A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN ENGLISH AND
SPANISH SIMPLE PAST AND PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE
A THESIS
BY
DEVI HARFIT LUBIS
REG.NO 040705033
UNIVERSITY OF SUMATERA UTARA
FACULTY OF LETTERS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDMENT ABSTRACT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of Analysis ………. 1
1.2 Scope of Analysis ……… 4
1.3 Problem of Analysis ………. 5
1.4 Objective of Analysis ……… 5
1.5 Significance of Analysis ……… 6
CHAPTER II : REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 2.1 A Brief History of English and Spanish Language 7 2.1.1 A Brief History of English ……… 7
2.1.2 A Brief History of Spanish ……… 10
2.2 Related Study ………. 12
2.3 The Description of Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense ……… 14
2.3.1 Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense In English ………..……….. 14
A. The Form of Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense……….. 16
Past Continuous Tense……….. 22
2.3.2 Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense
In Spanish (Preterito and Imperfecto)…….. 24
A. The Form of Preterito and Imperfecto... 44 B. The Function Preterito and Imperfecto… 48 CHAPTER III : METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Method ……… 50
3.2 Data Collecting Method ………. 50
3.3 Data Analysis Method ……… 51
CHAPTER IV : THE COMPARISON OF BETWEEN ENGLISH AND SPANISH SIMPLE PAST TENSE AND PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE
The Analysis
4.1 Form of Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous
Tense………. 52
4.2 Function of Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous
Tense ……….……….. 56
CHAPTER V : CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
5.1 Conclusions ……… 58
5.2 Suggestions ……… 59
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
First of all, thanks and praises are expressed to the almighty Allah SWT for the blessing for the writer in completing her study and the writing of this thesis as a partial part fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Sarjana Sastra from English Department Faculty of Letters, University of Sumatera Utara.
Here by, she would to express her appreciation to her supervicosrs, Drs. Syahron Lubis, M.A and co-supervisor Drs. Ridwan Hanafiah, M.A for their willingness to share the time in guiding her for the completion of this thesis. In this respect, the writer wishes to express her gratitude to Drs. Syaifuddin M.A, Phd , as the Dean of Faculty of Letters, University of Sumatera Utara, and the great thanks to the Head of English Department Dra. Swesana Mardia Lubis, M.Hum and Drs. Yulianus Harefa M.Ed. TESOL as the secretary of English Department. And also she would like to express her deep appreciation for Oscar Medina Rojo as the native speaker of Spanish and his wife, for their kindness to share their time to check this thesis and also for their comments and suggestions. Thanks are also expressed to all lecturers of Faculty of Letters especially in English Department for their precious guidance and assistance during her academic years.
ABSTRAK
Bahasa Inggris dan bahasa Spanyol merupakan dua bahasa di benua Eropa yang paling banyak digunakan di dunia. Seperti kita ketahui bahsa Inggris adlah bahasa internasional, sementara bahasa Spanyol merupakan bahasa yang paling banyak digunakan, hamper 20 negara menggunakan bahasa Spanyol, antara lain Spain, Mexico, Panama, Cuba, Costa Rica, Peru, Chile, Puerto Rico dan lain-lain. Secara histories, kedua bahasa tersebut termasuk ke dalam rumpun Proto-Indo-Eropa.
Skripsi ini terdiri dari 5 bab yaitu: Bab I Pendahuluan (Introduction) membahas mengenai latar belakang penulisan skripsi ini, Batasan Masalah (Scope of Analysis), Permasalahan (Problem of Analysis), Tujuan penulisan (The Objective of Analysis), Manfaat Penulisan (Significance of Analysis). Bab II membahas Tinjauan kepustakaan (Review of Related Literature) yakni sejarah singkat bahasa Inggris dan bahasa Spanyol, serta gambaran bentuk lampau bahasa Inggris dan bahasa Spanyol, serta jenis, bentuk serta kegunaan bentuk lampau (Past Tenses) baik dalam bahasa Inggris dan Spanyol. Bab III membahas mengenai Metode Penelitian yang digunakan. Bab IV menguraikan analisis (perbandingan) antara bahasa Inggris dan bahasa Spanyol. Bab V berisikan kesimpulan dan saran, serta diikuti oleh daftar pustaka.
Walaupun kedua bahasa tersebut merupakan bahasa serumpun dan mempunyai hubungan yang erat, namun dalam sistem bahasanya, keduanya mempunyai ciri tersendiri dari masing-masing bahasa.
Skripsi yang berjudul, A Comparative Analysis between English and Spanish Past Tenses ini membahas tentang studi komparatif anatara bentuk lampau bahasa Inggris dan bahasa Spanyol. Penulis menganalisis mengenai jenis, bentuk dan fungsi bentuk lampau dari kedua bahasa dengan tujuan untuk mencari persamaan dan perbedaan yang terdapat dalam kedua bahasa. Penulis menggunakan metode penelitian kepustakaan (Library Research) dalam mengumpulkan data. Metode yang digunakan dalam menganalisa data adalah metode kjomparative (Comparative Method).
ABSTRAK
Bahasa Inggris dan bahasa Spanyol merupakan dua bahasa di benua Eropa yang paling banyak digunakan di dunia. Seperti kita ketahui bahsa Inggris adlah bahasa internasional, sementara bahasa Spanyol merupakan bahasa yang paling banyak digunakan, hamper 20 negara menggunakan bahasa Spanyol, antara lain Spain, Mexico, Panama, Cuba, Costa Rica, Peru, Chile, Puerto Rico dan lain-lain. Secara histories, kedua bahasa tersebut termasuk ke dalam rumpun Proto-Indo-Eropa.
Skripsi ini terdiri dari 5 bab yaitu: Bab I Pendahuluan (Introduction) membahas mengenai latar belakang penulisan skripsi ini, Batasan Masalah (Scope of Analysis), Permasalahan (Problem of Analysis), Tujuan penulisan (The Objective of Analysis), Manfaat Penulisan (Significance of Analysis). Bab II membahas Tinjauan kepustakaan (Review of Related Literature) yakni sejarah singkat bahasa Inggris dan bahasa Spanyol, serta gambaran bentuk lampau bahasa Inggris dan bahasa Spanyol, serta jenis, bentuk serta kegunaan bentuk lampau (Past Tenses) baik dalam bahasa Inggris dan Spanyol. Bab III membahas mengenai Metode Penelitian yang digunakan. Bab IV menguraikan analisis (perbandingan) antara bahasa Inggris dan bahasa Spanyol. Bab V berisikan kesimpulan dan saran, serta diikuti oleh daftar pustaka.
