The Description of Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense

2.3 The Description of Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense

2.3.1 Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense in English

In English Tenses, Past Tenses consist of some kinds, they are:  Simple Past Tense  Past Continuous Tense  Past Perfect Tense  Past Perfect Continuous Tense  Past Future Tense  Past Future Continuous Tense  Past Future Perfect Tense, and  Past Future Continuous Tense. But in this thesis I just focus to the tenses to : Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense. a Simple Past Tense Simple Past Tense is used to report a state or activity which can be described to a definite past time. It is used to express the action that occurred in the past time no matter how much time has elapsed since then or how many times it occurred. It seems that the Simple Past Tense expresses the event went on the time referred, but it is over now. Another point about the Simple Past Tense is that it is used when no definite moment in time is indicated. Since it is referring to a definite moment in Universitas Sumatera Utara time separated from now. It does not matter how long a go the action took place. The event started and has finished in the past or at the moment of speaking. Example : He went to Bali last week. You slept well last night. They got married in 1998. She drank tea this morning. b Past Continuous Tense The Past Continuous Tense is a construction made up of the Past Tense of the auxiliary be + the–ing Present Participle form of the verb. It is used to emphasize the Progressive nature of an action that was happening over a period of time in the past. Example:  I was reading a newspaper all evening.  She was swimming for an hour.  We were studying when you knocked at the door.  Some pupils were making a lot of noise when the teacher came into the classroom. The Past Continuous Tense may be used in the following ways: a. To indicate that an action was in progress at a definite time in the past Example: What was he doing at 8 pm last night? He was watching the television. b. To indicate the progressive nature of an action that was happening at the same time as another event in the past Example: The mouse was eating a piece of cheese when the cat caught it. Universitas Sumatera Utara My mother was cooking the dinner when I came home. c. To indicate that two continuous activities were going on at the same time Example: She was reading the newspaper while I was watching the television. d. To indicate that an activity was going on between two points of time in the past Example: She was writing his first novel between December 1998 and February 1999. In the last two categories, notice that the conjunction WHEN is used to indicate a point in time, whereas WHILE is used to indicate a duration of time.

A. The Form of Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense 1. Form of Simple Past Tense

The Simple Past Tense formed by using verbs that consist of two ways, they are regular verbs and irregular verbs. a. Regular Verbs In forming the Simple Past Tense in regular verbs, we just add the –ed or –d after the infinitive. Examples: live → lived climb → climbed ask → asked finish → finished walk → walked play → played Universitas Sumatera Utara  He lived in France last year.  They climbed the mountain a week ago.  He asked me to open the window a moment ago.  Mary finished her homework an hour ago.  She walked to school yesterday because the car was broken.  The boys played football last Saturday. b. Irregular Verbs Some verbs are irregular. In this case we do not need to put –d or –ed after the infinitive, otherwise it will be changing the form and the sound. Examples: wear → wore drink → drank eat → ate write → wrote tell → told give → gave  It was Mary’s birthday yesterday and she wore her new dress.  I was very thirsty this morning and I drank three glasses of water.  The children were hungry and ate all the cakes.  She wrote a letter to her mother last week.  His mother told him a story before sleep last night.  He gave me the book two days ago. Universitas Sumatera Utara  There are also some verbs which do not change in the Simple Past Tense formation. Examples: read → read put → put bid → bid hurt → hurt hit → hit  She read the novel all day yesterday.  He put the paper on the table this morning.  My mother bid the price so hard on the market last week.  Your rude words hurt her so much.  Her brother hit him accidentally a few days ago. Simple past tense has three form, Positive Form, Negative Form, and Interrogative Form.  Positive Form The pattern: S + VERB PAST TENSE + OBJECT COMPLIMENT Examples:  I saw David yesterday.  The cat ran a mouse a few days ago.  The baby cried all night because he is hungry. Universitas Sumatera Utara  I washed the dishes ten minutes ago.  The students asked a lot of question to the teacher last week.  We opened the window because it was hot an hour ago.  She wrote a letter to his brother in London.  My friend and I went to the cinema last Saturday.  Negative Form The Pattern: S + DID + NOT + VERB INFINITIVE + OBJECT COMPLIMENT Examples:  I did not see David yesterday.  The cat did not run a mouse a few days ago.  The baby did not cry all night.  I did not wash the dishes ten minutes ago.  The students did not ask a lot of question to the teacher last week  We did not open the window because it was cold.  She did not write a letter to his brother in London.  My friend and I did not go to the cinema last Saturday. Universitas Sumatera Utara  Interrogative Sentence The Pattern: DID + S + VERB INFINITIVE + OBJECT COMPLIMENT OR WH…QUESTION WORD+DID + S+ VERBINF+ OBEJCT COMPLIMENT Examples:  Did you see David yesterday?  Did the cat run a mouse a few days ago?  Why did the baby cry all night?  When did I wash the dishes?  Did the students ask a lot of question to the teacher last week?  Why did we open the window an hour ago?  Did she write a letter to his brother in London?  Did my friend and I go to the cinema last Saturday?

