In dealing with Spanish Past Tenses, there’s one trick you may want to remember: time markers are a very useful tool for giving you information about what tense you should use. Here you can find a summary for the past:
| (Indefinido) | (Imperfecto) | (Pretérito Perfecto) | (Pluscuamperfecto) |
|
[Same as in Simple Present] |
[Same time unit] |
[Same as in Perfecto] |
Tense markers in Spanish past tenses
Recommendations
- It is not impossible, it is not random. Just try to focus on detecting the context you are speaking in, rather than just trying to learn a set of rules.
- Remember that sometimes, two options can be equally correct, and there will be a slight difference in meaning, a subtle connotation (this is the Spanish level of writer Gabriel García Márquez).
- If you have been studying with me for a while, you may have noticed I haven’t yet said a word about Subjunctive forms… and yes, there are also Subjunctive past tenses. But they work differently than these ones. Actually, it’s pretty easy to know when to use them, being that there is not a variety of contexts as in the Indicative tenses. It’s pretty straightforward.
- Remember, keep an eye on irregular forms, as they are always tricky. You will also need extra attention when using ser or estar in the past – but this is a topic for a whole new article!
One final tip, and his time is more than a language recommedation – a life attitude!
Any further questions you may have, you can post in the comments, and I will be glad to have a look and answer them.