Past and future
Compare the preterite and imperfect, and talk about the future with 'ir a'
Context
Listen to the dialogue. Tap the speaker to hear each line.
Marta
Cuando era niña, vivía en el campo.
When I was a child, I lived in the countryside.
Pedro
¿Y cuándo viniste a la ciudad?
And when did you come to the city?
Marta
Llegué hace diez años y aquí conocí a mi esposo.
I arrived ten years ago and here I met my husband.
Pedro
¿Qué planes tienes para el fin de semana?
What plans do you have for the weekend?
Marta
Voy a visitar a mi familia el sábado.
I'm going to visit my family on Saturday.
Pedro
¡Qué bien! Voy a descansar, porque trabajé mucho esta semana.
How nice! I'm going to rest, because I worked a lot this week.
Practice the dialogue
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Vocabulary
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era
Cuando era niña, era feliz.
'Era' is the imperfect of 'ser', used for descriptions and backgrounds.
I/he/she was (description)
Savevivía
Vivía en el campo.
'Vivía' = used to live. Imperfect for repeated past actions.
I/he/she lived (habitual)
Savellegué
Llegué hace diez años.
'Llegué' is preterite: a finished action at a specific time.
I arrived
Savevoy a + infinitivo
Voy a visitar a mi familia.
'Ir a + infinitive' is the most common way to talk about the near future.
I'm going to + verb
Savecuando
Cuando era niña, jugaba mucho.
'Cuando' + imperfect sets the background for a story.
when
SaveGrammar in 1 minute
Preterite vs imperfect
Use the preterite for completed, one-time actions (llegué, conocí, trabajé). Use the imperfect for descriptions, habits and background in the past (era, vivía).
Cuando era niña, vivía en el campo. Un día llegué a la ciudad y conocí a mi esposo.
The imperfect paints the scene; the preterite advances the story. Think: background vs action.
The future with 'ir a + infinitive'
To talk about plans and the near future, conjugate 'ir' (voy, vas, va...) and add 'a' + the infinitive. This is far more common in speech than the simple future.
Voy a visitar a mi familia. / Vas a descansar. / Vamos a comer.
'Voy a' is pronounced fast, almost 'goy a'. It means both 'I'm going to' (movement) and 'I'm going to' (future).
Interactive practice
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Where did she live?
Listen and choose the correct option.
Where did Marta live as a child?
Preterite of 'llegar'
Write the preterite of 'llegar' for 'I arrived' (accents optional).
Accents optional: write "como estas" and it works.
Match past forms
Connect each Spanish verb form with its English meaning.
Talk about your plans
Listen, pause and repeat the future plans phrase.
Voy a visitar a mi familia el sábado.
I'm going to visit my family on Saturday.
Listen, pause and repeat out loud. Repeat 3 times until it sounds natural.
Pronunciation trainer
Write your plan
Write one sentence about a plan using 'ir a + infinitive'.
Write a Spanish sentence about a weekend plan using 'ir a + infinitive'.
Suggested answer: Voy a descansar este fin de semana.
Why is he resting?
Listen and choose why Pedro is going to rest.
Why is Pedro going to rest?
Future with 'ir a'
Write the correct form of 'ir' to mean 'I'm going to' (accents optional).
Accents optional: write "como estas" and it works.
Final quiz
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