Spanish Preterite vs Imperfect: Practice, Rules & Quiz

Spanish has two major past tenses that beginners often confuse: the preterite and the imperfect.

Both describe the past, but they show the past from different perspectives.

The preterite usually presents an action as a completed event. The imperfect usually describes what was happening, what used to happen, or what a situation was like.

Compare:

• Ayer comí paella.
  Yesterday I ate paella.

• Cuando era niño, comía paella los domingos.
  When I was a child, I used to eat paella on Sundays.

The first sentence treats eating paella as one finished event. The second describes a repeated childhood habit.

That distinction — completed event versus background, habit, or ongoing situation — will solve many preterite vs imperfect questions.

This guide gives you a practical decision system, side-by-side examples, common mistakes, story practice, and an interactive quiz so you can learn to choose the tense from context instead of memorizing isolated trigger words.

If you first need a broader overview of Spanish past forms, start with our guide to how the past tense works in Spanish.

TL;DR

• Use the preterite when you present an action as a completed event.
• Use the imperfect for habits, repeated actions, descriptions, background situations, age, time, weather, and actions already in progress.
• In stories, the imperfect often builds the scene while the preterite tells what happened next.
• A short action is not automatically preterite, and a long action is not automatically imperfect.
• Words such as ayer, siempre, de repente, and mientras are useful clues, but context matters more than trigger words.
• Some verbs, including saber, conocer, querer, and poder, can take noticeably different meanings depending on the tense.
• The best way to learn the difference is repeated preterite vs imperfect practice in complete sentences and stories.

Spanish Preterite vs Imperfect: The Core Difference

Instead of memorizing two long lists of rules, begin with one question:

How is the speaker presenting the past action?

The preterite normally views an event from the outside as a completed whole.

The imperfect normally takes you inside the past situation and describes what was happening, what repeatedly happened, or what things were like.

Compare:

• Ayer trabajé ocho horas.
  Yesterday I worked for eight hours.

• Cuando vivía en Madrid, trabajaba en una cafetería.
  When I lived in Madrid, I worked at a café.

The first sentence gives us a completed block of work.

The second describes part of the speaker’s life in Madrid. The focus is not on the beginning or end of the job.

Here is another pair:

• Ana leyó el libro.
  Ana read the book.

• Ana leía cuando llegué.
  Ana was reading when I arrived.

Leyó presents the reading as a completed event.

Leía puts us in the middle of the action.

This idea is more reliable than simply asking whether something happened in the past. Both tenses describe the past.

Try the Preterite vs Imperfect Quiz First

Before studying all the rules, test your intuition.

Read the entire sentence before answering. Look for context rather than choosing a tense from one word alone.

If some answers surprised you, that is normal. The important skill is not recognizing one trigger word. It is understanding what job the verb is doing in the sentence.

When to Use the Preterite in Spanish

Use the preterite when the speaker presents an action, event, or period as completed.

This does not mean the action must have been short.

A ten-year period can use the preterite if the speaker presents those ten years as a completed period.

1. Completed actions

Use the preterite when an action is viewed as finished.

Examples:

• Ayer compré un libro.
  Yesterday I bought a book.

• El lunes visité a mi abuela.
  On Monday I visited my grandmother.

• Anoche cenamos en un restaurante.
  Last night we had dinner at a restaurant.

• El año pasado viajé a Colombia.
  Last year I traveled to Colombia.

The focus is on completed events.

2. Events with defined boundaries

The preterite can describe an action that lasted a long time if that period is treated as complete.

For example:

• Viví en México durante diez años.
  I lived in Mexico for ten years.

Ten years is obviously not a short action.

What matters is that the speaker presents the ten-year period as a finished whole.

Compare:

• Viví en México durante diez años.
  I lived in Mexico for ten years.

• Cuando vivía en México, iba a la playa cada fin de semana.
  When I lived in Mexico, I went to the beach every weekend.

The first sentence looks at the entire period from the outside.

The second puts us inside that period and uses it as background.

3. One-time events

The preterite commonly describes events presented as happening once.

Examples:

• Nací en Madrid.
  I was born in Madrid.

• Conocí a mi profesor ayer.
  I met my teacher yesterday.

• Perdí mi teléfono en el tren.
  I lost my phone on the train.

• Encontramos un restaurante cerca del hotel.
  We found a restaurant near the hotel.

These events move the story forward.

