Past tenses

There are multiple past tenses to refer to various scenarios that have already happened. Here we will look at some examples:

1. The Imperfect

This tense is mainly used for the following scenarios:

  • Descriptions (setting the scene): La mujer llevaba un vestido rojo.
  • Habits/Routines (repeated actions in the past): Jugaba al baloncesto cada viernes.
  • Non definite/unspecified time frames: Cuando tenía 15 años.
  • Talking about an ongoing action that was interrupted by another action (the interrupting action would be preterite tense): Estaba leyendo cuando mi hermana gritó.

2. The preterite

This tense refers to single completed actions in the past:

Franco gobernó España entre 1939 y 1975.
Anoche, terminé mis deberes.

3. The perfect tense

This tense is considered to be a recent past action. E.g. it started and ended recently. It can also be used to refer to a past action with a link to present actions.

Me he roto la pierna, y hoy no puedo caminar: there’s a link between the 2 actions.
Hoy he terminado mi libro: I finished my book today (today is still ongoing – link to the present).

4. The pluperfect

This action takes place in the distant past or as an action carried out before the current action.

Estaba cocinando la comida que había comprado la semana pasada.
Cuando había terminado, llamé a mi madre.