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Spanish (Latin America)

### When States Become Actions

In Spanish, a few common verbs change their English translation depending on whether you use the imperfect or the preterite tense. 

Because the imperfect describes ongoing states or conditions in the past, these verbs simply reflect an ongoing feeling, knowledge, or ability. The preterite, however, focuses on a specific beginning or end. When you put a "state of mind" verb into the preterite, it usually means the exact moment that state began (a sudden realization, a meeting, or an attempt).

### Saber and Conocer

When **saber** (to know a fact) and **conocer** (to know a person or place) are used in the imperfect, they mean "knew."

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But when these verbs are used in the preterite, they describe the moment that knowledge started. **Saber** becomes "found out" or "learned," and **conocer** becomes "met."

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### Poder (Ability vs. Success)

In the imperfect, **poder** means someone "was able to" or "could" do something, meaning they simply had the ability.

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In the preterite, it means they took action and actually succeeded at that specific time. It translates closer to "managed to."

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### Querer (Desire vs. Action)

In the imperfect, **querer** simply means "wanted."

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In the preterite, **querer** implies that someone not only wanted something, but took action to try to get it. It translates to "tried to."

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If you make **querer** negative in the preterite (**no quiso**), it means the person strongly rejected the action, translating to "refused to."

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Meaning changes in the preterite vs. imperfect

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

expression

interjection

noun

numeral

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and 'to be' (el, la, soy)

Masculine and feminine pairs (el hermano, la hermana)

Basic sentences and negation (no)

Indefinite articles (un, una)

Formal and informal you (tú vs. usted)

Plural pronouns and the verb to be (somos, son)

Making nouns plural (-s, -es)

Plural articles (los, las, unos, unas)

Noun gender exceptions

Adjective agreement

Invariable adjectives

State and location (estar)

Ser vs. estar

There is / there are (hay)

Hay vs. estar

To have (tener)

Possession (de)

Possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su)

Regular -ar verbs

Yes/No questions

What and who (qué, quién)

Regular -er verbs

Regular -ir verbs

Asking where (dónde, adónde)

How, when, and why (cómo, cuándo, por qué)

How much and how many (cuánto)

Days of the week

Going to a place (ir a)

Preposition contractions (al, del)

In and by (en)

With me and with you (conmigo, contigo)

Prepositional pronouns (mí, ti)

Conjunctions (y, o, pero)

Giving reasons (porque)

Stem-changing verbs (e to ie)

Stem-changing verbs (o to ue)

Stem-changing verbs (e to i)

Irregular yo forms (hago, salgo)

To know (saber vs. conocer)

Weather expressions (hace, está)

Desires and plans (querer)

Ability and requests (poder)

Obligations (tener que)

Expressing likes (me gusta)

Plural likes (me gustan)

Verbs like gustar (encantar, doler)

Very vs. a lot (muy, mucho)

Numbers 0 to 15 (cero, uno, dos…)

Numbers 16 to 31 (dieciséis, veinte…)

Numbers 30 to 1000 (treinta, cien, mil)

Months of the year (enero, febrero, marzo)

Seasons and dates (el dos de mayo)

Telling time (es la..., son las...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero, segundo, tercero)

Reflexive pronouns and verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

The present continuous (estar + -ando, -iendo)

Near demonstrative adjectives (este, esta, estos, estas)

Medium demonstrative adjectives (ese, esa, esos, esas)

Comparatives of inequality (más / menos ... que)

Comparatives of equality (tan ... como)

Indefinite and negative pronouns (algo, nada, alguien, nadie)

Affirmative commands

Far demonstratives (aquel, aquella)

Possessive pronouns (el mío, el tuyo)

Shortened indefinite adjectives (algún, ningún)

Adverbs of quantity (demasiado, bastante)

Adverbs of frequency (a menudo, a veces)

Adverb formation (-mente)

Exclamations (¡Qué...!)

Irregular comparatives (mejor, peor, mayor, menor)

Relative superlatives (el más... de)

Adjective intensification (-ísimo)

Indirect object pronouns

Pronoun placement with infinitives

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

The 'se lo' rule (se lo, se la)

Impersonal statements (se)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Personal obligation (deber)

Starting actions (empezar a)

Finishing and quitting actions (terminar de, dejar de)

Repeating actions (volver a)

Continuing actions (seguir + gerundio)

Question	Answer
the crown	la corona
The king knew the secret of the crown.	El rey sabía el secreto de la corona.
the prince	el príncipe
the treason	la traición
The prince found out about the treason yesterday.	El príncipe supo de la traición ayer.
the counselor	el consejero
the princess	la princesa
The counselor knew the princess well.	El consejero conocía bien a la princesa.
The queen met the counselor at the castle.	La reina conoció al consejero en el castillo.
to govern	gobernar
the kingdom	el reino
The king was able to govern the entire kingdom.	El rey podía gobernar todo el reino.
the plot	el complot
Finally, the prince managed to discover the plot.	Finalmente, el príncipe pudo descubrir el complot.
the throne	el trono
the poison	el veneno
The princess wanted the throne, so she bought the poison.	La princesa quería el trono, por eso compró el veneno.
The king refused to give the crown to the prince.	El rey no quiso dar la corona al príncipe.
How much the people celebrated when they met the princess!	¡Cuánto celebró la gente cuando conoció a la princesa!
The counselor had been planning the plot, but he didn't manage to govern.	El consejero venía planeando el complot, pero no pudo gobernar.
I tried to hide the poison when I found out about the treason.	Quise esconder el veneno cuando supe de la traición.
He managed to steal the throne because he was able to deceive the king.	Pudo robar el trono porque podía engañar al rey.
We knew about the plot, but we found out the secret yesterday.	Sabíamos del complot, pero supimos el secreto ayer.
If the queen wants the crown, one must hide the poison.	Si la reina quiere la corona, hay que esconder el veneno.
The king found out that the queen wanted the kingdom.	El rey supo que la reina quería el reino.