4. A sequence of completed actions

The preterite is especially common when narrating a series of events.

For example:

• Me levanté, preparé café, salí de casa y tomé el autobús.

The speaker presents four completed steps:

1. I got up.
2. I made coffee.
3. I left the house.
4. I took the bus.

Think of the preterite as the tense that often creates the timeline of a story.

5. An event that changes the scene

One action may already be happening when another event occurs.

The ongoing action often appears in the imperfect, while the new completed event appears in the preterite.

Examples:

• Dormía cuando el teléfono sonó.
  I was sleeping when the phone rang.

• Caminábamos por la calle cuando empezó a llover.
  We were walking down the street when it started to rain.

• Ana estudiaba cuando su amiga llegó.
  Ana was studying when her friend arrived.

The imperfect gives us the existing situation.

The preterite tells us what happened.

When to Use the Imperfect in Spanish

Use the imperfect when the speaker describes the past as ongoing, repeated, habitual, or background information.

It often answers questions such as:

• What was happening?
• What used to happen?
• What was the situation like?
• What was someone like?
• How old was someone?
• What time was it?
• What was the weather like?

1. Habits and repeated actions

Use the imperfect for actions that happened repeatedly or habitually in the past.

Examples:

• De niño, jugaba al fútbol todos los días.
  As a child, I used to play soccer every day.

• Mi madre siempre cocinaba los domingos.
  My mother always cooked on Sundays.

• Antes estudiábamos en la biblioteca.
  We used to study in the library.

• Cada verano visitábamos a mis abuelos.
  Every summer we visited my grandparents.

The focus is on a routine rather than one individual completed event.

2. Background descriptions

The imperfect is commonly used to describe the setting of a past situation.

Examples:

• La casa era grande y tenía un jardín.
  The house was big and had a garden.

• La ciudad estaba tranquila esa noche.
  The city was quiet that night.

• Había mucha gente en el restaurante.
  There were many people in the restaurant.

• Las calles eran estrechas.
  The streets were narrow.

These details build the scene rather than advance the timeline.

3. Age

Age in past descriptions normally uses the imperfect.

• Yo tenía diez años.
  I was ten years old.

• Mi hermana tenía cinco años.
  My sister was five years old.

4. Time

Clock time used as background normally appears in the imperfect.

• Eran las nueve de la noche.
  It was nine at night.

• Era la una.
  It was one o’clock.

5. Weather

Weather descriptions often use the imperfect when setting a scene.

• Hacía frío.
  It was cold.

• Llovía mucho.
  It was raining a lot.

• Nevaba cuando salimos.
  It was snowing when we left.

6. Actions in progress

Use the imperfect when you place the listener inside an action that was already happening.

Examples:

• Ella leía cuando llegué.
  She was reading when I arrived.

• Nosotros esperábamos el tren.
  We were waiting for the train.

• Los niños jugaban en el parque.
  The children were playing in the park.

Spanish can also make the ongoing nature more explicit with estar + gerundio:

• Ella estaba leyendo cuando llegué.

But the imperfect alone can often communicate an action in progress.

7. Thoughts, feelings, wants, and states

The imperfect frequently describes mental or emotional states that existed in the background.

Examples:

• Yo quería descansar.
  I wanted to rest.

• Ella sabía la respuesta.
  She knew the answer.

• Nosotros pensábamos que era fácil.
  We thought it was easy.

• Carlos tenía miedo.
  Carlos was afraid.

These are not absolute rules. A change of state or a completed experience may call for the preterite.

That distinction becomes especially important with verbs such as saber, conocer, querer, and poder, which we will examine below.

The Four-Question Decision Test

When you cannot decide which tense to use, try this sequence.

Question 1: Am I presenting a completed event?

If yes, the preterite is probably appropriate.

• Ayer compré pan.
• El año pasado viajé a México.
• Mi amigo llegó a las ocho.

Question 2: Am I describing something habitual or repeated?

If yes, the imperfect is probably appropriate.

• Siempre compraba pan en esa tienda.
• Cada verano viajábamos a México.
• Los domingos comíamos con mis abuelos.

Question 3: Am I describing the background or what was happening?

If yes, consider the imperfect.

• La tienda era pequeña.
• El hotel tenía una piscina.
• Llovía mucho.
• Los niños jugaban afuera.

Question 4: Am I telling what happened next?

If you are introducing a completed event that advances or changes the story, the preterite is often the natural choice.

