SAT II Spanish : Past Tenses

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT II Spanish

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store

Example Questions

Example Question #3 : Sat Subject Test In Spanish

Fill in the blank with the correct answer. 

Nosotros __________ allí por ocho años. 

Possible Answers:

vivimos 

íbamos

éramos

vivíamos

estábamos

Correct answer:

vivimos 

Explanation:

The correct answer is vivimos. Even though the example given "por ocho años" was an action that occurred over a long period of time, since a definitive beginning and ending period is given in the sentence, the only viable verb is "vivimos," as all of the other verbs are in the imperfect tense. 

Example Question #1 : Spanish Verbs

Fill in the blank with the correct answer. 

Cuando era joven, yo __________ cada día. 

Possible Answers:

había caminado

caminaba

he caminado

caminaría

caminé

Correct answer:

caminaba

Explanation:

The correct answer is "caminaba." Since the action happened repeatedly in the past, the tense that is needed is the imperfect. The other tenses cannot work, since they do not express the continuous action of the imperfect. 

Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors