In Spanish, certain verbs often take on different meanings depending on whether they're used in the preterite or imperfect tense. This is one of the trickier aspects of Spanish grammar, but understanding these shifts is crucial for conveying the right meaning.
The preterite focuses on completed actions with a definite beginning or end, while the imperfect describes ongoing states or habitual actions in the past. For certain verbs, this distinction often creates entirely different translations in English.
💡 The Key Insight
Think of the preterite as capturing the moment of change—when something begins, ends, or transforms from one state to another. The imperfect describes the ongoing state before or after that change.
⚠️ Important Note
These are common meaning shifts, not absolute rules. Context matters! For example, "tuve" can still mean "had" (not just "received") in certain contexts. The meanings below represent the typical way these verbs are understood in the preterite versus imperfect.