• Estudiaba cuando mi amigo llamó.
• Dormíamos cuando el bebé empezó a llorar.
• Caminaba por el parque cuando encontré una cartera.

This test is more useful than memorizing a rigid list of trigger words because it makes you think about meaning.

Preterite vs Imperfect Side by Side

The same verb can appear in both tenses.

The important difference is how the speaker presents the action.

Notice that the verb itself does not determine the tense.

Context and viewpoint do.

Preterite and Imperfect in the Same Sentence

Some of the best practice comes from sentences containing both tenses.

A common storytelling pattern is:

Imperfect = what was happening

Preterite = what happened

For example:

• Yo cocinaba cuando mi hermana llegó.
  I was cooking when my sister arrived.

• Los estudiantes hablaban cuando el profesor entró.
  The students were talking when the teacher entered.

• Nosotros veíamos una película cuando la luz se apagó.
  We were watching a movie when the lights went out.

• Marta dormía cuando alguien tocó la puerta.
  Marta was sleeping when someone knocked on the door.

Think of the imperfect as the camera already recording a scene.

Then the preterite introduces an event.

However, do not turn this into another mechanical rule.

The word cuando does not automatically require one imperfect and one preterite.

Compare:

• Cuando era niño, vivía en Chile.
  When I was a child, I lived in Chile.

• Cuando llegué a Chile, conocí a muchas personas.
  When I arrived in Chile, I met many people.

In the first example, both verbs describe the background period.

In the second, both verbs describe completed events.

The meaning decides the tense.

Time Expressions: Useful Clues, Not Automatic Rules

Certain expressions frequently appear with one tense, but you should treat them as clues rather than formulas.

Expressions often associated with the preterite

• ayer
• anoche
• anteayer
• el lunes
• la semana pasada
• el año pasado
• en 2020
• una vez
• de repente
• por fin
• entonces
• después

Examples:

• Ayer fui al mercado.
• De repente escuché un ruido.
• Después llamé a mi amigo.

These expressions often accompany completed events because they help locate events on a timeline.

Expressions often associated with the imperfect

• siempre
• normalmente
• a menudo
• muchas veces
• todos los días
• cada verano
• de niño
• cuando era joven
• antes
• mientras

Examples:

• Siempre iba al mercado los sábados.
• De niño jugaba en la calle.
• Mientras estudiaba, escuchaba música.

Again, context matters.

Consider:

• Durante tres años trabajé en Barcelona.

The period lasted three years, but the preterite presents those years as a completed period.

Do not let a trigger-word list replace understanding.

Verbs That Can Change Meaning With the Tense

Some verbs deserve special attention because the contrast between preterite and imperfect can produce a noticeable difference in interpretation.

These translations are useful tendencies, not mechanical one-to-one formulas. Context still determines the exact meaning.

Saber

The imperfect sabía normally describes having knowledge.

The preterite supe often refers to acquiring that knowledge — finding something out.

• Yo sabía la verdad.
  I knew the truth.

• Yo supe la verdad ayer.
  I found out the truth yesterday.

Think:

sabía = knowledge already existed

supe = the moment knowledge was acquired

Conocer

The imperfect conocía often means someone already knew or was familiar with a person or place.

The preterite conocí commonly refers to meeting someone for the first time or becoming acquainted.

• Yo conocía a Marta.
  I knew Marta.

• Yo conocí a Marta en Madrid.
  I met Marta in Madrid.

Querer

With querer, the distinction is more dependent on context than a simple translation chart suggests.

The imperfect quería commonly describes an existing desire:

• Quería hablar contigo.
  I wanted to talk to you.

The preterite quise presents the wanting as bounded or completed and can sometimes be translated as “tried” depending on context:

• Quise abrir la puerta, pero no pude.
  I tried to open the door, but I couldn’t.

The negative preterite no quise often communicates refusal:

• No quise entrar.
  I refused / did not want to go in.

Do not assume that quise always means “tried.” The surrounding sentence determines the interpretation.

Poder

The imperfect podía usually describes ability, possibility, or circumstances.

• Cuando era joven, podía correr diez kilómetros.
  When I was young, I could run ten kilometers.

The preterite pude often describes ability in a particular completed situation and may imply that the person managed to do something.

• Finalmente pude abrir la puerta.
  I finally managed to open the door.

Again, context matters.

Tener

Tener does not have a fixed special translation simply because it changes tense.

