Common confusion

Preterite vs Imperfect
Spanish Guide & Quiz

One of the most confusing aspects of Spanish grammar — when to use pretérito indefinido vs imperfecto. Learn the rules, then practice until it's automatic.

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The key difference

Pretérito Indefinido

Completed actions. A specific moment. Things that happened once and ended.

Ayer comí una pizza.

Pretérito Imperfecto

Ongoing past states, habits, descriptions. What was happening in the background.

Cuando era niño, comía pizza cada semana.

Conjugation patterns

Pretérito Indefinido — regular verbs

PronounHablarComerVivir
yohablécomíviví
túhablastecomisteviviste
él/ellahablócomióvivió
nosotroshablamoscomimosvivimos
vosotroshablasteiscomisteisvivisteis
elloshablaroncomieronvivieron

Pretérito Imperfecto — regular verbs

PronounHablarComerVivir
yohablabacomíavivía
túhablabascomíasvivías
él/ellahablabacomíavivía
nosotroshablábamoscomíamosvivíamos
vosotroshablabaiscomíaisvivíais
elloshablabancomíanvivían

Trigger words to look for

Indefinido triggers

ayer · el lunes pasado · en 2020 · de repente · una vez · por fin · entonces · al final

Imperfecto triggers

cuando era niño · todos los días · siempre · normalmente · antes · mientras · a menudo · cada semana

Now practice it

Reading rules is only half the job. Drill both tenses until switching between them is automatic.

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Frequently asked questions

What's the easiest way to remember when to use each tense?
Ask: was it a completed one-off event? Use indefinido. Was it a habit, background state, or ongoing action? Use imperfecto. The imperfecto sets the scene; the indefinido is the action that interrupts it.
Are ser and ir really identical in the preterite?
Yes — both become fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron. Context makes it clear which is meant. This is a very common exam question.
Can I practice just these two tenses on Practicar Verbos?
Yes — use the tense dropdown to select each one specifically, or use random mode to mix them as you would in an exam.