Class 3: The Past Tenses in Spanish (Preterit & Imperfect)

Do you struggle describing events in the Past in Spanish?

Knowing when to use the Preterit or the Imperfect Tenses?

If you want to take your Spanish knowledge to the next level and learn to describe past events using both the IMPERFECT and the PRETERIT tenses, this class is for you!

Class 3: The Past tenses is the third of the series that comprises the imperfect versus the preterit tenses. In this course you will build a strong foundation for Mastering the Past in Spanish with expressions that are typically used with each tense, and the conjugations of regular and irregular verbs.

This intermediate level class and series on the past tenses in Spanish is specifically designed for students of Spanish language and culture who want to master these grammatical structures with confidence in conversational speaking, improved reading, writing and listening skills. Not knowing the past tenses, or how to distinguish them properly, condemns students to the beginner level of understanding and performance of the Spanish language.

Ms. Diana Di Tolla skillfully breaks down both past tenses, into its most simplistic, in order for you to understand. The first phase of Class 3 is conjugation and rules of the preterit. Then, moving to simple sentences to build confidence and doing the same with the imperfect.  Using expressions to provide concrete association, 50% of this course involves side by side comparisons to contrast usage of both tenses to build proficiency. Each lesson thoughtfully lays out a foundation that includes conjugating, creating simple sentences, and, building upon previous learning. Class 3 concludes with using both tenses in a culminating project. This class entails all the modalities: reading / writing / listening / speaking, thus, giving you a STRONG foundation in the past in Spanish.

These classes are highly interactive and your involvement is key to the mastering process.

Facilitate your understanding of the past tenses in Spanish, learn the steps to proficiency and practice speaking at an intermediate level. Understanding the past tenses and achieving proficiency to their use, propels students firmly into the intermediate level of performance. This is the difference between a HIGH or a LOW score on any end of year exam, DELE, or proficiency exam for Spanish language.

Who this course is for:

• Students who are currently taking Spanish level 2, 3, 4 or 5 (Advanced Placement) would benefit from taking this course simultaneously.
• Students are those desiring to review main principles of the two past tenses to gain further understanding and proficiency.
• My target students are students who wish to move beyond the beginning/novice level of Spanish language in order to reach fluency at the intermediate level.
• Students are predominantly L2 language learners, growing up in a household with spoken English and are trying to understand Spanish at an intermediate level, (typically students in the US and Canadian education systems.)
• Students need to have a good grasp of spoken English and written English grammar as the presentation and comparisons are between English and Spanish.
• Students who are familiar with the present tense, the preterit tense, and the imperfect tense in Spanish, subject pronouns, and the conjugation table.