The 4 past tenses in Spanish: when to use each one (with examples)

Spanish has four past tenses in the indicative: hablé (preterite, pretérito indefinido), hablaba (imperfect), he hablado (present perfect, pretérito perfecto) and había hablado (pluperfect). To choose the right one you only need two questions: am I interested in the process or in the end of the action? And am I inside or outside the time period I'm talking about? In this article I explain it quickly and visually, with examples.

If you prefer to watch it, here's the video (in Spanish):

The four Spanish past tenses at a glance

• Preterite (indefinido): hablé, comí, viví.
• Imperfect (imperfecto): hablaba, comía, vivía.
• Present perfect (pretérito perfecto): he hablado, he comido, he vivido.
• Pluperfect (pluscuamperfecto): había hablado, había comido, había vivido.

You can sort them into two pairs that cross over: perfective vs imperfective (focus on the end or on the process) and simple vs compound (one word, or haber + past participle).

Question 1: process or end? Imperfect or preterite

The key difference is where you put the focus. With the imperfect you look at the action while it's happening, its process or duration. With the preterite you see it as finished and closed.

• “Estudiaba español”: the process matters, the time you spent studying.
• “Estudié español”: the action is over; you no longer study it.

That gives you the most common uses:

Two actions at the same time, or one after the other

• “Mientras escribía, me comía un helado” (While I was writing, I was eating an ice cream): two simultaneous actions, both in the imperfect.
• “Escribí y me comí un helado” (I wrote and then ate an ice cream): one after the other, both in the preterite.

An action interrupted by another

“Hacía un día estupendo, pero empezó a llover” (It was a lovely day, but it started to rain). The ongoing action goes in the imperfect (hacía) and the one that interrupts it, usually short, goes in the preterite (empezó).

Routines or one-off events

• “Cuando era pequeña, visitaba a mi abuela cada domingo” (When I was little, I used to visit my grandmother every Sunday): a repeated habit. Imperfect.
• “Me gradué el año pasado” (I graduated last year): a one-off event. Preterite.

That's why verbs like nacer (to be born) or morir (to die) almost always appear in the preterite: they happen only once.

Descriptions

To describe people, places or situations in the past (age, weather, what something was like) you use the imperfect: “Tenía cinco años y vivía en Sevilla”.

Question 2: inside or outside? Preterite or present perfect

This is the hardest part, but once you get it you won't make the mistake again. With a simple tense (trabajé), the speaker is outside the period in which the action happened. With a compound tense (he trabajado), the speaker is inside that period, even if the action is finished.

• “La semana pasada trabajé”: last week is over and today you're outside it. Preterite.
• “Este año he trabajado mucho”: this year isn't over yet, so you're inside it. Present perfect, even if you worked in February and it's now June.
• “Ayer leí” vs “Esta semana he leído”: yesterday is outside today; this week includes you.

That's why the present perfect goes with markers like hoy, esta mañana, esta semana, este año or alguna vez, and the preterite with ayer, la semana pasada, el año pasado or en 2020.

One important nuance: this distinction is the general rule in Spain. In much of Latin America and in some parts of Spain, the preterite is also used with hoy or este año. In the DELE both varieties are valid; what matters is being consistent.

And the pluperfect: the past of the past

The pluperfect (había hablado) tells you something happened before another past action: “Cuando llegué a la estación, el tren ya había salido” (When I got to the station, the train had already left).

Past tenses in the DELE exam

Past tenses appear at every DELE level. At A2 and B1 you need them in the writing test (telling an experience, an anecdote, what your life used to be like) and in the speaking test. Combining the preterite and the imperfect well makes your text sound more natural and earns you marks. Here's a commented example where you can see it clearly: DELE A2 writing Task 2.

FAQ about Spanish past tenses

What's the difference between the preterite and the imperfect?

The preterite presents the action as finished and one-off (estudié); the imperfect presents it in progress, as a description or as a routine (estudiaba).

When do you use the present perfect (he hablado)?

When the action happens in a time period that hasn't ended yet for the speaker: hoy, esta semana, este año. Also for undated experiences: “¿Has estado alguna vez en México?” (Have you ever been to Mexico?).

Is it “ayer he ido” or “ayer fui”?

Ayer fui. Yesterday is a finished period, so it takes the preterite.

Why “cuando era pequeña” and not “cuando fui pequeña”?

Because it describes a stage of your life, and past descriptions go in the imperfect.

Which past tense is used for an action before another one?

The pluperfect: “Ya había cenado cuando me llamaste” (I had already had dinner when you called me).

Summary

• Imperfect (hablaba): process, descriptions, routines and simultaneous or interrupted actions.
• Preterite (hablé): finished, one-off actions in a period that no longer includes the present.
• Present perfect (he hablado): finished actions within a period that hasn't ended yet.
• Pluperfect (había hablado): an action before another past action.

Resources to prepare for the DELE

If you want to prepare the exam task by task, with strategies, commented examples and direct access to me for your questions, you'll find all my courses here: DELE preparation courses. Not sure which level to take? Try the free level test: nivel.aporeldele.com.

And if prepositions trip you up, read this: por vs para, differences and examples.

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¡A por el DELE! 🇪🇸