SAT II Spanish : Past Tenses

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT II Spanish

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Verb Tense In Spanish

Fill in the blank with the correct answer. 

Nosotros __________ allí por ocho años. 

Possible Answers:

vivimos 

estábamos

íbamos

vivíamos

éramos

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 : Imperfect / El Imperfecto

Fill in the blank with the correct answer. 

Cuando era joven, yo __________ cada día. 

Possible Answers:

caminé

caminaría

había caminado

he caminado

caminaba

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. 

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