Walaupun kedua bahasa tersebut merupakan bahasa serumpun dan mempunyai hubungan yang erat, namun dalam sistem bahasanya, keduanya mempunyai ciri tersendiri dari masing-masing bahasa.
Skripsi yang berjudul, A Comparative Analysis between English and Spanish Past Tenses ini membahas tentang studi komparatif anatara bentuk lampau bahasa Inggris dan bahasa Spanyol. Penulis menganalisis mengenai jenis, bentuk dan fungsi bentuk lampau dari kedua bahasa dengan tujuan untuk mencari persamaan dan perbedaan yang terdapat dalam kedua bahasa. Penulis menggunakan metode penelitian kepustakaan (Library Research) dalam mengumpulkan data. Metode yang digunakan dalam menganalisa data adalah metode kjomparative (Comparative Method).
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of Analysis
Language plays important roles of communication in human life, because
language is the most distinctive of human activities. People use language to
communicate each other, to express their thought, feeling or ideas either in spoken
or written language. Through language our thoughts as well as emotions are made
explicitly or clearly.
Language is studied, described and analyzed by a science called
linguistics. According to David Crystal (1999:98) cites: “Linguistics is a scientific
study of language, also called linguistics science, or when phonetics is seen as a
distinct area of study, linguistics sciences.” There are five branch of study in
linguistics, i.e Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology, Semantics and Syntax. From
morphological point of view, we know that there are many ways of studying
language. One of them is by comparing or contrasting two or more languages.
Comparative linguistics is dealing with the comparison of language from the same
family background.
Comparative linguistics is different from contrastive linguistics in the
languages being compared. It compares languages which are in the same parent
language, while contrastive linguistics compares languages which are in different
parent language. This thesis deals with comparative linguistics. It will compare
There are many languages in the world and two of them are English and
Spanish, English as we know is the international language in the world, and
Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the world. The majority of the
citizens of many countries speak Spanish, either as first or second language. Such
as Spain, Mexico, Panama, Cuba, Costa Rica, Peru, Chile, Puerto Rico. According
to Winfred P. Lehmann (1973:20) English and Spanish are the member of Proto
Indo-European Family, so knowing the relationship between English and Spanish
as the member of Proto-Indo European family languages and their position in the
world I become eager to learn about these both languages.
Gorys Keraf (1948:34) cites : “Languages that came from the same proto
language always showed this similarity:
1. phonetics and phonology similarities.
2. morphology similarity, i.e the similarity in word form and grammatical
similarity.
3. syntax similarity, i.e the similarity of relationship between words in a
sentence.
According to Rebecca (1972:81), “Past Tense expresses activities that is
exist or occurred in the past time. Modifiers indicating the time often specify a
definite time but in some situation the time is not specified”.
For example:
Mary was ill yesterday.
He cleaned his shoes this morning
One of the most striking differences between Spanish and English is in
verb tenses. For English speakers, learning how to use the various past tenses in
Spanish can be very tricky because English has several tenses which either do not
exist or do not translate literally into Spanish. Anyone who has studied Spanish is
aware of the troublesome relationship between the pretérito (Past Definite) and
imperfecto (Imperfect Tense). The imperfecto (yo hablaba) translates to the English imperfect (I was talking) while the pretérito (yo hablé) literally translates
to the English simple past (I talked) but can also be translated as the English
present perfect (I have talked) or the emphatic past (I did talk). It is extremely
important to understand the distinctions between pretérito and imperfecto in order
to use them correctly and thus express past events accurately. Because to use it
there are some rules that is to dropping the infinitive and add the appropriate
endings for each of the verbs in Spanish.
Example of Preterito:
Yo visité Barcelona el sabado = I visit Barcelona on Saturday
S V O Compliment
Visité → Visitar (AR-Verbs) conjugated with a standard root (found by
dropping the infinitive) plus the appropriate endings ( + é )
(Nosotros) comimos en el restaurante ayer= We ate in the restaurant yesterday
S P Compliment
Comimos → Comer (ER-Verbs) conjugated with a standard root (found by
Example of Imperfecto :
(Yo) estudiaba a las nueve de la mañana = I was studying at nine this morning
S P Compliment
Estudiaba → Estudiar ( AR Verbs) conjugated with a standard root (found by
dropping the infinitive) plus the appropriate endings ( + aba )
Ella dormia a la alcoba = She was sleeping at the bedroom
S P Compliment
Domia → Dormir (IR Verbs) conjugated with a standard root (found by
dropping the infinitive) plus the appropriate endings ( + ia )
Sometimes the subject of the sentences didn’t have to be mentioned.
There are some reasons why the writer interested to discuss about this topic.
First, I want to know about the structure of both languages. Secondly the writer
wants to know the correspondences, partly correspondences and non
correspondences between English and Spanish. And thirdly, the writer wants to
apply the knowledge that she got from the lecturers during the study at English
Department of Faculty of Letter University of Sumatra Utara.
1.2 Scope of Analysis
The writer has carried out a comparative analysis between English and
Spanish Tenses. There are some tenses in English and Spanish however in this
case, the writer limited the study on the similarities and differences between the
past tenses of the two languages, and the writer focus on Simple Past Tense and
The limitation is necessary, as I want to make an intensive study of the
problems of Past Tense either in English or Spanish.
1.3 Problem of Analysis
Language has its own forms and systems. English and Spanish, for example,
although both of the languages have a relationship, yet there are much
dissimilarity can be found in their grammar.
Concerning with this case, I raised a problem to be analyzed:
1. How are the forms of Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense both
in English and Spanish?
2. Are there correspondences and non-correspondences in the types, forms
and functions between English and Spanish past tenses, especially in
Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense.
1.4 Objective of the Analysis
Concerning with the problem of the correspondences and the
non-correspondences between English and Spanish Simple Past Tense and Past
Continuous Tense, and having been equipped by knowledge from English and
Spanish grammar books, this analysis is intended to achieve some objectives:
1. To give a brief explanation of both English and Spanish tenses in the past
form, especially in Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense.
2. To give an account of correspondences and non-correspondences between
English and Spanish past tense especially Simple Past Tense and Past
1.5 Significance of Analysis
The writer expect the significance both theoretically and practically.
Theoretically, this thesis will be able to give an understanding about both of
the languages, English and Spanish especially in the Past Form. Practically,
this thesis is expected to be able to give something new to enrich the
comparative analysis study, and can be useful to the student that interested to
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 A Brief History of English and Spanish Language
English and Spanish are the two European languages which are most
spoken today. These both languages are the members of the common ancestor,
Proto-Indo-European. English belongs to Germanic, branch of Indo-European
while Spanish belongs to Romance group of Italic, branch of
Proto-Indo-European.
