Help with Preterite/Imperfect

[AceTravis]

I'm having trouble grasping the difference between the preterite and imperfect. Can someone look at the paragraph I paste here and tell me what each number is, preterite or imperfect, and why?


Cuando era niña, siempre (1) (ir) a la escuela caminando, pero ese día (2) (ir) en autobús. Yo no (3) (ser) muy buena estudiante, pero me (4) (gustar) mucho ir a la escuela. Ahí, mis amigos y yo (5) (jugar) en nuestros ratos libres. Esa mañana, cuando yo (6) (llegar) al salón de clases, (7) (oír) al profesor y a mis compañeros hablando muy bajito (low). Todos (8) (estar) esperándome. Ellos me (9) (cantar) el Cumpleaños feliz y me (10) (dar) muchos regalos. ¡Fue un día inolvidable!

I could really use some help here.

[Rusty]

Welcome to the forums!

Please give this your best try first.

(If this is your homework, you should have selected the 'Practice & Homework' forum for posting. Let me know if you want the thread moved.)

[stesani]

In brief, preterit is used for past actions that have been completed while imperfect is used for past actions that were done in an indefinite amount of time or continuously.