What is the Difference between Preterite and Imperfect
Languages are based on certain grammar rules. The basic rules are different for different languages. The tenses to differentiate the three phases of time are also different for different languages. There are many languages in the world that have many alphabets and based on their combinations. There are two past tenses in the Spanish language, Preterite and Imperfect that can be used according to their use and meaning. Below is given difference.
Preterite
Preterite is the Spanish word which means past. In Spanish, this tense is used for the action “completed” in past. in other words, what we call an act completed perfectly on which do not have doubt, is called preterite. For example, we say ate, this means it is a preterite tense because the action is completed now. Similarly an action or a verb that shows the completeness of task is called preterite. For example, “I met him in spain”. Here the action is completes.
Imperfect
Imperfect is the tense in Spanish which does not show any completion of the action. The verb shown in the sentences that do not depict their completion are imperfect. The example is “he was riding bike”. Here riding means that the action was not completed in the past rather it was going on when the sentence was uttered. Imperfect also means the verbs that have been repeated in the past, or the actions that are over longer period of time.
Preterite vs Imperfect
Both are past tenses but they have different uses. The preterite is the verb that depicts an action that has completed and there is no doubt in its perfection. So it can be called as a past tense opposite to that of imperfect. Imperfect is the tense that shows the imperfection of an act going in the past or anything that is repeated in the past or describes an action over a long period of time in past.
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