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The preterite is a "perfect" tense because it reports events viewed as completed within a finite time frame. An "imperfect" tense conveys duration, progression, incompleteness:
Los indígenas no aceptaban a los europeos.
The natives would not accept Europeans (for some time). |
Algunos nunca los aceptaron.
Some (definitely) never did. |
| IMPERFECT (duration) |
PRETERITE (completion) |
1) describes what was happening.
2) describes habitual actions (used to).
3) gives background information.
4) describes a state or condition. |
1) reports completed actions, tells what happened.
2) reports the beginning or end of an action or event.
3) reports a change in condition |
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