2. Form of Past Continuous Tense

While past continuous tense formed by using to be in past tense, that are was and were plus the verb –ing present participle. Examples: clean → cleaning listen → listening sleep → sleeping rain → raining speak → speaking Universitas Sumatera Utara  He was cleaning the table at that time.  We were listening to the radio when he came.  I was sleeping when you called me.  It was raining when I went out this morning.  She was speaking to the teacher when he entered the room. Same as Simple past tense, pas continuous tense also has three form, Positive Form, Negative Form, and Interrogative Form.  Positive Form The pattern: S + WASWERE + VERB - ing + O Compliment Examples:  I was having breakfast at six this morning.  She was waiting when I arrived.  I was sleeping all day yesterday.  He was cleaning at the time.  We were studying when you knocked at the door.  My mother was cooking as I got home  Negative Form The pattern: S + WASWERE + NOT + VERB –ing + O Compliment Examples:  I was not having breakfast at six this morning.  She was not waiting when I arrived. Universitas Sumatera Utara  I was not sleeping all day yesterday.  He was not cleaning at the time.  We were studying when you knocked at the door.  My mother was not cooking as I got home  Interrogative Form The pattern: WASWERE + S + VERB –ing + O Compliment? Examples:  Were you having breakfast at six this morning?  Was she waiting when I arrived?  Was you sleeping all day yesterday?  Was he cleaning at the time?  Were we studying when you knocked at the door?  Was my mother cooking as I got home?

B. The Function of Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense

a. Simple Past Tense functions: 1 To show an action that took place in the past. The time of the action is generally given, when time is not given it is implied or understood. 2 When narrating a series of events. 3 The past tense is also used for activities that occurred over a period of time in the past, but are now finished on that occurred at intervals in the past, but do not occur now. Universitas Sumatera Utara b. Past Continuous Tense functions: 1 To indicate that an action was in progress at a definite time in the past. 2 To indicate the progressive nature of an action that was happening at the same time as another event in the past. 3 To indicate that two continuous activities were going on at the same time. 4 To indicate that an activity was going on between two points of time in the past. Universitas Sumatera Utara