The imperfect often describes possession, age, feelings, or circumstances:

• Tenía veinte años.
  I was twenty years old.

• Tenía miedo.
  I was afraid.

The preterite presents the situation as bounded or as something that occurred:

• Tuve una idea.
  I had an idea.

• Tuve un problema ayer.
  I had a problem yesterday.

The underlying principle remains the same: imperfect for background or ongoing state, preterite for a bounded event or experience.

Common Mistakes With Preterite and Imperfect

Understanding the mistakes learners make can be more useful than memorizing another rule chart.

Mistake 1: Choosing preterite whenever you see a past time expression

A past time expression does not automatically require the preterite.

For example:

• Cuando era niño, vivía en una ciudad pequeña.

The entire sentence is clearly about the past, but vivía describes a background period.

The important question is not simply “When did this happen?”

Ask:

How is the speaker presenting what happened?

Mistake 2: Translating English “was” as imperfect every time

English “was” can correspond to different Spanish forms.

Compare:

• La casa era grande.
  The house was big.

• La fiesta fue un desastre.
  The party was a disaster.

Era describes a characteristic.

Fue summarizes a completed event.

The English translation alone cannot choose the Spanish tense for you.

Mistake 3: Thinking short actions always use preterite

Consider:

• Cada mañana abría la ventana.
  Every morning I opened the window.

Opening a window may take only a few seconds.

But the sentence describes a repeated habit, so the imperfect is natural.

Mistake 4: Thinking long actions always use imperfect

Consider:

• Viví en México durante diez años.
  I lived in Mexico for ten years.

The action lasted a decade, but the speaker treats that decade as a completed period.

Duration does not decide the tense.

Mistake 5: Treating trigger words as grammar rules

You may learn:

• ayer → preterite
• siempre → imperfect
• mientras → imperfect
• de repente → preterite

These associations are useful for beginners, but they are not absolute grammatical rules.

Meaning comes first.

Mistake 6: Ignoring the function of the sentence in a story

When reading a story, ask:

• Is this setting the scene?
• Is this describing what was already happening?
• Is this describing a habit?
• Is this introducing the next event?

That distinction often makes the correct tense much easier to see.

Practice Set: Choose Preterite or Imperfect

Now apply the decision system without relying only on trigger words.

1. Ayer yo ___ muy temprano.

Options: me levanté / me levantaba

Answer: me levanté

The sentence presents getting up as one completed event yesterday.

2. Cuando era estudiante, yo ___ muy temprano.

Options: me levanté / me levantaba

Answer: me levantaba

The sentence describes a repeated habit during a period of life.

3. Mi abuela ___ una casa cerca del río.

Options: tuvo / tenía

Answer: tenía

Without additional context suggesting a bounded event, the sentence naturally describes possession as background.

4. El sábado pasado nosotros ___ una casa nueva.

Options: compramos / comprábamos

Answer: compramos

Buying the house is presented as a completed event.

5. Los niños ___ cuando empezó a llover.

Options: jugaban / jugaron

Answer: jugaban

Playing was already happening when the rain began.

6. De repente, todos ___.

Options: gritaban / gritaron

Answer: gritaron

The sentence presents the shouting as a sudden event that occurs on the story timeline.

7. Antes mi padre ___ mucho café.

Options: tomó / tomaba

Answer: tomaba

The sentence describes a former habit.

8. Anoche mi padre ___ dos cafés.

Options: tomó / tomaba

Answer: tomó

The two coffees are presented as a completed action last night.

9. La película ___ muy interesante.

Options: fue / era

Answer: either can be possible depending on the intended viewpoint

Compare:

• La película era interesante, pero muy larga.
• La película fue interesante.

With era, the speaker describes a quality of the movie as part of a past situation.

With fue, the speaker can summarize the completed experience or give an overall evaluation.

This is an important lesson: sometimes both tenses are grammatically possible, but they do not present the situation in exactly the same way.

10. Mientras yo ___, mi amigo me llamó.

Options: estudié / estudiaba

Answer: estudiaba

Studying provides the action already in progress when the call occurred.

Challenge Practice: Explain Why

For the next five sentences, do more than choose an answer.

Try to explain why the tense is appropriate before reading the explanation.

1. Cuando llegamos al restaurante, mucha gente ___.

Options: cenó / cenaba

Answer: cenaba

The diners are part of the scene that was already in progress when we arrived.

