Putting It Together: ¡Nos vamos de fiesta!

Click on each link below for a review summary to help you complete the assignments and prepare for the quiz to demonstrate your mastery of the objectives.

Vocabulario: Las celebraciones de hoy

Artículos para las fiestas

Los globos (balloons)
Los dulces (candies)
Las velas (candles)
El pastel (cake)
El champán (champagne)
Los bocadillos (appetizers; sandwiches in Spain)
Los regalos (presents, gifts)
La invitación (invitation)
Los invitados (guests, invited people)
El aniversario (anniversary)
El bautizo (baptism)
La boda (wedding)
La graduación (graduation)
Los quince años (a girl’s 15th birthday celebration)
La quinceañera (girl celebrating her 15th birthday)
El día de tu santo / Tu santo (your saint’s day)
El brindis (toast)
El festejo (party/celebration)
Los fuegos artificiales (fireworks)
Los novios (bride and groom)

Verbos

Besar (to kiss)
Brindar (to make a toast)
Casarse con (to marry, to get married to)
Cumplir años (to have a birthday)
Celebrar (to celebrate)
Decorar (to decorate)
Divertirse (to have fun)
Escoger (to choose)
Recoger (to pick up)
Romper (to break)
Terminar (to end)

Pretérito e Imperfecto I

Imperfect for description	Preterit for narration
As you learned in Unidad 10, the imperfect is used to express: repeated, habitual, or usual actions in the past describe actions that were ongoing in the past describe what things were like in the past (like “used to”) Along these same lines, the imperfect is used to describe conditions of time, people and places in the past. The imperfect gives all the background information for when you are explaining a story. The order of events with the imperfect is often unimportant. Ejemplos: Cuando vivía en Barranquilla… Había un festejo. Él era guapo con pelo largo.	If the order of events is important to advance a past narration, use the preterit. The preterit focuses on what actions happened first and last in a story. Ejemplos: Cuando llegué a la casa, inmediatamente me fijé en su amigo. De repente, la música sonó y todos buscaron parejas para bailar. When telling a story, the preterit is used to facilitate the events. This shows that one action was completed before the next one began. You can use time expressions to indicate the order of events such as: primero (first), antes (before), después (after), luego (then), entonces (then). Ejemplos: Primero llegué a la casa. Después conocí a Ladislao. Luego bailamos.

Imperfect for description

Preterit for narration

As you learned in Unidad 10, the imperfect is used to express:

repeated, habitual, or usual actions in the past
describe actions that were ongoing in the past
describe what things were like in the past (like “used to”)

Along these same lines, the imperfect is used to describe conditions of time, people and places in the past. The imperfect gives all the background information for when you are explaining a story. The order of events with the imperfect is often unimportant.

Ejemplos:

Cuando vivía en Barranquilla…
Había un festejo.
Él era guapo con pelo largo.

If the order of events is important to advance a past narration, use the preterit.

The preterit focuses on what actions happened first and last in a story.

Ejemplos:

Cuando llegué a la casa, inmediatamente me fijé en su amigo.
De repente, la música sonó y todos buscaron parejas para bailar.

When telling a story, the preterit is used to facilitate the events. This shows that one action was completed before the next one began. You can use time expressions to indicate the order of events such as: primero (first), antes (before), después (after), luego (then), entonces (then).

Ejemplos:

Primero llegué a la casa.
Después conocí a Ladislao.
Luego bailamos.

Pretérito e Imperfecto II

A combination of imperfect with imperfect:
When you want to convey that two actions were ongoing at the same time in the past, you use the imperfect tense. You will often see the words “mientras” (while) and “y” to show that these actions were in progress simultaneously.
A combination of preterit with preterit:
When you want to convey a series of completed actions in the past, you use the preterit tense for each of them. It is very important that the events are stated in order of what happened first.
A combination of imperfect with preterit:
When you want to show that an action was in progress when another action began, you use the imperfect for the continuous action and the preterit for the interrupting action.

Contribute!

Did you have an idea for improving this content? We’d love your input.

Improve this page Learn More

20. ¡Nos vamos de fiesta!