Imperfect or preterite? In the Spanish indicative mood, we can find two ways to describe an action in the past. Generally, the imperfect is used for actions in the past that do not have a definite end. These can be actions that are not yet completed or refer to a time in general in the past. It can also be used to talk about: actions that were repeated habitually; actions that set the stage for another past tense event; a person’s age in the past; characteristics; mental or physical states. For example: cuando era pequeña, jugaba en el parque - When I was little, I played in the park. / Cuando tenía 15 años empecé a tocar la guitarra - When I was 15 years old, I started playing guitar