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Year 11 - Spanish

Una peli de Guillermo del Toro: imperfect and preterite tenses

Media and technology: Internet y yo

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils learn how to use pronouns after prepositions, including emphatic use after 'a'. They revisit the syntax of sentences with interesar-type verbs. The unit introduces irregular past participles 'muerto', 'vuelto', 'cubierto', 'dicho', 'roto'.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to use the imperfect and preterite tenses to describe a film.

Key Notes

  • The imperfect tense is used for descriptions, giving background information and ongoing events in the past.
  • The preterite tense is used for completed events in the past.
  • We use the 3rd person singular and plural when we talk about a film.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • imperfect: verb tense used to talk about something that used to happen repeatedly and to set the scene in past-tense accounts
  • preterite: verb tense used to talk about something completed in the past and to drive the narrative forward in past-tense accounts
  • 3rd person: form of pronouns and verbs used to refer to 'she', 'he', 'it' (singular) or 'they' (plural)

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • To describe the past we can use both the preterite and the imperfect interchangeably.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.

The imperfect tense is used for descriptions, giving background information and ongoing events in the past. The preterite tense is used for completed events in the past.

2. Define this key language word and use it in context. 'imperfect'

verb tense used to talk about something that used to happen repeatedly and to set the scene in past-tense accounts. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.

3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.

Mistake: To describe the past we can use both the preterite and the imperfect interchangeably. Correction: We use the imperfect to set the scene, to give background information and to describe onling states. And we use the preterite to express completed actions that move the plot forward.

More Lessons In This Unit

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