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Past tenses (summary)

In Spanish, the past tenses are divided into three: the pretérito imperfecto, the pretérito indefinido, and the pretérito perfecto, used to express past actions with different details.

Gramática: Los tiempos del pasado (resumen)

A2 Spanish N/A

Level: A2

Module 2: Sociedad y gobierno (Society and government)

Lesson 15: El gobierno y las elecciones (The government and elections)

Teaching guidelines +/- 15 minutes

Audio and video

Audio with translations
Audio with translations

  1. The simple past is used for actions that occurred and ended at a specific moment in the past.
  2. The imperfect tense is used to describe habitual actions, situations, and states in the past.
  3. The present perfect is used for past actions that have relevance in the present or are still current.
Tiempo verbal (Verb tense)Regla (Rule)Ejemplo (Example)
Pretérito imperfectoAcciones en progreso o habituales en el pasado (Actions in progress or habitual in the past)Cuando era joven, viajaba cada verano a la playa.
Pretérito indefinidoAcciones completadas en el pasado (Actions completed in the past)El mes pasado, compré un billete de avión.
Pretérito perfectoAcciones pasadas que afectan el presente (Past actions that affect the present)Hoy, he visitado el museo y me ha encantado.

Exercise 1: Los tiempos del pasado (resumen)

Instruction: Fill in the correct word.

Show translation Show answers

hemos reservado, elegí, votaron, fuimos, Visité, elegía, votaba, votabas

1. Votar:
Tú ... cada año en las elecciones.
(You used to vote every year in the elections.)
2. Elegir:
El año pasado, ... a mi representante en el parlamento.
(Last year, I chose my representative in parliament.)
3. Ir:
Nosotros ... a la sede electoral el domingo pasado.
(We went to the polling station last Sunday.)
4. Elegir:
Yo ... siempre la opción correcta.
(I always chose the correct option.)
5. Votar:
Cuando era joven, ... por diferentes partidos políticos.
(When I was young, I used to vote for different political parties.)
6. Visitar (yo):
... varias oficinas electorales en la ciudad la semana pasada.
(I visited several polling stations in the city last week.)
7. Votar:
Ellos ... en las últimas elecciones.
(They voted in the last elections.)
8. Reservar (nosotros):
Hoy, ... el lugar para votar.
(Today, we have booked the place to vote.)

Exercise 2: Translate and use in a sentence

Instruction: Pick a word, translated and use the word in a sentence or dialogue.

1

fuimos

we went

2

elegí

I chose

3

Visité

I visited

4

hicieron

they held