2.1.1 A Brief History of English
English was originated from the Old Saxon language, which brought to
Britain by Germanic settlers from various parts of northwest Germanic. From the
beginning of the Christian era around A.D 400, the speakers what was to become
English were scattered along the northern coast of Europe. They spoke a dialect of
Low German. More exactly they spoke several different dialects, since they were
several different tribes. The name given to the tribes who got to England are
Angles, Saxons and Jutes. For convenience, we can refer to them all as
Anglosaxon.
The history of English can be divided into three periods :
a. Old English (500-1100)
Old English is said (technically) to begin in 449 CE with the invasion of
Kent by Hengest and Horsa, although we place its starts at 500 CE, since it must
character; we do not have the first manuscript attestations of English until about
700 CE. We know that the Anglo-Saxons spoke West Germanic, a sister dialect to
Old High German, Old Frisian, Old Low German, Low Saxon and Old Low
Franconian. Several very important features characterize Old English:
(1) Old English was synthetic, or fusional, rather than analytic or isolating.
(2) The noun, verb, adjective, determiner and pronoun were highly inflected.
Consequently, word order was not as rigid as in Present-Day English.
(3) There were weak and strong declensions of noun and adjectives.
(4) There were also weak and strong conjugations of verbs.
(5) The vocabulary of Old English was overwhelming Germanic in character
(approximately 85 per cent of the vocabulary used in Old English is no
longer in use in Modern English).
(6) Word formation largely took the form of compounding, prefixing and
suffixing; there was relatively little borrowing from other languages.
(7) Gender was grammatical (dependent on formal linguistics criteria), not
logical or natural (contingent on sex).
b. Middle English (1100-1500)
During the Middle English period a number of very significant changes
became more and more visible in the English language. The major changes from
Old to Middle English are the loss of inflections, and with it the development of
more fixed word order. As the Old English period, language contact led to
borrowing, but its scale was far greater during this period than it had been before.
the sound system: the consonants, vowels, lengthening and shortening,
diphthongs; major morphological changes: verb and word order.
c. Modern English (Early Modern English 1500-1800 and Present day English
1800-present)
By the Early Modern English period the structure of the standard language
was very close to its structure in Present Day English. There were still some
significant changes to come, such as the Great Vowel Shift, but with regard to
short vowels, consonants, morphology and syntax, changes were slight. What is
noticeable to a present-day reader of Early Modern English is its comparative
variability. In the period from 1500-1700, there was considerable free variation of
forms in comparison with Present Day English. This is hardly surprising in a
language that was only just beginning to be accepted as a legitimate medium of
communication in science, the arts and administration. By 1700, however, English
had stabilized and texts written after that period are remarkably easy for modern
reader to comprehend.
English language as we know it today was fairly well established by the
eighteenth century. Since that time, while some changes in the structure have
indeed occurred, they are comparatively minor in nature. Unlike in the Early
Modern English period, there are few changes in phonology and even fewer in
morphology and syntax, with major changes taking place (as ever) in the lexical
stock of English. The changes that have taken place in this last-named component
2.1.2 A Brief History of Spanish
The Spanish language developed from vulgar Latin, with loan-words from
Basque in the north and Arabic in the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula (see
Iberian Romance languages). Typical features of Spanish diachronic phonology
include lenition (Latin vita, Spanish vida; Latin lupus, Spanish lobo),
palatalization (Latin annum, Spanish año) and diphthongation of short E/O from
vulgar Latin (Latin terra, Spanish tierra; Latin novus, Spanish nuevo; Latin
tempus, Spanish tiempo; Latin ferrum, Old Spanish fierro and modern hierro).
Similar phenomena can be found in many other Romance languages as well,
especially after the fall of the Roman Empire in the 4th century AD reduced
cultural contact with the Roman Empire.
The standard Spanish language is also called Castilian. In its earliest
documented form, and up through approximately the fifteenth century, the
language is customarily called Old Spanish. From approximately the sixteenth
century on, it is called Modern Spanish. Spanish of the 16th and 17th centuries is
sometimes called "classical" Spanish, referring to the literary accomplishments of
that period. Unlike English and French, it is not customary to speak of a "middle"
stage in the development of Spanish. Castilian Spanish originated, after the
decline of the Roman Empire, as a continuation of spoken Latin in the Cordillera
Cantábrica, in northern Spain, in the 8th and 9th centuries AD, according to most
authorities; but others claim it came from Franco-Navarrese and Gothic-Castilian
dialects in the 11th century AD. With the Reconquista, this northern dialect spread
at the same time as it borrowed massively from the vocabulary of Moorish Arabic
and was influenced by Mozarabes (the Romance speech of Christians living in
Moorish territory) and medieval Judeo-Spanish (Ladino). These languages all but
vanished in the Iberian peninsula by the late 16th century.
The language was brought to the Americas (Latin America, especially
Mexico, Central America and western South America), and to the Federated
States of Micronesia, Guam, Marianas, Palau and the Philippines, by the Spanish
colonization which began in the 16th century. The Spanish failed to exercise land
claims over the Solomon Islands and Micronesia, where a map reader can find
some geographic place names in Spanish, but no major Spanish cultural influence
is felt in distant, often isolated islands in the three centuries of Spanish
administrative rule in these areas later acquired by the Germans and Americans by
1900.
In the 20th century, Spanish was introduced in Equatorial Guinea and
Western Sahara after periods of Spanish colonial rule, and it is also studied and
spoken in former French and Portuguese colonies in Africa and Asia, but it is not
the main languages of these areas. It is also spoken in parts of the United States
that had not been part of the Spanish Empire, such as Spanish Harlem in New
York City, at first by immigrants from Puerto Rico, and later by other Latin
2.2 Related Study
In order to support the ideas of the analysis, I had consulted some references
consist of a thesis written by a student of English Department and some linguistics
and grammar books which are related to the topic of this thesis.
George E.Wishon (1980: 195) says: Simple Past Tense is used to report a state
or activity which can be described to definite Past Time or past adverbial is either
expressed or else understood from the context in which the Past Tense is used.”
W.P Lehman (1927:20) cites: “In using the comparative method, we contrast
forms of two or more related languages to determine their precise relationship.
We indicate this relationship most simply by constructing the form which they
develop.”
Lubis, Nursauli (2002) entitled “A Comparative Analysis between English
and German Prepositions”. She applied the library research method to analyze the
data. She concluded that English and German prepositions have the same form for
plural, masculine and feminine nouns, English and German are partly
correspondence, in types of prepositions and position of prepositions and English
has compound (complex) and marginal prepositions, while German does not.
