Do you often struggle to use the right past tense in Spanish? How do you feel when it comes to choosing between the preterite tense and the imperfect tense?
Today I would like to talk about something that not many people talk about when explaining the use of Spanish verb tenses. However, this concept is crucial to master Spanish past tenses like a native speaker.
We are going to see some important characteristics of verbs. Not just Spanish verbs, but verbs in any language.
Verbs Express Events
If you ask someone what a verb is, they will probably reply that a verb is a word we use to express an action. However, I like to tell my students that verbs are words we use to express events. You'll understand why in a minute.
The events that verbs express can have different characteristics depending on how we use them and the reality they express.
One important characteristic when it comes to how we use verbs is the static or dynamic character of the events they express.
Compare the following examples:
• La botella está llena. [The bottle is full.]
• Luis está abriendo la botella. [Luis is opening the bottle.]
When we say la botella está llena [the bottle is full], there is nothing actually happening. It is just an observation being made by the speaker about the situation or the state of the bottle. There is no change nor progression of any kind. The nature of this event is static.
Whereas, when we say Luis está abriendo la botella [Luis is opening the bottle], there is actually something happening. There is an action. There is change and process. The nature of the event is dynamic.
Let's watch a short video that shows these events:
In the clip that shows the bottle being full, we see no movement; no change and no progression.
In the clip that shows Luis opening the bottle, we see movement; change and progression. We can say that:
• Estar llena expresses a static event.
• Abrir la botella expresses a dynamic event.
Static events are normally situations or characteristics.
Dynamic events are normally actions, processes or changes.
See, that's why I never say that verbs express action. Not every verb expresses an action.
Spanish Simple Tenses vs Progressive Tenses
The character of the events we express has some implication on how we use verbs. And this includes which tense we choose.
1. The first one can be observed in the previous examples:
• La botella está llena. [The bottle is full.]
• Luis está abriendo la botella. [Luis is opening the bottle.]
In the first sentence we are using ESTAR in the present tense.
In the second sentence we are using ABRIR in the present progressive tense.
When we are expressing a current event:
• we use the present tense for static events.
• we use the present progressive tense for dynamic events.
The progressive version of the present tense expresses the change that is happening in the dynamic event at the time of speaking. It expresses that the event is in progress; something that is not happening in the static event.
The same happens when we express those events in similar contexts in the past:
• Cuando llegué, la botella estaba llena. [When I arrived, the bottle was full.]
• Cuando llegué, Luis estaba abriendo la botella. [When I arrived, Luis was opening the bottle.]
• We use the imperfect tense for static events.
• We use the imperfect progressive tense for dynamic events.
Here also, the progressive version of the imperfect tense expresses the change that was happening in the dynamic event at a certain time. It expresses that the event was in progress; something that would not happen in the static event.
If you need to learn more about the conjugation of different tenses, check out our full conjugation charts.
Spanish Preterite Tense vs Imperfect Tense
The second implication has to do with which Spanish past tense we use when expressing past events.
You probably know already that the time reference we use together with a verb influences the choice of the past tense we use.
Well, when there is no explicit time reference:
• static events are naturally expressed as incomplete open events (imperfective aspect)
• dynamic events are naturally expressed as whole closed events (perfective aspect)
Why?
We already mentioned that:
• Dynamic events normally describe actions and changes
• Static events normally describe situations and characteristics.
When a dynamic event starts, when we go from not performing a certain action to performing it, there is change. It is a dynamic concept.
And when a dynamic event finishes, when we go from performing that action to not performing it, there is a new change. It is also a dynamic concept.
When a static event starts, when we go into a certain state, there is change. And when a static event finishes, when we go out of that state, there is also change. These are also dynamic concepts.
Because the beginning and the end of a dynamic event are also dynamic concepts, they are intrinsic to the nature of dynamic event.
And for the same reason, because the beginning and the end static events are dynamic concepts, they are not intrinsic to the nature of a static events.
So dynamic events are naturally expressed and understood as whole closed events, including their beginning and end, and we normally need a specific time reference to express them as incomplete open events.
On the other hand, static events are more naturally expressed and understood as incomplete open events, without including their beginning nor end, and we normally need a specific time reference to express them as whole closed events.
So with no explicit time reference, the events we have presented above would be expressed like this:
• La botella estaba llena. [The bottle was full.]
• Luis abrió la botella. [Luis opened the bottle.]
We would use the imperfect tense for the event of estar llena [to be full], which is a static event.
We would use the preterite tense for the event of abrir la botella [to open the bottle], which is a dynamic event.
The same verb can express both static and dynamic events
It's important to have in mind that we can sometimes express different kinds of events with the same verb.
For example:
• Luis ya conocía a mi hermano. [Luis already knew my brother.]
Here conocer means "to know" and expresses a static event. There is no change or process in knowing someone already.
• Luis conoció a mi hermano en la fiesta. [Luis met my brother at the party.]
Here conocer means "to meet" and expresses a dynamic event. Meeting someone for the same time is a change.
Or:
• Luis tenía hambre. [Luis was hungry.]
Tener hambre [to be hungry] expresses a static event.
• Luis tuvo un accidente de coche.. [Luis had a car accident.]
Tener un accidente [to have a car accident] expresses a dynamic event.
Questions?
If you have any questions regarding this topic, don't hesitate to contact me.
I know it is not an easy topic, but the benefits of taking the time to understand this concepts well are immense for any Spanish learner.
And if you would like to internalize them really well, so you don't have to struggle when choosing the right past tense in Spanish, join our Membership Program. In the Light On Spanish learning platform you can engage with these and other important concepts inside our daily exercises. This way, you will learn how to use Spanish in a natural way.
