Imperfect Progressive and Preterite

P. 277Realidades 2

Imperfect Progressive and

Preterite•Do you remember the

present progressive?•It’s used when a person

wants to say that an action is happening “right now.”

Imperfect Progressive and

Preterite•It uses the present tense of

estar + the present participle.

•No puedo ir al cine. Estoy estudiando para el examen.

Imperfect Progressive and

Preterite•To describe something that was taking place over a period of time in the past, use the imperfect progressive, which uses the imperfect tense of estar + the present participle.

Imperfect Progressive and

Preterite•Estaba esquiando cuando

me caí y me torcí la rodilla.•I was skiing when I fell and

sprained my knee.

Imperfect Progressive and

Preterite•The present and imperfect

progressive tenses use the same irregular present participles.

Imperfect Progressive and

Preterite•Remember, to form the

present participle of -ir stem-changing verbs, e changes to i and o changes to u:

E > I

decir?diciendopedir?pidiendorepetir?repitiendo

seguir?siguiendoservir?sirviendovestir?vistiendo

O > U

dormir?durmiendo

I > Y•For the following -er verbs,

the I of -iendo changes to y:•creer?•creyendo•leer?•leyendo

•traer?•trayendo

Imperfect Progressive and

Preterite•When you use pronouns with

the imperfect progressive, you can put them before estar or attach them to the participle.

Imperfect Progressive and

Preterite•¿Qué estaba haciendo cuando

te cortaste?•Estaba afeitándome.•Or•Me estaba afeitando.

Imperfect Progressive and

Preterite•Note that the imperfect

progressive describes what was taking place while the preterite tells a specific occurance in the past or interrupts the action.

Imperfect Progressive and

Preterite•Ella estaba corriendo

cuando se lastimó el tobillo.