Hartini, Sri (2006) entitled “A Comparative Analysis between English and French
Articles”. She applied the comparative method to analyze the data. She concluded
that based on the type of the articles, both of the languages are partly
correspondence, based on the form, the articles of both languages are
non-correspondence, based on the position of both languages are non-correspondence, and
Siahaan, Frida (2002) entitled “A Comparative Study on English and German
Simple Past Tense”. The writer of this thesis used library research to analyze the
data. She concluded that English language to form a sentence in the past tense
form, there is no changing verbs to each subjects, otherwise in German language
the verbs will be conjugated and changed. It determined by the subjects. In
English the formation of verbs in simple past tense form, consist of two ways,
while in German the formation of the verbs in Praterium form consist of three
2.3 The Description of Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense 2.3.1 Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense in English
In English Tenses, Past Tenses consist of some kinds, they are:
Simple Past Tense
Past Continuous Tense
Past Perfect Tense
Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Past Future Tense
Past Future Continuous Tense
Past Future Perfect Tense, and
Past Future Continuous Tense.
But in this thesis I just focus to the tenses to : Simple Past Tense and Past
Continuous Tense.
a) Simple Past Tense
Simple Past Tense is used to report a state or activity which can be
described to a definite past time. It is used to express the action that occurred in
the past time no matter how much time has elapsed since then or how many times
it occurred. It seems that the Simple Past Tense expresses the event went on the
time referred, but it is over now.
Another point about the Simple Past Tense is that it is used when no
time separated from now. It does not matter how long a go the action took place.
The event started and has finished in the past or at the moment of speaking.
Example : He went to Bali last week.
You slept well last night.
They got married in 1998.
She drank tea this morning.
b) Past Continuous Tense
The Past Continuous Tense is a construction made up of the Past Tense of
the auxiliary be + the–ing (Present Participle) form of the verb. It is used to
emphasize the Progressive nature of an action that was happening over a period of
time in the past. Example:
I was reading a newspaper all evening.
She was swimming for an hour.
We were studying when you knocked at the door.
Some pupils were making a lot of noise when the teacher came into the
classroom.
The Past Continuous Tense may be used in the following ways:
a. To indicate that an action was in progress at a definite time in the past
Example: What was he doing at 8 pm last night?
He was watching the television.
b. To indicate the progressive nature of an action that was happening at the same
time as another event in the past
My mother was cooking the dinner when I came home.
c. To indicate that two continuous activities were going on at the same time
Example: She was reading the newspaper while I was watching the
television.
d. To indicate that an activity was going on between two points of time in the past
Example: She was writing his first novel between December 1998 and
February 1999.
In the last two categories, notice that the conjunction WHEN is used to indicate a
point in time, whereas WHILE is used to indicate a duration of
time.
A. The Form of Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense 1. Form of Simple Past Tense
The Simple Past Tense formed by using verbs that consist of two ways,
they are regular verbs and irregular verbs.
a. Regular Verbs
In forming the Simple Past Tense in regular verbs, we just add the –ed or
–d after the infinitive.
Examples: live → lived
climb → climbed
ask → asked
finish → finished
walk → walked
He lived in France last year.
They climbed the mountain a week ago.
He asked me to open the window a moment ago.
Mary finished her homework an hour ago.
She walked to school yesterday because the car was broken.
The boys played football last Saturday.
b. Irregular Verbs
Some verbs are irregular. In this case we do not need to put –d or –ed after
the infinitive, otherwise it will be changing the form and the sound.
Examples: wear → wore
drink → drank
eat → ate
write → wrote
tell → told
give → gave
It was Mary’s birthday yesterday and she wore her new dress.
I was very thirsty this morning and I drank three glasses of water.
The children were hungry and ate all the cakes.
She wrote a letter to her mother last week.
His mother told him a story before sleep last night.
There are also some verbs which do not change in the Simple Past Tense
formation.
Examples: read → read
put → put
bid → bid
hurt → hurt
hit → hit
She read the novel all day yesterday.
He put the paper on the table this morning.
My mother bid the price so hard on the market last week.
Your rude words hurt her so much.
Her brother hit him accidentally a few days ago.
Simple past tense has three form, Positive Form, Negative Form, and
Interrogative Form.
Positive Form
The pattern:
S + VERB (PAST TENSE) + OBJECT / COMPLIMENT
Examples:
I saw David yesterday.
The cat ran a mouse a few days ago.
I washed the dishes ten minutes ago.
The students asked a lot of question to the teacher last
week.
We opened the window because it was hot an hour ago.
She wrote a letter to his brother in London.
My friend and I went to the cinema last Saturday.
Negative Form
The Pattern:
S + DID + NOT + VERB (INFINITIVE) + OBJECT / COMPLIMENT
Examples:
I did not see David yesterday.
The cat did not run a mouse a few days ago.
The baby did not cry all night.
I did not wash the dishes ten minutes ago.
The students did not ask a lot of question to the teacher
last week
We did not open the window because it was cold.
She did not write a letter to his brother in London.
Interrogative Sentence
The Pattern:
DID + S + VERB (INFINITIVE) + OBJECT / COMPLIMENT
OR
WH…(QUESTION WORD)+DID + S+ VERB(INF)+ OBEJCT/ COMPLIMENT
Examples:
Did you see David yesterday?
Did the cat run a mouse a few days ago?
Why did the baby cry all night?
When did I wash the dishes?
Did the students ask a lot of question to the teacher last
week?
Why did we open the window an hour ago?
Did she write a letter to his brother in London?
Did my friend and I go to the cinema last Saturday?
2. Form of Past Continuous Tense
While past continuous tense formed by using to be in past tense, that are
was and were plus the verb –ing (present participle).
Examples: clean → cleaning
listen → listening
sleep → sleeping
rain → raining
He was cleaning the table at that time.
We were listening to the radio when he came.
I was sleeping when you called me.
It was raining when I went out this morning.
She was speaking to the teacher when he entered the room.
Same as Simple past tense, pas continuous tense also has three form,
Positive Form, Negative Form, and Interrogative Form.
Positive Form
The pattern: S + WAS/WERE + VERB - ing + O / Compliment
Examples:
I was having breakfast at six this morning.
She was waiting when I arrived.
I was sleeping all day yesterday.
He was cleaning at the time.
We were studying when you knocked at the door.
My mother was cooking as I got home
Negative Form
The pattern: S + WAS/WERE + NOT + VERB –ing + O / Compliment
Examples:
I was not having breakfast at six this morning.
