Spanish 3, Spanish 2- Preterite Vs. Imperfect - El Preterito y el ... - Free Printable

Let’s go step by step to fill in the blanks with the correct past tense form — either preterite or imperfect — based on what each verb is describing.

We’ll look at each sentence and decide which tense fits best:

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Part A

1. Cuando yo (1. ser) ______ niño...
→ “When I was a child” → This is a description of a state in the past, not a completed action → use imperfect: era

2. (2. ir) ______ a la escuela todos los días...
→ “I used to go to school every day” → habitual action in the past → imperfect: iba

3. y (3. quedarse) ______ allí hasta las 3:00...
→ “and stayed there until 3 PM” → this is part of the routine, ongoing situation → imperfect: me quedaba

4. Mientras (4. estar) ______ en la escuela...
→ “While I was at school...” → background setting → imperfect: estaba

5. (5. aprender) ______ muchas cosas...
→ “I learned many things” → but note: it says “mientras estaba en la escuela”, so this is also part of the ongoing experience → actually, “aprender” here could be seen as repeated/ongoing → imperfect: aprendía

6. y no (6. molestar) ______ tanto a mis profesores como ahora.
→ “I didn’t bother my teachers as much as now” → comparing past habit to present → imperfect: molestaba

7. Por la tarde cuando (7. llegar) ______ a mi casa...
→ “In the afternoon when I arrived home...” → specific moment, completed action → preterite: llegué

8. (8. poner) ______ mis libros sobre la mesa...
→ “I put my books on the table” → single completed action → preterite: puse

9. y (9. salir) ______ a jugar con mis amigos.
→ “and went out to play with my friends” → another completed action after arriving → preterite: salí

10. A las 5:00 mi mamá me (10. llamar) ______...
→ “At 5:00 my mom called me” → specific time = completed action → preterite: llamó

11. y me (11. dar) ______ la comida.
→ “and gave me food” → again, specific moment → preterite: dio

12. Después de comer (12. tener) ______ que hacer mis tareas...
→ “After eating, I had to do my homework” → “tener que” here expresses obligation that existed at that time → often uses imperfect for ongoing states → imperfect: tenía

13. En ese tiempo no (13. haber) ______ TV.
→ “At that time there was no TV” → description of existence/state → imperfect: había

14. A las 9:00 (14. acostarse) ______...
→ “At 9:00 I went to bed” → specific time = completed action → preterite: me acosté

15. y como (15. estar) ______ muy cansado...
→ “and since I was very tired” → description of state → imperfect: estaba

16. (16. dormirse) ______ enseguida.
→ “I fell asleep right away” → completed action → preterite: me dormí

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Now let’s write all the answers in order:

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Final Answer:
1. era
2. iba
3. me quedaba
4. estaba
5. aprendía
6. molestaba
7. llegué
8. puse
9. salí
10. llamó
11. dio
12. tenía
13. había
14. me acosté
15. estaba
16. me dormí