I can review the whole module: how things used to be, what happened once, and how to compare what was with what is.
What we review
The module's four topics
Past habits and settings — imperfecto (the imperfect); English “used to …” means the imperfect too. Time expressions: antes, siempre, a menudo, de pequeño, todos los veranos. Endings: -aba for -ar verbs and -ía for -er and -ir verbs; three irregular verbs — iba, era, veía; the past of hay is había.
Event versus background — indefinido (the preterite) versus the imperfect: Llovía y salí de casa. After mientras comes the imperfect, and estaba + gerund (English “was … -ing”) says the action was going on at that very moment.
Comparisons — más or menos + adjective + que, tan + adjective + como (“as … as”), igual que; and four special comparisons without más: mejor, peor, mayor, menor.
The most — el · la + más + adjective + de (de, never en, though English says “in”); “very” in one word — the ending -ísimo.
What you can do now: say what things were like before and what has changed, and compare people, things, and places.
The module at a glance
The module's four topics, with one model for each.
| What we say | How | Example |
|---|---|---|
| what usually happened | imperfecto | De pequeño jugaba en la calle. |
| happened once | indefinido | Un día mis padres cambiaron de barrio. |
| was going on at that moment | estaba + gerund | Estaba leyendo cuando llegó Pablo. |
| more or less | más · menos … que | Hoy el mercado está más limpio que ayer. |
| the same | tan … como · igual que | Hoy hace tanto calor como ayer. |
| the most of all, and “very” | el · la … más … de · -ísimo | Es la calle más larga del barrio y está limpísima. |
Lesson notes
The module's four topics
Past habits and settings — imperfecto (the imperfect); English “used to …” means the imperfect too. Time expressions: antes, siempre, a menudo, de pequeño, todos los veranos. Endings: -aba for -ar verbs and -ía for -er and -ir verbs; three irregular verbs — iba, era, veía; the past of hay is había.
Event versus background — indefinido (the preterite) versus the imperfect: Llovía y salí de casa. After mientras comes the imperfect, and estaba + gerund (English “was … -ing”) says the action was going on at that very moment.
Comparisons — más or menos + adjective + que, tan + adjective + como (“as … as”), igual que; and four special comparisons without más: mejor, peor, mayor, menor.
The most — el · la + más + adjective + de (de, never en, though English says “in”); “very” in one word — the ending -ísimo.
What you can do now: say what things were like before and what has changed, and compare people, things, and places.