I was not sleeping all day yesterday.
He was not cleaning at the time.
We were studying when you knocked at the door.
My mother was not cooking as I got home
Interrogative Form
The pattern: WAS/WERE + S + VERB –ing + O / Compliment?
Examples:
Were you having breakfast at six this morning?
Was she waiting when I arrived?
Was you sleeping all day yesterday?
Was he cleaning at the time?
Were we studying when you knocked at the door?
Was my mother cooking as I got home?
B. The Function of Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense
a. Simple Past Tense functions:
1) To show an action that took place in the past. The time of the action is
generally given, when time is not given it is implied or understood.
2) When narrating a series of events.
3) The past tense is also used for activities that occurred over a period of
time in the past, but are now finished on that occurred at intervals in
b. Past Continuous Tense functions:
1) To indicate that an action was in progress at a definite time in the past.
2) To indicate the progressive nature of an action that was happening at
the same time as another event in the past.
3) To indicate that two continuous activities were going on at the same
time.
4) To indicate that an activity was going on between two points of time in
2.3.2 Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense in Spanish (Preterito and Imperfecto)
There are some types of Past Tenses in Spanish, they are :
Imperfecto
Pretérito
Condicional
Presente perfecto
Futuro perfecto
Pluscuamperfecto
Pretérito anterior
Condicional perfecto
According to Laura K. Lawless in her official website, Online language
learning with Laura K. Lawless, and also according to Ganefiati Rachmaning in
her book “Español Para Ti 2” page 95, one of the most striking differences
between Spanish and English is in verb tenses. For English speakers, learning how
to use the various past tenses in Spanish can be very tricky (and vice versa), because English has several tenses which either do not exist or do not translate
literally into Spanish.
Anyone who has studied Spanish is aware of the troublesome relationship
between the pretérito and imperfecto. The imperfecto (yo hablaba) translates to the English imperfect (I was talking) while the pretérito (yo hablé) literally
translates to the English simple past (I talked) but can also be translated as the
It is extremely important to understand the distinctions between pretérito
and imperfecto in order to use them correctly and thus express past events
accurately. But before we discuss about the preterito and imperfecto, we should
know that in forming a sentence in Spanish is about the conjugation of the verb. It
is very important to know the verb is Spanish because all Spanish verbs have to be
conjugated – they have different forms depending on what the subject is. The verb
in Spanish consists of 5 categories:
1. –AR verbs
2. –ER verbs Regular Verbs
3. –IR verbs
4. Stem-changing verbs
5. Irregular verbs
-AR verbs, -ER verbs, and –IR verbs are regular verbs. Regular verbs that
end in these letters are all conjugated the same way in all of the tenses.
Stem-changing verbs or verbs with spelling changes take the same endings as regular
verbs, but their root changes depending on the subject. And the final category is
irregular verbs. These are verbs whose conjugations are unique to them, so you
must memorize their conjugations separately.
1. –AR verbs (present tense)
The verbs that ends in –AR is called the infinitive. –AR is the inifinitive
without the –AR is called the stem or radical. To conjugate an -AR verb, remove
the infinitive ending and then add the appropriate endings, as follows:
Singular Endings Plural Endings
1st person yo + o nosotros + amos
2nd person tú + as vosotros + áis
3rd person él/élla + a ellos + an
Thus to conjugate hablar, we should remove the infinitive ending to find the
radical habl- and then add the appropriate endings:
Hablar Singular After endings Plural After endings
1st person yo hablo nosotros hablamos
2nd person tú hablas vosotros habláis
3rd person él/élla habla ellos hablan
Some of –AR verbs:
andar : to walk limpiar : to wash, to clean
bailar : to dance llamar : to call
calentar: to warm up mirar : to watch
callar : shut up nadir : to swim
cantar : to sing olvidar : to forget
dar : to give pagar : to pay
dibujar : to draw pensar : to think
entrar : to enter pintar : to paint
escuchar: to listen practicar: to practice
estudiar: to study preguntar: to ask a question
explicar: to explain regresar: to return
firmar : to sign saltar : to jump
fumar : to smoke tocar : to touch, to play (music)
ganar : to win tomar : to take, to drink
hablar : to speak tartar : to deal with
2. –ER verbs (present tense)
To conjugate an –ER verb, remove the infinitive ending and then add the
appropriate endings, as follows:
Singular Endings Plural Endings
1st person yo + o nosotros +emos
2nd person tú + es vosotros +é
3rd person él/élla + e ellos +en
Thus to conjugate aprender, we should remove the infinitive ending to find the
radical aprend- and then add the appropriate endings:
Aprender Singular After endings Plural After endings
1st person yo aprendo nosotros aprendemos
2nd person tú aprendes vosotros aprendéis
3rd person él/élla aprende ellos aprenden
Some of the –ER verbs:
absolver : to absolve, to acquilt corer : to run, to race
absorber : to compose, to fix, repair defender: to defend
3. –IR verbs (present tense)
To conjugate an –IR verb, remove the infinitive ending and then add the
appropriate endings, as follows:
Singular Endings Plural Endings
1st person yo + o nosotros +imos
2nd person tú + es vosotros +ís
3rd person él/élla + e ellos +en
Thus to conjugate aprender, we should remove the infinitive ending to find the
radical aprend- and then add the appropriate endings:
partir Singular After endings Plural After endings
1st person yo parto nosotros partimos
2nd person tú partes vosotros partís
3rd person él/élla parte ellos parten
Some of –IR verbs:
abrir : to open mentir : to lie, to tell an untruth
admitir: to admit, permit morir : to die
competir: to compete partir : to divide, to depart
concluir : to conclude percibir: to perceive
consentir : to consent persuader: to persuade
converter : to convert, to change recibir : to receive
corregir : to correct reducer : to reduce
decider : to decide salir : to exit, to leave, to go out
definir : to define seguir : to follow, to continue
destruir : to destroy servir : to serve
extinguir : to extinguish traducir : to translate
fluir : to flow unir : to unite
huir : to flee, to run away venir : to come
influir : to influence, to act on vestir : to dress, to get dressed
4. Stem-Changing Verbs
Spanish has two kinds of verbs that undergo spelling changes during
conjugation. Spelling change verbs undergo consonant changes in certain
conjugations, while stem-changing verbs are characterized by changes in vowels.
Stem-changing verbs are those that have a vowel spelling change in the stem of
all form except nosotros and vosotros. Spanish has three different stem-changing
patterns:
1) E changes to IE
Example:
Querer (to want, to love)
querer Singular Changes Plural Changes
1st person yo quiero nosotros queremos
2nd person tú quieres vosotros queries
3rd person él/élla quiere ellos quieren
Similarly-conjugated verbs (note that there are –Ar, -ER and –IR verbs in this
category):
advertir to warn
ascender to go up
atravesar to cross
cerrar to close
comenzar to begin
despertarse to wake up
divertirse to have fun
empezar to begin
entender to understand
mentir to lie
pensar to think
perder to lose
preferir to prefer
quebrar to break
recomendar to recommend
sentarse to sit down
sentir to feel
2) O changes to UE
Example:
Poder (can, be able to)
Poder Singular Changes Plural Changes
1st person yo puedo nosotros podemos
2nd person tú puedes vosotros podeméis
3rd person él/élla puede ellos pueden
Similarly verbs (there are –AR, -ER and –IR verbs in this category):
almorzar to eat lunch
contar to count
costar to cost
doler to hurt
dormer to sleep
encontrar to find
jugar* to play
morir to die
mostrar to show
oler** to smell
probar to try
recodar to remember
soler to be used to
volar to fly
volver to return
*In jugar, the U changes to UE (juego, juegas,…)
**In oler, the O changes to HUE (huelo, hueles,…)
3) E changes to I
Example: Repetir (to repeat)
Repetir Singular Changes Plural Changes
1st person yo repito nosotros repetimos
2nd person tú repites vosotros repetis
Similar verbs (only –IR verbs in this category):
despedirse to say good-bye
gemir to moan, groan
impedir to prevent
medir to mesure
pedir to ask for
reír to laugh
seguir to follow, continue
server to serve
sonréirse to smile
vestirse to dress
2.3.3 Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense in Spanish
There are some types of Past Tenses in Spanish, they are :
Imperfecto
Pretérito
Condicional
Presente perfecto
Futuro perfecto
Pluscuamperfecto
Pretérito anterior
But in this thesis I just focus to the tenses to : Pretérito and Imperfecto
which are equal with Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense in
English.
a) PRETERITO
The pretérito is the Spanish simple past tense, used to talk about things
that were completed in the past. To conjugate the preterito, it has different rules
for each of the verbs.
Conjugating the pretérito: Regular verbs
Most regular Spanish -AR, -ER, and -IR verbs are conjugated with a
standard root (found by dropping the infinitive) plus the appropriate endings.
-AR verbs
Singular Endings Plural Endings
1st person yo + e nosotros + amos
2nd person tú + aste vosotros + asteis
3rd person él/élla + o ellos + aron
So to conjugate the word hablar (to speak), we drop the infinitive and add
the appropriate endings, same like when we want to conjugate the –AR verb in
present tense but different endings.
1st person yo hable nosotros hablamos
2nd person tú hablaste vosotros hablasteis
3rd person él/élla hablo ellos hablaron
The other example: Comprar (to buy)
Comprar Singular After endings Plural After endings
1st person yo compre nosotros compramos
2ndperson tú compraste vosotros comprasteis
3rd person él/élla compro ellos compraron
In sentence: (Yo) Compre una chaqueta ayer. I bought a jacket yesterday.
(The subject sometimes didn’t mention).
-ER Verbs and –IR Verbs
The preterito endings are identical for –ER and –IR verbs
Singular Endings Plural Endings
1st person yo + í nosotros + imos
2nd person tú + iste vosotros + isteis
3rd person él/élla + ió ellos + ieron
So to conjugate the word corer (to run), we drop the infinitive and add the
appropriate endings, same like when we want to conjugate the –ER verb in
Corer Singular After endings Plural After endings
1st person yo corrí nosotros corrimos
2nd person tú Corriste vosotros corristeis
3rd person él/élla Corrió ellos corrieron
The other example: comer (to eat)
Comer Singular After endings Plural After endings
1st person yo comí nosotros comimos
2nd person tú comiste vosotros comisteis
3rd person él/élla comió ellos comieron
In sentence: Comimos a las ocho. We ate at 8 o’clock.
For example: vivir (to live)
Comer Singular After endings Plural After endings
1st person yo viví nosotros vivimos
2nd person tú viviste vosotros vivisteis
3rd person él/élla vivió ellos vivieron
In sentence: Juan vivió en Ingles de 2001. Juan lived in England in
2001.
STEM-CHANGING Verbs
Stem-changing verbs that end in -AR and -ER do not stem-change in the pretérito.
Verb Present tense Pretérito
pensar yo pienso yo pensé
entender él entiende él entendió
Stem-changing verbs that end in -IR have a different stem change in the pretérito. Those that have an E change to an I, and those that have an O change to
a U, but only in the third person conjugations.
Pedir - to ask for
yo pedí nosotros pedimos
tú pediste vosotros pedisteis
él pidió ellos pidieron
Dormir - to sleep
yo dormí nosotros dormimos
tú dormiste vosotros dormisteis
él durmió ellos durmieron
Verbs which end in -CAR, -GAR, and -ZAR have a stem-change in the first
person singular of the pretérito, even if they are not stem-changing in the present
Buscar - to search, look for
yo busqué nosotros buscamos
tú buscaste vosotros buscasteis
él buscó ellos buscaron
Pagar - to pay
yo pagué nosotros pagamos
tú pagaste vosotros pagasteis
él pagó ellos pagaron
Lanzar - to throw
yo lancé nosotros lanzamos
tú lanzaste vosotros lanzasteis
él lanzó ellos lanzaron
Note that since -AR verbs lose their stem-change, -CAR, -GAR, and -ZAR
verbs which are changing in the present (e.g., comenzar) lose that
stem-change but gain a new one in the pretérito: yo comienzo (present) --» yo comencé (pretérito).
b) IMPERFECTO
in English. The Spanish imperfect can also express repeated actions in the past -
equivalent to "used to" in English.
Conjugating the imperfecto
The imperfecto is relatively easy, because all regular and all but three
irregular Spanish verbs are conjugated with the standard root (found by dropping
the infinitive) plus the appropriate endings.
-AR verbs
Singular Endings Plural Endings
1st person yo + aba nosotros + abamos
2nd person tú + abas vosotros + abais
3rd person él/élla + aba ellos + aban
To conjugate hablar (to speak):
Hablar Singular After endings Plural After endings
1st person yo hablaba nosotros hablabamos
2nd person tú hablabas vosotros hablabais
3rd person él/élla hablaba ellos hablaban
The other example: estudiar (to study)
estudiar Singular After endings Plural After endings
1st person yo estudiaba nosotros estudiabamos
3rd person él/élla estudiaba ellos estudiaban
In sentence: Estudiaba a las nueve de la mañana.
