At A-Level, accuracy across the past tenses separates a good essay from a great one. This lesson consolidates the four you need most: the preterite, the imperfect, the present perfect, and — the A-Level upgrade — the pluperfect. You'll sort them by meaning and produce them by form.
Work through each screen and answer the questions — some ask you to recognise which past, some to produce the form. Collect ⭐ and press Start.
The preterite is for a single, completed event with a clear beginning or end. The imperfect paints description, ongoing action, or a habit:
| hablé |
| hablaste |
| habló |
| hablamos |
| hablasteis |
| hablaron |
| hablaba |
| hablabas |
| hablaba |
| hablábamos |
| hablabais |
| hablaban |
| ser → era |
| ir → iba |
| ver → veía |
| (only three!) |
| era, iba, veía… |
| …eran, iban, veían |
The tell: Ayer hablé con ella (a completed event) vs De niño hablaba mucho (a habit in the past). Only three verbs are irregular in the imperfect: ser (era), ir (iba), ver (veía).
The present perfect (pretérito perfecto) = the present of haber + past participle. It describes a recent past, often within a period still felt as "now":
| haber | + participle |
|---|---|
| he | hablado |
| has | hablado |
| ha | hablado |
| hemos | hablado |
| habéis | hablado |
| han | hablado |
Regular participles: -ar → -ado (hablado), -er/-ir → -ido (comido, vivido). He hablado hoy = "I have spoken today".
The pluperfect (pluscuamperfecto) = the imperfect of haber + past participle. It marks an action that happened before another past action:
| haber (imperfect) | + participle |
|---|---|
| había | hablado |
| habías | hablado |
| había | hablado |
| habíamos | hablado |
| habíais | hablado |
| habían | hablado |
The tell: Cuando llegué, ellos ya habían salido = "When I arrived, they had already left." One past (llegué) sets the scene; the pluperfect (habían salido) reaches further back.
Tap an infinitive on the left, then its irregular participle on the right.
Several common verbs have irregular past participles — they appear in both the present perfect and the pluperfect, so they earn their keep:
| infinitive | past participle |
|---|---|
| hacer | hecho |
| decir | dicho |
| ver | visto |
| escribir | escrito |
| poner | puesto |
| volver | vuelto |
| romper · abrir | roto · abierto |
| morir | muerto |
Exam gold: He hecho, había dicho, han vuelto — deploy these confidently and your past-tense range shows instantly.
When telling a story, the two interlock: the imperfect sets the scene (weather, time, ongoing action), the preterite drives the plot (the events that happen):
Signal words: ayer, anoche, una vez, de repente pull for the preterite; siempre, todos los días, mientras, de niño pull for the imperfect.
Sort each clause by the past tense it uses.
The two overlap but differ in feel. The present perfect ties the action to "now"; the preterite seals it off in a finished time-frame:
Signal words: hoy, esta semana, este año, ya, todavía no, alguna vez favour the present perfect; ayer, la semana pasada, en 2010 favour the preterite.
Preterite: completed events (hablé, hablaste, habló, hablamos, hablasteis, hablaron). Signals: ayer, una vez, de repente.
Imperfect: description / ongoing / habit (hablaba…); irregulars era, iba, veía. Signals: siempre, mientras, de niño.
Present perfect: he/has/ha/hemos/habéis/han + participle — recent past felt as "now".
Pluperfect: había/habías/había/habíamos/habíais/habían + participle = "had done", before another past.
Irregular participles: hecho, dicho, visto, escrito, puesto, vuelto, roto, abierto, muerto.
Cluster 2 takes you forwards in time: the future and the conditional. Press Finish.
You've consolidated the past-tense system for AQA A-Level Spanish. 🎉
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Next in the backbone: the future and the conditional — endings, irregular stems, and the compound forms.