2.3.2 Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense in Spanish

Preterito and Imperfecto There are some types of Past Tenses in Spanish, they are :  Imperfecto  Pretérito  Condicional  Presente perfecto  Futuro perfecto  Pluscuamperfecto  Pretérito anterior  Condicional perfecto According to Laura K. Lawless in her official website, Online language learning with Laura K. Lawless, and also according to Ganefiati Rachmaning in her book “Español Para Ti 2” page 95, one of the most striking differences between Spanish and English is in verb tenses. For English speakers, learning how to use the various past tenses in Spanish can be very tricky and vice versa, because English has several tenses which either do not exist or do not translate literally into Spanish. Anyone who has studied Spanish is aware of the troublesome relationship between the pretérito and imperfecto. The imperfecto yo hablaba translates to the English imperfect I was talking while the pretérito yo hablé literally translates to the English simple past I talked but can also be translated as the English present perfect I have talked or the emphatic past I did talk. Universitas Sumatera Utara It is extremely important to understand the distinctions between pretérito and imperfecto in order to use them correctly and thus express past events accurately. But before we discuss about the preterito and imperfecto, we should know that in forming a sentence in Spanish is about the conjugation of the verb. It is very important to know the verb is Spanish because all Spanish verbs have to be conjugated – they have different forms depending on what the subject is. The verb in Spanish consists of 5 categories: 1. –AR verbs 2. –ER verbs Regular Verbs 3. –IR verbs 4. Stem-changing verbs 5. Irregular verbs -AR verbs, -ER verbs, and –IR verbs are regular verbs. Regular verbs that end in these letters are all conjugated the same way in all of the tenses. Stem- changing verbs or verbs with spelling changes take the same endings as regular verbs, but their root changes depending on the subject. And the final category is irregular verbs. These are verbs whose conjugations are unique to them, so you must memorize their conjugations separately. 1. –AR verbs present tense The verbs that ends in –AR is called the infinitive. –AR is the inifinitive ending. The English infinitive has the word “to” in front of the verb. The verb Universitas Sumatera Utara without the –AR is called the stem or radical. To conjugate an -AR verb, remove the infinitive ending and then add the appropriate endings, as follows: Singular Endings Plural Endings 1 st person yo + o nosotros + amos 2 nd person tú + as vosotros + áis 3 rd person élélla + a ellos + an Thus to conjugate hablar, we should remove the infinitive ending to find the radical habl- and then add the appropriate endings: Hablar Singular After endings Plural After endings 1 st person yo hablo nosotros hablamos 2 nd person tú hablas vosotros habláis 3 rd person élélla habla ellos hablan Some of –AR verbs: andar : to walk limpiar : to wash, to clean bailar : to dance llamar : to call besar : to kiss matar : to kill Universitas Sumatera Utara calentar: to warm up mirar : to watch callar : shut up nadir : to swim cantar : to sing olvidar : to forget dar : to give pagar : to pay dibujar : to draw pensar : to think entrar : to enter pintar : to paint escuchar: to listen practicar: to practice estudiar: to study preguntar: to ask a question explicar: to explain regresar: to return firmar : to sign saltar : to jump fumar : to smoke tocar : to touch, to play music ganar : to win tomar : to take, to drink hablar : to speak tartar : to deal with jugar : to play viajar : to travel Universitas Sumatera Utara 2. –ER verbs present tense To conjugate an –ER verb, remove the infinitive ending and then add the appropriate endings, as follows: Singular Endings Plural Endings 1 st person yo + o nosotros +emos 2 nd person tú + es vosotros +é 3 rd person élélla + e ellos +en Thus to conjugate aprender, we should remove the infinitive ending to find the radical aprend- and then add the appropriate endings: Aprender Singular After endings Plural After endings 1 st person yo aprendo nosotros aprendemos 2 nd person tú aprendes vosotros aprendéis 3 rd person élélla aprende ellos aprenden Some of the –ER verbs: absolver : to absolve, to acquilt corer : to run, to race absorber : to compose, to