Review: Present, Preterite, and Future

Examples:

• • Yo hablaré con el director mañana. (I will speak with the principal tomorrow.)
  • Nosotros comeremos en ese restaurante el sábado. (We will eat at that restaurant on Saturday.)
  • Ellos vivirán en una casa nueva pronto. (They will live in a new house soon.)

Comparing the Tenses

Understanding when to use each tense is key to fluency in Spanish:

• Preterite Tense: Describes actions that were completed at a specific time in the past.

  • Example:
  • Yo hablé con mi amigo ayer. (I spoke with my friend yesterday.)

• Imperfect Tense: Describes ongoing, habitual, or background actions in the past.

  • Example:
  • Yo hablaba con mi madre cuando él entró. (I was talking with my mother when he came in.)
  • Nosotros comíamos juntos los domingos. (We ate together on Sundays.)
  • Ellos vivían cerca del parque when they were young. (They used to live near the park cuando eran jóvenes.)

• Future Tense: Describes actions that will happen in the future.

  • Example:
  • Yo hablaré con el director mañana. (I will speak with the principal tomorrow.)

Conclusion

Mastering the preterite, imperfect, and future tenses allows you to describe actions in different time frames with clarity and precision. By understanding how to conjugate regular and irregular verbs in each tense, you’ll be able to confidently communicate about the past and future in Spanish. Keep practicing these tenses together to reinforce your skills and improve your fluency!