Local and international events: imperfect continuous
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe past events using the imperfect continuous combined with the preterite tense.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- We can create nouns in Spanish by adding -idad to singular adjectives ending in a consonant. E.g. real to realidad.
- The singular forms of 'estar' in the imperfect tense are 'estaba' (I was or he, she, was) and 'estabas' (you were).
- To talk about ongoing events in the past we use 'estar' in the imperfect tense with a present participle.
- The preterite is used for completed actions, remove the -ar verb ending and add -é (I), -aste (you) or -ó (he, she, it).
- We can combine these two tenses to describe events in the past: 'Estaba escuchando la radio cuando noté un olor raro.'
Keywords
Imperfect continuous - verb tense used to talk about ongoing actions in the past, what 'was happening'
Estaba - I was/he, she, it was
Estabas - you (singular) were
Common misconception
To form the imperfect continuous instead of the present continuous both the form of 'estar' and the present participle need to change.
To form the imperfect continuous, only the form of 'estar' needs to change, into the imperfect tense. The present participle stays the same, it is formed by removing the infinitive ending and adding -ando for -ar verbs and -iendo for all other verbs.
Teacher tip
Teaching the combination of the imperfect continuous and the preterite tense lends itself well to storytelling games in pairs or small groups. You can start off with a set phrase like 'Estaba caminando en el bosque cuando ....' and then the other people in the group add further description.
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Some of our videos, including non-English language videos, do not have captions.
Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which word means 'forest'?
Q2.'De repente, un ratón __________ a través de la cama.' Which verb completes this sentence?
Q3.Match the Spanish to the English.
essential
terrible
dangerous
poor
different
serious
Q4.Match the Spanish to the English.
to promote, promoting
to produce, producing
to protect, protecting
to resolve, resolving
to survive, surviving
to put up with, to stand, putting up with, standing
Q5.Match the Spanish to the English.
to accept, accepting
to dedicate, dedicating
to miss (someone), missing (someone)
to turn on, turning on
to manage (to), managing (to)
to swim, swimming
Q6.Order the words to say 'she was swimming when she saw a shark'.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which nouns are masculine?
Q2.Match the Spanish to the English.
to cheer (someone) up, cheering (someone) up
to announce, announcing
to chat, chatting
to close, closing
to rain, raining
to notice, noticing
Q3.Order the words to say 'he was eating when the telephone rang'.
Q4.Order the words to say 'I was sleeping when my sister jumped on the bed'.
Q5.Order the words to say 'it was snowing so the wedding was cancelled'.
Q6.Order the words to say 'suddenly the planet was in danger'.
To help you plan your 9 Spanish lesson on: Local and international events: imperfect continuous, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 Spanish lesson on: Local and international events: imperfect continuous, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 Spanish lessons from the Important events: present and imperfect continuous unit, dive into the full secondary Spanish curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.