fix, repair defender: to defend aparecer : to show up, to appear dissolver: to disolve Universitas Sumatera Utara aprender : to dispose entender : to understand atender : to attend, to heed esconder : to hide beber : to drink haber : to have barrer : to sweep imponer : to impose comer : to eat leer : to read mantener: to maintain saber : to know, to know how morder : to bite suponer: to suppose nacer : to be born sorprender: to surprise obedecer: to obey temer :to fear, to be afraid of oler : to smell tender : to extend, to spread out parecer : to seem, to appear traer : to bring perder : to see vender : to sell, to vend poner : to return, to go back ver : to see querer : to want, to love volver : to return, to go back romper : to break, to tear yacer : to lie down, to be situated Universitas Sumatera Utara 3. –IR verbs present tense To conjugate an –IR verb, remove the infinitive ending and then add the appropriate endings, as follows: Singular Endings Plural Endings 1 st person yo + o nosotros +imos 2 nd person tú + es vosotros +ís 3 rd person élélla + e ellos +en Thus to conjugate aprender, we should remove the infinitive ending to find the radical aprend- and then add the appropriate endings: partir Singular After endings Plural After endings 1 st person yo parto nosotros partimos 2 nd person tú partes vosotros partís 3 rd person élélla parte ellos parten Some of –IR verbs: abrir : to open mentir : to lie, to tell an untruth admitir: to admit, permit morir : to die advertir: to advertise, to warn ocurrir : to occur Universitas Sumatera Utara competir: to compete partir : to divide, to depart concluir : to conclude percibir: to perceive consentir : to consent persuader: to persuade converter : to convert, to change recibir : to receive corregir : to correct reducer : to reduce decider : to decide salir : to exit, to leave, to go out definir : to define seguir : to follow, to continue destruir : to destroy servir : to serve extinguir : to extinguish traducir : to translate fluir : to flow unir : to unite huir : to flee, to run away venir : to come influir : to influence, to act on vestir : to dress, to get dressed insistir : to insist vivir : to live, to be alive Universitas Sumatera Utara 4. Stem-Changing Verbs Spanish has two kinds of verbs that undergo spelling changes during conjugation. Spelling change verbs undergo consonant changes in certain conjugations, while stem-changing verbs are characterized by changes in vowels. Stem-changing verbs are those that have a vowel spelling change in the stem of all form except nosotros and vosotros. Spanish has three different stem-changing patterns: 1 E changes to IE Example: Querer to want, to love querer Singular Changes Plural Changes 1 st person yo quiero nosotros queremos 2 nd person tú quieres vosotros queries 3 rd person élélla quiere ellos quieren Similarly-conjugated verbs note that there are –Ar, -ER and –IR verbs in this category: advertir to warn ascender to go up atravesar to cross cerrar to close comenzar to begin descender to go down Universitas Sumatera Utara despertarse to wake up divertirse to have fun empezar to begin entender to understand mentir to lie pensar to think perder to lose preferir to prefer quebrar to break recomendar to recommend sentarse to sit down sentir to feel 2 O changes to UE Example: Poder can, be able to Poder Singular Changes Plural Changes 1 st person yo puedo nosotros podemos 2 nd person tú puedes vosotros podeméis 3 rd person élélla puede ellos pueden Similarly verbs there are –AR, -ER and –IR verbs in this category: acostarse to go bed Universitas Sumatera Utara almorzar to eat lunch contar to count costar to cost doler to hurt dormer to sleep encontrar to find jugar to play morir to die mostrar to show oler to smell probar to try recodar to remember soler to be used to volar to fly volver to return In jugar, the U changes to UE juego, juegas,… In oler, the O changes to HUE huelo, hueles,… 3 E changes to I Example: Repetir to repeat Repetir Singular Changes Plural Changes 1 st person yo repito nosotros repetimos 2 nd person tú repites vosotros repetis 3 rd person élélla repite ellos repiten Universitas Sumatera Utara Similar verbs only –IR verbs in this category: despedirse to say good-bye gemir to moan, groan impedir to prevent medir to mesure pedir to ask for reír to laugh seguir to follow, continue server to serve sonréirse to smile vestirse to dress