2. El camarero nos ___ una mesa junto a la ventana.

Options: daba / dio

Answer: dio

Giving us the table is a completed event that advances the story.

3. Yo ___ mucha hambre porque no había comido desde la mañana.

Options: tuve / tenía

Answer: tenía

The hunger describes the speaker’s state at that point in the story.

4. Mientras nosotros ___ el menú, alguien llamó a mi teléfono.

Options: miramos / mirábamos

Answer: mirábamos

Looking at the menu was already in progress when another event occurred.

5. Después de cenar, nosotros ___ a casa.

Options: volvíamos / volvimos

Answer: volvimos

Returning home is presented as the next completed step in the sequence.

Notice how these five sentences work together.

The imperfect builds the environment:

• people were eating
• I was hungry
• we were looking at the menu

The preterite builds the event sequence:

• the waiter gave us a table
• someone called
• we returned home

That is the distinction you want to recognize automatically.

Mini Story Practice

Read this paragraph once without analyzing it.

Cuando yo era niño, mi familia vivía en una casa pequeña cerca del mar. Todos los veranos, mis hermanos y yo jugábamos en la playa. Un día, mientras corríamos por la arena, mi hermano encontró una botella antigua. La llevamos a casa y mi padre nos contó una historia sobre piratas.

Now separate the verbs into two jobs.

The imperfect builds the world

• era = childhood background
• vivía = long-term living situation
• jugábamos = repeated summer habit
• corríamos = action already in progress

The preterite tells what happened

• encontró = discovery
• llevamos = next event
• contó = next event

You can visualize this as two layers.

Background layer:

My family lived near the sea. We used to play on the beach. We were running.

Event layer:

My brother found something. We took it home. My father told us a story.

This is why preterite and imperfect work so naturally together in storytelling.

A Second Story: Can You Predict the Tenses?

Try this one before reading the explanation.

Era viernes por la noche. Marta ___ en casa porque ___ cansada. Mientras ___ la televisión, alguien ___ a la puerta.

Possible verbs:

• quedarse
• estar
• ver
• llamar

A natural version is:

Era viernes por la noche. Marta estaba en casa porque estaba cansada. Mientras veía la televisión, alguien llamó a la puerta.

Why?

Era, estaba, and veía establish the situation.

Then llamó introduces the event that changes the scene.

Now continue the story:

Marta ___ la puerta y ___ a su hermano.

A natural continuation is:

Marta abrió la puerta y vio a su hermano.

Both actions move the story forward, so the preterite is natural.

This kind of story reconstruction is one of the most effective ways to practice the contrast because you have to think about the role each verb plays.

Quick Conjugation Review

Choosing the correct tense and forming it correctly are separate skills.

Here are the regular patterns.

Regular preterite endings

Regular imperfect endings

Notice something useful about the imperfect:

The yo and él/ella/usted forms are identical.

For example:

• yo hablaba
• ella hablaba

Context tells you who the subject is.

If conjugation itself is slowing you down, keep our Spanish verb conjugation chart nearby while practicing.

You can also use the Spanish tenses chart to see where the preterite and imperfect fit into the larger Spanish verb system.

What About the Present Perfect vs Preterite?

Preterite vs imperfect is not the only past-tense distinction Spanish learners encounter.

You may also need to choose between forms such as:

• comí
• he comido

For example:

• Ayer comí paella.
• Esta semana he comido paella dos veces.

Usage of the present perfect varies considerably across the Spanish-speaking world, so this contrast deserves its own explanation.

Once you are comfortable with the material on this page, continue with our Spanish present perfect vs preterite practice.

How to Practice Preterite vs Imperfect Effectively

Do not practice only by memorizing conjugation tables.

A better routine is:

1. Read the entire sentence.
2. Identify what is happening in the situation.
3. Decide whether the verb represents background, habit, an ongoing action, or a completed event.
4. Choose the tense.
5. Explain your choice in one sentence.
6. Check the answer.
7. Rewrite the sentence using the other tense and notice how the meaning changes.

For example:

Cuando era niño, yo ___ mucho chocolate.

A natural answer is:

comía

Why?

It describes a repeated childhood habit.

Now change the context:

Ayer ___ mucho chocolate.

Now:

comí

The verb is the same.

The action itself is similar.

The viewpoint has changed.

This is exactly the kind of contrast you need to practice.

A Five-Minute Daily Practice Routine

You do not need an hour of grammar exercises every day.

