Spanish · Chapter 9 · Lesson 17 · Grammar primer
Preterite vs imperfect: which one when
The single hardest grammar topic in Spanish for English speakers. Side-by-side examples, decision rules, and the cases that break the rules.
The short version
Imperfect sets the stage, preterite lands the event
The bedrock structure of Spanish narration is an ongoing action in the imperfect cut across by an event in the preterite. Cuando llegué, María dormía: one arrival, one sleep already in progress. Get this composite right and most of the tense choice in a story looks after itself.
Mientras hablaba con mi madre, sonó el teléfono.
Conocí is met, not knew
A handful of common verbs change meaning, not just tense. Conocía is 'knew'; conocí is 'met for the first time'. Sabía is 'knew a fact'; supe is 'found out'. Quise is 'tried', no quise is 'refused', pude is 'managed to'. Conocí a María and conocía a María are genuinely different sentences, so they cannot be swapped for variety.
Conocí a mi mujer en 2010.
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