A2 · Elementary

Indefinido versus imperfecto

Two past tenses, one choice: what happened (indefinido) versus what the situation was (imperfecto)?

Foreground versus background

A story has two layers. The indefinido tells what happened — the events that push the story forward (the foreground). The imperfecto describes what the situation was like while that happened — the setting, mood, circumstances (the background).

Picture a film: the imperfecto is the set and the static camera, the indefinido is the action that takes place in it.

Examples

Llovía (imperfecto) cuando salí (indefinido) de casa.It was raining when I left the house.
Hacía sol y los niños jugaban en el parque cuando empezó a llover.It was sunny and the kids were playing in the park when it started to rain.

Mientras and de repente

Two words help you spot the difference:

  • mientras (while) often links two ongoing, simultaneous actions in the imperfecto, or an ongoing action (imperfecto) with an interrupting event (indefinido).
  • de repente (suddenly) announces a new, completed event → always indefinido.

Examples

Mientras cocinaba, sonó el teléfono.While I was cooking, the phone rang.
Mientras yo leía, mi hermana veía la televisión.While I was reading, my sister was watching television.
De repente, alguien gritó su nombre.Suddenly, someone shouted her name.

Both tenses in one sentence

A classic pattern: the imperfecto describes the ongoing situation, the indefinido interrupts it with a concrete event. Recognize this pattern and you'll immediately know which tense you need.

Examples

Yo dormía cuando llegaste.I was sleeping when you arrived.
Caminábamos por la calle cuando vimos el accidente.We were walking down the street when we saw the accident.
Ella era muy joven cuando se casó.She was very young when she got married.

Comparison table

Use this table as a quick reference to choose the right tense.

IndefinidoImperfecto
Afgesloten actie met begin/eindDoorlopende situatie zonder duidelijk eind
Wat gebeurde er (voorgrond)Hoe was het (achtergrond)
ayer, anoche, de repente, una vezantes, siempre, mientras, todos los días
Fui a la fiesta.Iba a fiestas cada fin de semana.

Examples

Ayer fui al médico porque me dolía la cabeza.Yesterday I went to the doctor because I had a headache.
Cuando tenía diez años, mi familia se mudó a Madrid.When I was ten, my family moved to Madrid.

💡 Tips

💡
Ask yourself: 'Is this a photo (situation) or a film action (event)?' Photo = imperfecto, action = indefinido.
💡
In a sentence with 'cuando' (when), the pattern is often: imperfecto (ongoing) + indefinido (interruption) — 'Yo dormía cuando sonó el teléfono.'
💡
Some verbs almost change meaning: 'conocí' (I met, indefinido) versus 'conocía' (I knew, imperfecto); 'supe' (I found out) versus 'sabía' (I knew).

🎯 Practise this topic with 10 interactive exercises (10)

Related grammar

The regular preterite (pretérito indefinido)
The past tense for completed events: regular -ar, -er and -ir forms.
The irregular preterite (pretérito indefinido)
The most common verbs are irregular in the indefinido: ser/ir, tener, hacer, decir and more.
The imperfect past (pretérito imperfecto)
The past tense for habits, descriptions and background — almost always regular.
The present perfect (pretérito perfecto)
The past tense for recent events with an effect on now: haber + past participle.

← The imperfect past (pretérito imperfecto)The present perfect (pretérito perfecto) →

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