Try this five-minute routine instead.

Minute 1: Review the basic distinction.

• completed event → preterite
• habit/background/ongoing situation → imperfect

Minute 2: Answer five short sentences.

Do not look only for trigger words.

Minute 3: Explain each answer.

For example:

jugaba because this is a repeated childhood habit.

Minute 4: Read a short Spanish story and identify which verbs build the background and which verbs advance the story.

Minute 5: Write two sentences about yesterday and two sentences about your childhood.

For example:

• Ayer fui al supermercado.
• Después preparé la cena.
• Cuando era niño, jugaba al fútbol.
• Mi familia vivía cerca de un parque.

This forces you to produce both tenses in meaningful contexts.

For more exercises across different grammar topics, continue with our Spanish grammar practice.

FAQ: Spanish Preterite vs Imperfect

What is the main difference between preterite and imperfect?

The preterite normally presents a past action or period as a completed whole.

The imperfect normally presents a past action as ongoing, repeated, habitual, descriptive, or part of the background.

Compare:

• Comí a las ocho.
• Cuando era niño, comía a las ocho todos los días.

The first is a completed event. The second is a repeated past routine.

Is preterite always for short actions?

No.

The length of an action does not determine the tense.

For example:

• Viví en Chile durante diez años.

Ten years is a long period, but it is presented as complete.

Is imperfect always for long actions?

No.

An action can be very short and still use the imperfect when it describes a repeated habit.

For example:

• Cada mañana abría la ventana.

Opening the window may take only a few seconds, but it was a repeated routine.

Does ayer always require the preterite?

No.

Ayer frequently appears with the preterite because speakers often use it to talk about completed events.

But the surrounding meaning still matters.

For example:

• Ayer, mientras trabajaba, empezó a llover.

Trabajaba is imperfect because the speaker presents working as the action already in progress.

Does siempre always require the imperfect?

No.

Siempre frequently appears with the imperfect when describing a repeated past habit:

• Siempre tomaba café por la mañana.

But the preterite is possible when the speaker summarizes a completed period or set of events:

• Siempre hice lo mejor que pude.

Treat siempre as a clue, not a rule.

Why does “fue” sometimes mean “was”?

Both fue and era can be translated as “was,” but they present the past differently.

Use era when describing background or characteristics:

• La casa era bonita.

Use fue when presenting something as a completed event, result, or overall evaluation:

• La fiesta fue divertida.

English translation alone does not show this distinction clearly.

What is the difference between sabía and supe?

Sabía usually means that someone already possessed knowledge.

Supe often refers to finding something out.

• Sabía la respuesta.
  I knew the answer.

• Supe la verdad ayer.
  I found out the truth yesterday.

What is the difference between conocía and conocí?

Conocía usually describes already knowing or being familiar with someone.

Conocí commonly refers to meeting someone.

• Conocía a Ana.
• Conocí a Ana en Valencia.

Can both preterite and imperfect be grammatically correct?

Yes.

Sometimes both are possible but communicate a different viewpoint.

Compare:

• Vivía en México.
• Viví en México durante cinco años.

The first presents living in Mexico as background.

The second presents the five-year period as a completed whole.

The question is therefore not always:

Which tense is grammatically possible?

Sometimes the better question is:

What meaning do I want to communicate?

What is the fastest way to get better at preterite vs imperfect?

Practice complete sentences and short stories rather than isolated verbs.

For every answer, explain why you chose the tense.

If you can say:

This is imperfect because it describes what was already happening.

or:

This is preterite because it is the next completed event in the story.

you are developing the reasoning needed for natural Spanish.

Final Thoughts

The difference between Spanish preterite and imperfect becomes much easier once you stop thinking of them as two competing versions of “the past.”

They do different jobs.

Use the preterite to present completed events and move a story forward.

Use the imperfect to describe habits, ongoing situations, background information, and what was already happening.

When you are unsure, ask yourself:

Am I telling what happened, or describing what was happening or what things were like?

Then look at the entire context.

Do not rely on one trigger word.

Do not decide based on whether the action was short or long.

And do not worry when both tenses seem possible. Sometimes changing the tense deliberately changes the speaker’s viewpoint.

The goal of preterite vs imperfect practice is not simply getting quiz answers right. It is learning to recognize those different ways of looking at the past.

Once this distinction starts to feel natural, continue with Spanish present perfect vs preterite practice or explore more Spanish grammar practice.