Tenses

Every day, the air is noticeably cooler, but it is still very sunny here.

I wasn't able to enjoy the sun so much today, because I spent the afternoon filling in an application form. It is for an independent school in Bristol and is a maternity cover starting in February. I also noticed as I was filling it in that it is part time - 4 days per week. I would be able to do supply to make up the hours if necessary, but in fact a spare day each week could be a very good thing for my Spanish A level and OU degree aspirations.

My lessons were all great today. I am still holding back a little bit, to ensure that others get the chance to participate, but I felt much less reluctant to speak. In the conversation class we read a text about plastic and cosmetic surgery and then discussed it. It was a great topic, because people had strong and differing opinions and this led to much more interesting discussion. After the class, Lothar (the German student) told me that he was really envious of my Spanish! He said that I have made lots of progress and am almost fluent! I feel quite proud of how far I have come in 4 weeks.

In the grammar class, we looked at comparatives. I then had a good private lesson, continuing with talking about things using past tense. Yesterday was describing a book and a film I had read and seen. Today I talked about my education. Isa has a good memory for what we tell her about ourselves. Considering many students only stay for a week or so, it is incredible that the teachers can remember our names, let alone how many brothers and sisters we have etc!

I really want to crack the perfect preterite/indefinite preterite/imperfect tenses. I feel like I am on the verge of getting it, but I still need to think...

1. Did this event happen once/infrequently (preterite) or regularly/habitually/over a long period of time (imperfect)?
2. Did it happen recently/is it connected to the present (perfect preterite) or did it happen a long time ago (indefinite preterite)?
Cuando era pequeña, me gustaba rosa (Imperfect: when I was little, I liked pink)
Hoy, he comido un bocadillo. (Perfect: Today, I ate/have eaten a sandwich)
(El año pasado,) fui a Francia. (Indefinite: (Last year) I went to France)

There are other things that need to be taken into account, but those 2 questions are a good rule of thumb.