2.3.3 Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense in Spanish

There are some types of Past Tenses in Spanish, they are :  Imperfecto  Pretérito  Condicional  Presente perfecto  Futuro perfecto  Pluscuamperfecto  Pretérito anterior  Condicional perfecto Universitas Sumatera Utara But in this thesis I just focus to the tenses to : Pretérito and Imperfecto which are equal with Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense in English. a PRETERITO The pretérito is the Spanish simple past tense, used to talk about things that were completed in the past. To conjugate the preterito, it has different rules for each of the verbs. Conjugating the pretérito: Regular verbs Most regular Spanish -AR, -ER, and -IR verbs are conjugated with a standard root found by dropping the infinitive plus the appropriate endings.  -AR verbs Singular Endings Plural Endings 1 st person yo + e nosotros + amos 2 nd person tú + aste vosotros + asteis 3 rd person élélla + o ellos + aron So to conjugate the word hablar to speak, we drop the infinitive and add the appropriate endings, same like when we want to conjugate the –AR verb in present tense but different endings. Hablar Singular After endings Plural After endings Universitas Sumatera Utara 1 st person yo hable nosotros hablamos 2 nd person tú hablaste vosotros hablasteis 3 rd person élélla hablo ellos hablaron The other example: Comprar to buy Comprar Singular After endings Plural After endings 1 st person yo compre nosotros compramos 2 nd person tú compraste vosotros comprasteis 3 rd person élélla compro ellos compraron In sentence: Yo Compre una chaqueta ayer. I bought a jacket yesterday. The subject sometimes didn’t mention.  -ER Verbs and –IR Verbs The preterito endings are identical for –ER and –IR verbs Singular Endings Plural Endings 1 st person yo + í nosotros + imos 2 nd person tú + iste vosotros + isteis 3 rd person élélla + ió ellos + ieron So to conjugate the word corer to run, we drop the infinitive and add the appropriate endings, same like when we want to conjugate the –ER verb in present tense but different endings. Universitas Sumatera Utara Corer Singular After endings Plural After endings 1 st person yo corrí nosotros corrimos 2 nd person tú Corriste vosotros corristeis 3 rd person élélla Corrió ellos corrieron The other example: comer to eat Comer Singular After endings Plural After endings 1 st person yo comí nosotros comimos 2 nd person tú comiste vosotros comisteis 3 rd person élélla comió ellos comieron In sentence: Comimos a las ocho. We ate at 8 o’clock. For example: vivir to live Comer Singular After endings Plural After endings 1 st person yo viví nosotros vivimos 2 nd person tú viviste vosotros vivisteis 3 rd person élélla vivió ellos vivieron In sentence: Juan vivió en Ingles de 2001. Juan lived in England in 2001.  STEM-CHANGING Verbs Verbs which are stem-changing in the present tense may or may not be in the pretérito. Note that they use the same endings for the pretérito as regular verbs. Universitas Sumatera Utara Stem-changing verbs that end in -AR and -ER do not stem-change in the pretérito. Verb Present tense Pretérito pensar yo pienso yo pensé entender él entiende él entendió Stem-changing verbs that end in -IR have a different stem change in the pretérito. Those that have an E change to an I, and those that have an O change to a U, but only in the third person conjugations. Pedir - to ask for yo pedí nosotros pedimos tú pediste vosotros pedisteis él pidió ellos pidieron Dormir - to sleep yo dormí nosotros dormimos tú dormiste vosotros dormisteis él durmió ellos durmieron Verbs which end in -CAR, -GAR, and -ZAR have a stem-change in the first person singular of the pretérito, even if they are not stem-changing in the present tense. In these verbs, the C, G, or Z changes to QU, GU, or C, respectively. Universitas Sumatera Utara Buscar - to search, look for yo busqué nosotros buscamos tú buscaste vosotros buscasteis él buscó ellos buscaron Pagar - to pay yo pagué nosotros pagamos tú pagaste vosotros pagasteis él pagó ellos pagaron Lanzar - to throw yo lancé nosotros lanzamos tú lanzaste vosotros lanzasteis él lanzó ellos lanzaron Note that since -AR verbs lose their stem-change, -CAR, -GAR, and -ZAR verbs which are stem-changing in the present e.g., comenzar lose that stem- change but gain a new one in the pretérito: yo comienzo present --» yo comencé pretérito. b IMPERFECTO The imperfect tense is used to talk about a past action or state of being without specifying when it began or ended. It is often equivalent to was ___-ing Universitas Sumatera Utara in English. The Spanish imperfect can also express repeated actions in the past - equivalent to used to in English. Conjugating the imperfecto The imperfecto is relatively easy, because all regular and all but three irregular Spanish verbs are conjugated with the standard root found by dropping the infinitive plus the appropriate endings.  -AR verbs Singular Endings Plural Endings 1 st person yo + aba nosotros + abamos 2 nd person tú + abas vosotros + abais 3 rd person élélla + aba ellos + aban To conjugate hablar to speak: Hablar Singular After endings Plural After endings 1 st person yo hablaba nosotros hablabamos 2 nd person tú hablabas vosotros hablabais 3 rd person élélla hablaba ellos hablaban The other example: estudiar to study estudiar Singular After endings Plural After endings 1 st person yo estudiaba nosotros estudiabamos 2 nd person tú estudiabas vosotros estudiabais Universitas Sumatera Utara 3 rd person élélla estudiaba ellos estudiaban In sentence: Estudiaba a las nueve de la mañana. I was studying at nine this morning.  -ER Verbs and –IR Verbs The imperfecto endings are identical for –ER and –IR verbs. Singular Endings Plural Endings 1 st person yo + ía nosotros + iamos 2 nd person tú + ias vosotros + iais 3 rd person élélla + ía ellos + ian Corer Singular After endings Plural After endings 1 st person yo corría nosotros corriamos 2 nd person tú corrias vosotros corriais 3 rd person élélla corría ellos corrian The other example: leer to read Leer Singular After endings Plural After endings 1 st person yo leía nosotros leiamos 2 nd person tú leias vosotros leiais 3 rd person élélla leía ellos leiian Universitas Sumatera Utara In the sentence: Ella leía el periodico. She was reading the newspaper. Example: escribir to write Escribir Singular After endings Plural After endings 1 st person Yo escribía nosotros escribiamos 2 nd person Tú escribias vosotros escribiais 3 rd person élélla escribía ellos escribian In sentence: Escribía una carta a mi madre. I was writing a letter to my mother.  IRREGULAR VERBS Ir, ser, and ver are the only irregular verbs in the imperfecto. Ir - to go yo iba nosotros íbamos tú ibas vosotros ibais él iba ellos iban Ser - to be Universitas Sumatera Utara yo era nosotros éramos tú eras vosotros erais él era ellos eran Ver - to see yo veía nosotros veíamos tú veías vosotros veíais él veía ellos veían