I was studying at nine this morning.
-ER Verbs and –IR Verbs
The imperfecto endings are identical for –ER and –IR verbs.
Singular Endings Plural Endings
1st person yo + ía nosotros + iamos
2nd person tú + ias vosotros + iais
3rd person él/élla + ía ellos + ian
Corer Singular After endings Plural After endings
1st person yo corría nosotros corriamos
2nd person tú corrias vosotros corriais
3rd person él/élla corría ellos corrian
The other example: leer (to read)
Leer Singular After endings Plural After endings
1st person yo leía nosotros leiamos
2nd person tú leias vosotros leiais
In the sentence: Ella leía el periodico.
She was reading the newspaper.
Example: escribir (to write)
Escribir Singular After endings Plural After endings
1st person Yo escribía nosotros escribiamos
2nd person Tú escribias vosotros escribiais
3rd person él/élla escribía ellos escribian
In sentence: Escribía una carta a mi madre.
I was writing a letter to my mother.
IRREGULAR VERBS
Ir, ser, and ver are the only irregular verbs in the imperfecto.
Ir - to go
yo iba nosotros íbamos
tú ibas vosotros ibais
él iba ellos iban
yo era nosotros éramos
tú eras vosotros erais
él era ellos eran
Ver - to see
yo veía nosotros veíamos
tú veías vosotros veíais
él veía ellos veían
A. The Form of Preterito and Imperfecto Positive Form
The pattern: S + VERB (PRETERITO/IMPERFECTO)+ O / Compliment
Examples in Preterito:
Yo visité Barcelona el sabado = I visit Barcelona on Saturday
S Verb O Compliment
Nosotros tomamos la medicina ayer = We took the medicine yesterday
S Verb O Compliment
Yo compré unas naranjas = I bought some oranges
S Verb O
S Verb O Compliment
Nosotros lavamos la ropa = We washed the clothing.
S Verb O
El profesor explicó las palabras = The teacher explained the words yesterday.
S Verb O
Examples in Imperfecto:
Ella leía el periódico = She was reading the newspaper.
Bailabamos todos los dias = We used to dance every day.
Tenían tiempo de estudiar = They had time to study.
Caminaban por la calle cuando empezó a llover = They were walking
down the street when it began to rain.
Juan sabía las noticias y estaba enojado = Juan knew about the news and
was angry.
Mientras pescaban, hablaban del partido de fútbol =While they were
fishing they talked about the soccer game.
Note: Subject of the sentence in Spanish sometimes didn’t mention in the
sentence, especially for the 1st and 2nd singular and plural person.
Negative Form
To make a Spanish statement or question negative, place “no” in front of the verb
Examples:
No visité Barcelona el sabado = I didn’t visit Barcelona on Saturday
No tomamos la medicina ayer = We didn’t take the medicine yesterday
No compré unas naranjas = I didn’t buy some oranges
Ella no leía el periódico = She was not reading the newspaper.
Juan no sabía las noticias y estaba enojado = Juan didn’t know about the news
and was angry.
No tenían tiempo de estudiar = They didn’t have time to study.
Interrogative Form
The pattern:
There are three ways to form interrogative form in Spanish:
a. Put question marks around the positive sentence. Example:
¿Visitaste Barcelona el sabado? = Did you visit Barcelona on Saturday?
¿tTomamos la medicina ayer ? = Did we take the medicine yesterday?
¿Comprasté unas naranjas? = Did you buy some oranges?
¿Maria compró un regalo para su amigo? = Did Maria buy a gift for her
friend?
¿Lavamos la ropa? = Did we wash the clothing?
b. Information question
Information questions are more complicated; they ask for more information, such
as who, what, when, where, why, how, which, etc.
quién who dónde where
qué what por qué why
cuándo when cómo how
The pattern : ¿QUESTION WORD + VERB (in present) + S + O/Compliment?
Examples:
¿qué compró maria para su amigo?
what did maria buy for her friend?
¿cuándo lavamos la ropa?
when did we wash the clothes?
¿dónde explicó el profesor las palabras?
B. The Function Preterito and Imperfecto
The pretérito indicates:
I. A single event
Fui a España el año pasado - I went to Spain last year.
Visité Barcelona el sábado - I visited Barcelona on Saturday.
II. One or more events or actions that began and ended in the past
Fui a España - I went to Spain.
Visité unos museos - I visited some museums.
III. An event that occurred, interrupting another action
...cuando me dijeron la verdad - ... when they told me the truth.
...cuando mi hija nació - when my daughter was born.
IV. Changes in an existing physical or mental state at a precise moment or for a particular isolated cause
Tuve miedo cuando vi el perro - I was scared when I saw the dog.
The imperfecto is used for:
Iba a España cada año - I went (used to go) to Spain every year.
Visitaba mucho la Sagrada Familia - I often visited la Sagrada Familia.
II. An ongoing action with no specified completion
Iba a España - I was going to Spain.
Visitaba unos museos - I was visiting museums.
III. Description/background information; set the scene of how things were or what was happening when there was an interruption (see pretérito III above)
Vivía en Costa Rica cuando... - I was living in Costa Rica when...
Estaba en mi cama cuando... - I was in bed when...
IV. General description of physical or mental states of being
Tenía miedo de perros - I was afraid of dogs.
V. Expression of the time of day or age in the past
Eran las cinco de la mañana - It was five a.m.
Era sus cumpleaños; tenía doce años - It was his birthday; he was twelve.
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Method
The fundamental technique of comparative linguistics is to compare
phonological systems, morphological systems, syntax and the lexicon of two or
more languages using a technique known as the comparative method. In this case
the writers want to compare two related language; English and Spanish.
In writing this thesis, I use descriptive qualitative method. Nawawi (1991: 31)
says that descriptive method can be defined as the procedure of solving problem
that investigated by describe the situation of the subject/object of the research.
3.2 Data Collecting Method
In accomplishing the analysis, I need to select the perfect approach to be
applied in order to gain the target. The result of research is fact and principles, so
methodology research can be defined as a way of efforts which of systematic and
objective that has goal or to collect the accurate, efficient, relevant and reliable
information.
Prior to completing this study, I apply library research by using relevant
theories to support my study from written sources such as textbooks, thesis, and
other reference. Nawawi (1991:30) says that library research is a research done by
places. . I collected some theories and information about tenses of the languages
both English and Spanish to be compared from many books and references, and
other materials, including the internet.
