Year 9 - Spanish
Extended reading (Don Quijote): 'había' and 'tenía'
Past routines and past events: imperfect tense
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit, pupils learn how to form the imperfect tense for past habitual events with -ar, -er, -ir verbs. Irregular imperfect forms for 'ser' 'era' and 'eras' are also taught. Pupils reinforce their knowledge of the imperfect tense by exploring the text 'El Quijote'.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to use imperfect tense verbs to understand and discuss an important work of Spanish literature, such as Don Quijote.
Key Notes
- To talk about something that used to happen in the past, we use the imperfect tense.
- To say 'there used to be', 'there was' or 'there were', use 'había'. Sentences with 'había' often start with 'en'.
- To say 'I, she, he used to have' or 'I, she, he had' in the imperfect tense, use 'tenía'.
- With other -ar verbs, to talk about 'she' or 'he', add -aba to the stem of the verb. With -er and -ir verbs, add -ía.
- Don Quijote de La Mancha, written by Miguel de Cervantes, is considered the first modern novel.
Vocabulary To Learn
- imperfect tense: tense used to describe how things were or used to be in the past
- había: form of 'haber' meaning 'there was, were' or 'there used to be'
- tenía: form of 'tener' meaning 'I had, used to have' or 'she, he, it had, used to have'
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- 'Había' only means 'there used to be' or 'there was'.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.
To talk about something that used to happen in the past, we use the imperfect tense. To say 'there used to be', 'there was' or 'there were', use 'había'. Sentences with 'había' often start with 'en'.
2. Define this key language word and use it in context. 'imperfect tense'
tense used to describe how things were or used to be in the past. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.
3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.
Mistake: 'Había' only means 'there used to be' or 'there was'. Correction: 'Había' means 'there used to be', 'there was' or 'there were'.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Extended reading (Don Quijote): imperfect continuous Study Guide
- Past celebrations: -er and -ir verbs imperfect tense Study Guide
- Past experiences of work: -ar verbs imperfect tense 1st person singular Study Guide
- Past experiences of work: -ar verbs imperfect tense 2nd and 3rd person singular Study Guide
- Past routines: -er and -ir verbs imperfect tense Study Guide
- The past of a Spanish-speaking city: 'era', 'eras' Study Guide
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