pattern are:

ser ir ver
Yo: era iba veía
Tú: eras ibas veías
Usted: era iba veía
Nosotros: éramos íbamos veíamos
Usteded: eran iban veían


Vocabulary note:
You can use dentro de (inside) and fuera de (outside) just as you do in English.
Yo estoy dentro de mi cuarto. I am inside my room.

Reflexive Pronouns and Verbs

You canuse direct object pronouns (me, te, lo, la, nos, los, las) with verbs. For example, if a girl is hiding a doll behind a tree, she would say:

La escondo.
I'm hiding it. *Note that the subject yo and the direct object la are different, because yo is universal, and la refers to the doll, or muñeca.

Reflexive verbs take a special pronoun called a reflexive pronoun. While the usual direct object is different from the subject, a reflexive pronoun is the same person, place, or thing as the subject.
Me escondo.
I'm hiding (myself). *Note that the subject (yo) and the direct object (me) are the same person; you call this object reflexive.

Reflexive pronouns
Yo: me escondo
Tú: te escondes
Usted: se esconde
Nosotros: nos escondemos
Ustedes: es esconden

A verb reflexively tells you that only the subject of the verb is involved in the action. When using a reflexive verb in the infinitive form, attach the pronoun to the infinitive.
Vamos a pelearnos por el cuaderno.
We are going to fight over the notebook.

Vocabulary Break!
Reflexive Verbs:
aburrirse: to get bored
asustarse de: to be scared of
caerse: to fall down
cansarse: to get tired
darse cuenta de: to realize
despedirse (e-i, i) de: to say goodbye to
disculparse: to apologize
divertirse (e-ie, i): to enjoy oneself
enojarse con: to get angry with
portarse bien/mal: to behave well/badly
preocuparse por: to be worried about
reunirse: to get together
sentirse (e-ie,i): to feel

Possessive adjectives and Pronouns

Possessive adjectives show personal relationships or possession. All possessive adjectives - including mi(s), tu(s), su(s), and nuestro(a/os/as) - agree in gender and number with the nouns the describe. Let me say that again: agree in gender and number with the nouns the describe.
Possessive adjectives also have a long form. It is more expressive. You use it, for example, when talking of a special friend. The charts are:
Yo: mío(a/os/as)
Tú: tuyo(a/os/as)
Usted/Ustedes: suyo(a/os/as)
Nosotros: Nuestro(a/os/as)
*Note: in a sentence, these always come after the noun they describe. For example: Comemos con unos amigos nuestros.
We are eating with some friends of ours.

Possessive pronousns also show personal relationships. To form a possessive pronoun;
1. Use the long form of the possessive adjective.
2. Add el, la, los, las according to the gender and number of the noun it replaces.

-Sus viajes son a diferentes lugares.
His trips are to different places.

-Y los tuyos, ¿adónde son?
And yours, where are they to?

Vocabulary Break!
Familia, amigos, amigas:
la amistad: friendship, acquaintance
el (la) compañero: classmate, companion
el (la) cuñado(a): brother-in-law, sister-in-law
los (las) gemelos(as): twins
el (la) hermanastro(a): stepbrother, stepsister
la madrastra: stepmother
el (la) novio(a): boyfriend, girlfriend; groom, bride
el padrastro: stepfather
el (la) sobrino(a): nephew, niece

Welcome Back!

That's right everyone, I'm back! My finals are very soon, so as you may expect, I'm more than a little panicked, because my 4.0 pretty much hinges on my grade for Spanish. And I'm a decent test taker, except in Spanish (yeah, I don't know). So anyway, the following few posts are all on Unidad 2 Etapa 1, again, out of my textbook McDougal Littel En español dos, which, for those of you who are wondering, I do not own or associate with.

PS, you all may call me "Dino."