3.3 Data Analysis Method
In writing this thesis, I use qualitative method, so in analyzing the data,
first I collect the data from textbook, e-book, and any other sources. Then I
descript the data in a chapter. After that I put the analysis into table, to make the
CHAPTER IV
THE COMPARISON BETWEEN ENGLISH AND SPANISH SIMPLE PAST TENSE AND PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE
The Analysis:
ENGLISH SPANISH
In English Tenses, Past Tenses consist of
some kinds, they are:
a. Simple Past Tense
b. Past Continuous Tense
c. Past Perfect Tense
d. Past Perfect Continuous Tense
e. Past Future Tense
f. Past Future Continuous Tense
g. Past Future Perfect Tense, and
h. Past Future Continuous Tense.
4.1 Form of Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense
The Simple Past Tense formed by using
verbs that consist of two ways, they are
regular verbs and irregular verbs.
Regular Verbs:
There are some types of Past Tenses in
Spanish, they are :
4.1 Form of Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense
Preterito formed by conjugating each of the verbs, it has different rules for each of the verbs.
i. Regular Verbs:
live→ lived
It was Mary’s birthday yesterday
and she wore her new dress. give → gave
He gave me the book two days ago.
While past continuous tense formed by
using to be in past tense, that are was and
were plus the verb –ing (present
participle).
Examples: rain → raining
It was raining when I went out this morning.
speak → speaking
She was speaking to the teacher when he
entered the room.
b) Past Tenses in English have three
form; positive form, negative
Singular Endings Plural Endings
1st yo + e nosotros + amos
2nd tú + aste vosotros + asteis
3rd él/élla + o ellos + aron
comprar → compre
Yo compre una chaqueta ayer. I bought a jacket yesterday.
2. –ER Verbs and –IR Verbs
comer → comimos
(Nosotros) comimos a las ocho. We ate at 8 o’clock
Imperfecto also formed by conjugating each of the verbs, it has different rules for each of the
verbs.
ii. Regular Verbs:
1. –AR Verbs
Singular Endings Plural Endings
1st yo + aba nosotros +abamos
Singular Endings Plural Endings
1st yo + í nosotros + imos
2nd tú + iste vosotros + isteis
form, and interrogative form for
each of its type.
Simple Past Tense:
I saw David yesterday. (+)
I did not see David
yesterday. (-)
Did you see David
yesterday? (?)
Past Continuous Tense:
He was cleaning at the time. studying at nine this morning.
2. – ER Verbs and –IR Verbs
She was reading the newspaper.
escribir → escribía
(yo) Escribía una carta a mi madre. I was writing a letter to my mother.
iii. Irregular Verbs: Ir, ser, and ver are the only
irregular verbs in the imperfecto.
Ir Singular Endings Plural Endings
1st yo iba nosotros íbamos
2nd tú ibas vosotros ibais
Ser Singular Endings Plural Endings
1st yo era nosotros éramos
2nd tú eras vosotros erais
3rd él/élla era ellos eran
Ver Singular Endings Plural Endings
1st yo veía nosotros veíamos
2nd tú veías vosotros veíais
3rd él/élla veía ellos veían
b. Past Tenses in Spanish have three form;
positive form, negative form, and
interrogative form for each of its type.
Preterito
Yo visité Barcelona el sabado. (+)
I visit Barcelona on Saturday
No visité Barcelona el sabado. (-)
I didn’t visit Barcelona on Saturday.
¿Visitaste Barcelona el sabado? (?)
Did you visit Barcelona on Saturday?
Imperfecto
Ella leía el periódico. (+)
She was reading the newspaper.
4.2 Function of Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense
a. Simple Past Tense functions:
1) To show an action that took place
in the past. The time of the action
is generally given, when time is
not given it is implied or
understood.
2) When narrating a series of events.
3) The past tense is also used for
activities that occurred over a
period of time in the past, but are
now finished on that occurred at
intervals in the past, but do not
occur now.
b. Past Continuous Tense functions:
1) To indicate that an action was in
progress at a definite time in the
past.
2) To indicate the progressive nature
She was not reading the newspaper.
¿Ella leía el periódico? (?)
Was she reading the newspaper?
4.2 Function Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense (Preterito and Imperfecto)
a. Preterito functions:
1) To indicates a single events.
2) To indicates one or more events or actions
that began and ended in the past.
3) To indicate an event that occurred,
interrupting another action.
4) To indicates changes in an existing
physical or mental state at precise moment
or for particular isolated cause.
b. Imperfecto used for:
1) A habitual or repeated action.
2) An ongoing action with no specified
completion.
3) Description/background information; set
the scene of how things were of what was
happening when there was an
interruption.
3) To indicate that two continuous
activities were going on at the
same time.
4) To indicate that an activity was
going on between two points of
time in the past.
5) Expression of the time of day or age in
the past.
Thus the imperfecto is normally used for
descriptions of the past, while the pretérito narrates specific events. In addition, the imperfecto often sets the stage for an event
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
5.1 Conclusions
Having analysed the Past Tenses form both in English and Spanish
language, the writer would like to draw some conclusions concerning with the
analysis of the form and functions of Simple Past Tense and Past Continuous
Tense in both languages.
1. Simple Past Tense
a. Forms
The forms of Simple Past Tense in English and Spanish agree in three
forms, positive, negative, and interrogative. English and Spanish also agree in the
way how to form the verb in Simple Past Tense, in English, there are Regular and
irregular verbs, and its category has its own rules, either in Spanish. Each of the
verb categories in Spanish has its own rules. Based on form of Simple Past Tense
both languages are corresponding.
b. Function
English Past Tenses, in this case Simple Past Tense has its own function,
either with Spanish Past Tense, Preterito. But the main function is to show the
action that has done in the past. So based on the function, both languages are
2. Past Continuous Tense
a. Forms
The forms of Past Continuous Tense in English and Spanish also agree in
three forms, positive, negative, and interrogative. English and Spanish also agree
in the way how to form the verb in Past Continuous Tense. Based on form of Past
Continuous Tense, both languages are corresponding.
b. Function
English Past Tenses, in this case Past Continuous Tense has its own
function, either with Spanish Past Tense, Imperfecto. But the main function is to
show the action that has done in the past. So based on the function, both
languages are corresponding.
5.2 Suggestions
Having finished writing of this thesis, the writer realizes that her
knowledge is quite limited to give every detailed and precise analysis, so the
writer would like to suggest reader to do the further researches on the same topic,
especially because the language that the writer analyzed in this analysis never
been analyzed before, so the writer realizes that this thesis is still far from being
perfect. Therefore, any constructive criticism, comments or suggestions from the
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