AP Spanish : Past Tenses
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Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Past Tenses
Fill in the blank with the correct response.
Ellos _________ en la calle cuando vieron a Claudia.
caminaban
caminaron
habían caminado
han caminado
habrán caminado
caminaban
In the first part of the sentence, the action that was interrupted before they saw Claudia was an action in progress in the past; therefore the imperfect tense must be used.
Example Question #2 : Past Tenses
Which is the correct verb form?
Estaba andando en el parque cuando, de repente, un ciervo me __________.
sorprendía
sorprendió
sorprenderá
sorprendido
sorprendió
This sentence expresses the completed action of the deer surprising me in the park, thus the preterite tense is the only correct response.
Example Question #1 : Preterite / El Pretérito
Which verb form is correct in context?
Estaba andando en la calle cuando, de repente, un ladrón __________ robarme.
intentaban
intentó
intenté
intentaba
intentó
An interrupted action sequence requires the imperfect tense for the interrupted action and the preterite tense for the interrupting action, in this case, "intentó." The other verbs either do not agree in tense or in number with "un ladrón."
English translation: "I was walking in the street when, all of a sudden, a thief tried to rob me."
Example Question #3 : Verb Tense In Spanish
Which verb form properly completes the sentence?
__________ cerca de la orilla del rio cuando, de repente, vi un pez.
Andaba
Anduve
Andé
Andaré
Andaba
The first verb conveys an action that is interrupted, so it needs to be in the imperfect tense. Only "Andaba" is the first person imperfect form of "andar" (to walk).
English translation: "I was walking near the bank of the river when, all of a sudden, I saw a fish."
Example Question #4 : Verb Tense In Spanish
Fill in the blank with the correct answer.
Cuando llegaron ayer, tú ya __________.
había comido
has comido
habrías comido
comiste
habías comido
habías comido
The first part of the sentence, "when they arrived yesterday," is in the preterite; the next clause that has the word "ya," "already," in it, implies the next action had occurred before the first one; therefore we need the past perfect tense, which in the 2nd person singular would be, habías comido.
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