Time expressions are really important when you’re trying to decide if you should use the preterite or imperfect tenses in Spanish. Knowing these clues can help you understand past actions better.

Preterite Tense

We use the preterite tense for actions that are:

• Finished: This is for things that happened once, like ayer (yesterday) or anoche (last night).
  • Example: Ayer comí pizza. (Yesterday, I ate pizza.)
• Specific events: This is for events that happened at a certain time, like el año pasado (last year) or hace dos días (two days ago).
  • Example: El año pasado visité España. (Last year, I visited Spain.)

Imperfect Tense

The imperfect tense is for describing:

• Ongoing or repeated actions: This is for things you do regularly, like siempre (always) or cada día (every day).
  • Example: Siempre jugaba afuera. (I always played outside.)
• Descriptions or background information: This is for talking about how things were or what life was like, like cuando era niño (when I was a child) or en aquel entonces (back then).
  • Example: Cuando era niño, me gustaba leer. (When I was a child, I liked to read.)

Key Time Expressions

• Preterite Time Expressions: ayer, anoche, el mes pasado, hace una semana

• Imperfect Time Expressions: siempre, a menudo, cada verano, de niño/a

When you learn to recognize these expressions, it will be easier for you to pick the right tense when you speak or write in Spanish.