Extended reading (Don Quijote): imperfect continuous
I can use the imperfect continuous to talk about what I and other people were doing in the past.
Extended reading (Don Quijote): imperfect continuous
I can use the imperfect continuous to talk about what I and other people were doing in the past.
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Lesson details
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- Words stressed on the penultimate syllable don’t have an accent if they end in a vowel, -n or -s.
- The imperfect continuous describes what someone was doing, e.g. 'estaba(s) caminando por la montaña.'
- The preterite tense is used for completed actions in the past.
- We can give extra information about when something happened using the relative pronoun 'cuando'.
- We use 'cuando' + preterite to show a short action interrupts a longer, ongoing action.
Keywords
Imperfect continuous - verb tense used to talk about ongoing actions in the past, what was happening
Preterite - a tense used for events completed in the past
Cuando - relative pronoun meaning 'when'
Common misconception
When I talk about a past action I must always use the preterite.
The preterite is used for actions that are completed and finished in the past. The imperfect is used for ongoing, habitual, or background actions in the past - things that were happening or used to happen.
To help you plan your year 9 Spanish lesson on: Extended reading (Don Quijote): imperfect continuous, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 9 Spanish lesson on: Extended reading (Don Quijote): 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.
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Explore more key stage 3 Spanish lessons from the Past routines and past events: imperfect tense unit, dive into the full secondary Spanish curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which verb means 'I had'?
Q2.Match the Spanish and English.
challenge
adventure
action
idea
audience
neighbour
Q3.Match the Spanish and English.
to shout, shouting
to attack, attacking
to receive, receiving
to sign, signing
to start, starting
to think, thinking