Spanish Imperfect vs Preterite Spanish Verb Conjugation

The “imperfect” and “preterite” tenses – or as we’ve nicknamed them “Back” and “Spine” are both past tense. This lesson will help you clarify when to use one and when to use the other.

Remember that like the back, “back” verbs cover a larger period of time and there is no specific beginning or ending point to the back. The Spine is just the opposite, if you run your hand left to right across your back, you can feel the beginning and ending point of your back. 

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Look at the following chart for a direct comparison.

Spine Back
Completed action

One specific period of time (2 weeks, once, 3 hours, etc.) 		Still could be happening

No specific beginning or ending

More than one specific period of time Sets the background
Spanish (ar) Hablé (ar) Hablaba
English I spoke I was speaking
I used to speak
I spoke (sometimes,
on Mondays, etc.)
Spanish (er) Comí  (er) Comía
English I ate

I was eating
I used to eat
I ate (frequently,
on Saturdays, etc.)

Now let’s take a look at how Back and spine verbs work together. As I’ve mentioned, “Back” verbs set the background of a story. Then, as specific things happen, “Spine” verbs are used.

Look at the following examples and see if you can guess how to say them.

While I was driving, a woman shouted at me.
Mientras manejaba el carro, una mujer me gritó.

While I was eating, Maria came in (entered).
Mientras comía, María entró.

When she was a child, she broke her arm.
Cuando ella era niña, rompió su brazo.

Yeserday we were going to the store when we saw Nancy.
Ayer íbamos a la tienda cuando vimos a Nancy.

The better you learn the concept of how to put Spine and Back verbs together, the more it will help you later on in Spanish.

Review

I ate the apple comí la manzana
(Marta) You used to like dancing te gustaba bailar
He delivered the letter entregó la carta
She was fixing the oven arreglaba el horno
(Sra. Benites) You read the book leió el libro
We used to live vivíamos
They were traveling viajaban
All of you cooked this dinner cocinaron esta cena
I was writing escribía
We spent the money gastamos el dinero
(Raúl) You used to practice practicaba

Back and Spine Meaning Changes

Now, for the last part of this section, we’ll learn about some exceptions where verbs actually change meanings when you use the Spine (Preterite) tense. This is an advanced concept so don’t worry if you don’t catch it all the first time. Notice how the meanings of the following 5 verbs change when we use the Spine or Preterite tense. We’ll conjugate each of them for “yo”.

Back (Imperfect) Tense Spine (Preterite) Tense)
Verb/Usage Normal Meaning Verb/Usage Changed Meaning Meaning
The verb “to want” in the back tense is “Yo quería” which means. I used to want or
I wanted 		The verb “to want” in the spine tense is “Yo quise” which means. I tried or attempted (affirmative)
I refused to (negative)
to want/Yo quería/Back I used to want 
I wanted 		to want/Yo quise/Spine I tried or attempted (affirmative)
I refused to (negative)
The verb “to know” in the back tense is “Yo sabía” which means I used to know
I knew		 The verb “to know” in the Spine tense is “supe” which means I learned
I found out
to know/Yo sabía/Back I used to know
I knew		 to know/Yo supe/Spine I learned
I found out
The verb “to became acquainted with” or “to know” in the back tense is “Yo conocía” which means I used to know (be acquainted with) or
I knew (was acquainted with)		 The verb “to know” in the Spine tense is “conocí” which means I met
to know or be acquainted with/Yo conocía/Back I used to know (be acquainted with)
I knew (was acquainted with)		 to know/conocí/Spine I met
The verb “to be able to” in the back tense is “Yo podía” which means I used to be able to
I could		 The verb “to be able to” in the Spine tense is “pude” which means I tried and could or succeeded in the affirmative
and to fail or failed in the negative
to be able to /Yo podía/Back I used to be able to
I could		 to be able to /Yo pude/Spine I tried and could or succeeded (affirmative)
to fail (negative)
The verb “to have to” in the back tense is “Yo tenía que” which means I had to (but I didn’t necessarily do it). As in “I had to work but I didn’t”. The verb “to have to” in the Spine tense is “tuve que” which means I had to (and did it)
as in “I had to work – and I did”
to have to/Yo tenía que/Back I had to (but didn’t necessarily do it) to have to /Yo tuve/Spine I had to (and did it)

Basically, with these 5 verbs, since this is an advanced concept, if there is ever any question about which to use for the past tense, just use the Back tense instead of the Spine tense and you’ll be right most of the time. However, it is good to know that the meaning does change in the Spine or Preterite tense.

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