A. The Form of Preterito and Imperfecto

 Positive Form The pattern: S + VERB PRETERITOIMPERFECTO+ O Compliment Examples in Preterito:  Yo visité Barcelona el sabado = I visit Barcelona on Saturday S Verb O Compliment  Nosotros tomamos la medicina ayer = We took the medicine yesterday S Verb O Compliment  Yo compré unas naranjas = I bought some oranges S Verb O  Maria compró un regalo para su amigo = Maria bought a gift for her friend. Universitas Sumatera Utara S Verb O Compliment  Nosotros lavamos la ropa = We washed the clothing. S Verb O  El profesor explicó las palabras = The teacher explained the words yesterday. S Verb O Examples in Imperfecto:  Ella leía el periódico = She was reading the newspaper.  Bailabamos todos los dias = We used to dance every day.  Tenían tiempo de estudiar = They had time to study.  Caminaban por la calle cuando empezó a llover = They were walking down the street when it began to rain.  Juan sabía las noticias y estaba enojado = Juan knew about the news and was angry.  Mientras pescaban, hablaban del partido de fútbol =While they were fishing they talked about the soccer game. Note: Subject of the sentence in Spanish sometimes didn’t mention in the sentence, especially for the 1 st and 2 nd singular and plural person.  Negative Form To make a Spanish statement or question negative, place “no” in front of the verb The pattern: NO + VERB PRETERITOIMPERFECTO+ OCompliment Universitas Sumatera Utara Examples:  No visité Barcelona el sabado = I didn’t visit Barcelona on Saturday  No tomamos la medicina ayer = We didn’t take the medicine yesterday  No compré unas naranjas = I didn’t buy some oranges  Ella no leía el periódico = She was not reading the newspaper.  Juan no sabía las noticias y estaba enojado = Juan didn’t know about the news and was angry.  No tenían tiempo de estudiar = They didn’t have time to study.  Interrogative Form The pattern: There are three ways to form interrogative form in Spanish: a. Put question marks around the positive sentence. Example:  ¿Visitaste Barcelona el sabado? = Did you visit Barcelona on Saturday?  ¿tTomamos la medicina ayer ? = Did we take the medicine yesterday?  ¿Comprasté unas naranjas? = Did you buy some oranges?  ¿Maria compró un regalo para su amigo? = Did Maria buy a gift for her friend?  ¿Lavamos la ropa? = Did we wash the clothing?  ¿El profesor explicó las palabras? = Did the teacher explain the words? Universitas Sumatera Utara b. Information question Information questions are more complicated; they ask for more information, such as who, what, when, where, why, how, which, etc. quién who dónde where qué what por qué why cuándo when cómo how The pattern : ¿QUESTION WORD + VERB in present + S + OCompliment? Examples:  ¿qué compró maria para su amigo? what did maria buy for her friend?  ¿cuándo lavamos la ropa? when did we wash the clothes?  ¿dónde explicó el profesor las palabras? where did the teacher explain the words? 52 Universitas Sumatera Utara

B. The Function Preterito and Imperfecto

The pretérito indicates: I. A single event Fui a España el año pasado - I went to Spain last year. Visité Barcelona el sábado - I visited Barcelona on Saturday.

II. One or more events or actions that began and ended in the past

Fui a España - I went to Spain. Visité unos museos - I visited some museums.

III. An event that occurred, interrupting another action

...cuando me dijeron la verdad - ... when they told me the truth. ...cuando mi hija nació - when my daughter was born.

IV. Changes in an existing physical or mental state at a precise moment or for a

particular isolated cause Tuve miedo cuando vi el perro - I was scared when I saw the dog. The imperfecto is used for: I. A habitual or repeated action Universitas Sumatera Utara Iba a España cada año - I went used to go to Spain every year. Visitaba mucho la Sagrada Familia - I often visited la Sagrada Familia.

II. An ongoing action with no specified completion

Iba a España - I was going to Spain. Visitaba unos museos - I was visiting museums.

III. Descriptionbackground information; set the scene of how things were or

what was happening when there was an interruption see pretérito III above Vivía en Costa Rica cuando... - I was living in Costa Rica when... Estaba en mi cama cuando... - I was in bed when...

IV. General description of physical or mental states of being

Tenía miedo de perros - I was afraid of dogs.

V. Expression of the time of day or age in the past

Eran las cinco de la mañana - It was five a.m. Era sus cumpleaños; tenía doce años - It was his birthday; he was twelve. Thus the imperfecto is normally used for descriptions of the past, while the pretérito narrates specific events. In addition, the imperfecto often sets the stage for an event expressed with the pretérito. Universitas Sumatera Utara CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Method