Spanish 1230
Amigo
VERBS WITH DIFFERENT ENGLISH EQUIVALENTS IN IMPERFECT AND PRETERITE
Imperfect
To know (someone)
Preterite
To meet someone for the first time.
Conocer
Conocíamos bien a sus padres.
Conocí a Marta en la fiesta.
We knew his/her parents well.
I met Marta at the party.
Note: To say “to meet” for someone you know already, when it
means to get together with that person, use encontrarse con.
Yesterday I met my friends at the coffee shop.
Ayer me encontré con mis amigos en la cafetería.
To know (information/ ability)
To find out, or become informed, or realize.
Sabía español cuando era pequeño.
Ana supo que su tío había muerto.
He knew Spanish when he was little.
Ana found out that his uncle had died.
To be able
Affirmative= to succeed, manage
Después de mucho esfuerzo, pudieron abrir la ventana.
Saber
Poder
Cuando tenía 15 años, podía correr una milla
en menos de 7 minutos.
When I was 15, I could (was able) to run a
mile in less than 7 minutes.
After a lot of effort, they succeeded in opening the window.
(They tried and finally succeeded).
Negative= to fail
Intenté comprar boletos pero no pude porque estaban
agotados.
I tried to buy tickets but I couldn’t (didn’t succeed) because
they were sold out.
Querer
To want
Affirmative= I wanted and acted on that desire (I tried)
Queríamos viajar pero no podíamos porque
Mi hermana quiso ayudarme pero no pudo.
Mi sister tried to help me, but she couldn’t (failed to do so).
no teníamos dinero.
We wanted to travel but we couldn’t
because we didn’t have money.
Tener que
To have to do something (to have the
obligation)
Tenía que lavar mi ropa pero no pude porque
la lavadora no funcionaba.
I had to wash my clothes, but I couldn´t
because the washing machine wasn´t
working.
Negative= to refuse
Mi hermano no quiso ayudarme.
My brother refused to help me.
I had to and I did (do something). I fullilled the obligation
Tuve que comprar ropa nueva porque mi maleta nunca llegó.
I had to buy new clothes because my suitcase never arrived.
Spanish 1230
PRÁCTICA. Utiliza el pretérito o el imperfecto de:
Amigo
saber, conocer, (no) poder, (no) querer.
1.
I met Jacinto on Saturday. ____________
2.
We succeeded in finishing the project. ______________
3.
You knew she would be at the party. ______________
4.
They knew all of my relatives. __________________
5.
She refused to go to the doctor. ________________
6.
Ten years ago I could eat everything I wanted without getting fat. _____________ , ______________
7.
I found out about the accident this morning. _______________
8.
Somebody knocked on the door. It was her brother and he wanted to play video games with
her, but she couldn’t because she had not finished her homework yet. ______________, ____________.
9.
Ralph gave his teacher a note his mother had written:
“ Last night Ralph could not (failed to) finish his math homework because he was sick.” ________________
10.
I managed (I was able after I tried) to sleep despite the noise from the party. ________________
11.
I was able (I had the ability) to do it, but I didn´t feel like it. ______________________
12.
The salesman tried to sell me insurance; it took a lot of hard work to get rid of him.______________
13.
The salesman wanted to sell me insurance, but he forgot the forms. _____________________
14.
Elvira found out that Jaime was sick. _____________________
Spanish 1230
Amigo
Clave de respuestas:
9.
I met Jacinto on Saturday. conocí
10.
We succeeded in finishing the project. pudimos
11.
You knew she would be at the party. sabías
12.
They knew all of my relatives. conocían
13.
She refused to go to the doctor. no quiso
14.
Ten years ago I could eat everything I wanted without getting fat. podía , quería
15.
I found out about the accident this morning. supe
16.
Somebody knocked on the door. It was her brother and he wanted to play video games with
her, but she couldn’t because she had not finished her homework yet. quería, podía.
9.
Ralph gave his teacher a note his mother had written:
“ Last night Ralph could not (failed to) finish his math homework because he was sick.” pudo
10.
I managed (I was able after I tried) to sleep despite the noise from the party. pude
11.
I was able (I had the ability) to do it, but I didn´t feel like it. Podía
12.
The salesman tried to sell me insurance ; it took a lot of hard work to get rid of him. quiso
13.
The salesman wanted to sell me insurance, but he forgot the forms. quería
14.
Elvira found out that Jaime was sick. supo