Lesson 46

The Line in the Past

Language Transfer Complete Spanish is by Mihalis Eleftheriou. Listen to the original audio first; use these notes for revision.

Spanish has three ways to talk about the past. Think of them as:

"I have eaten" (present perfect): He comido — already learned
"I was eating / I used to eat" (imperfect = the LINE): Comía — this lesson
"I ate" (preterite = the DOT): Comí — later

The imperfect represents anything ongoing in the past — a line stretching through time. "I was eating," "I used to eat," "I would eat every day when I was young" — all the same form.

-AR verbs: remove -ar, add -aba (I/he/she/formal), -aban (they), -abas (you inf), -ábamos (we)

-ER/-IR verbs: remove ending, add -ía, -ían, -ías, -íamos

Note: I and he/she/formal share the same form — context or pronouns clarify.

The past participle (-ado/-ido) that comes after haber NEVER changes — always the same form regardless of who's doing it: he bailado, han bailado, hemos bailado.

Sentences practiced

Spanish	English
He.	I have.
Hemos.	We have.
Ha.	He has.
Has.	You have.
Han.	They have.
Han bailado.	They have danced.
No he podido comer.	I haven't been able to eat.
Habría.	I/he/she would have.
Habría salido.	I would have gone out.
Habría podido salir.	I would have been able to go out.
No habría podido salir.	I wouldn't have been able to go out.
Hablaba.	I/he/she was speaking. / I/he/she used to speak.
Hablabas.	You were speaking.
Hablaban.	They were speaking.
Hablábamos.	We were speaking.
Esperaba.	I was waiting.
Te esperaba.	I was waiting for you.
Lo esperaba.	I was waiting for it.
Lo esperábamos.	We were waiting for it.
Los esperábamos.	We were waiting for them.
Intentaba.	I was trying.
Intentaban encontrarlo.	They were trying to find it.
Intentaban encontrármelo.	They were trying to find it for me.
Intentaban encontrarlo para mí.	They were trying to find it for me. (with preposition)