El Pretérito Imperfecto is used sometimes to express something that is/may be happening at the time of speaking or might/will be happening in the future.
How to use El Pretérito Imperfecto for a present action
For example, in a conversation, if someone says:
Vaya, Alberto no está en casa...
Oh! Alberto is not at home...
The other speaker could reply:
This reply is referring to a present action, i.e. Alberto is now at a rugby match.
Despite using El Pretérito Imperfecto (tenía) instead of El Presente (tiene), this is referring to what is happening in the present, at the moment of speaking, i.e. Alberto is at a rugby match at this moment. This use of El Pretérito Imperfecto shows that the speaker is trying to avoid some of the responsibility for what is said. It is as if the speaker is thinking: "This is the information I had / I heard / I've been told, so I assume that is what is happening."
How to use El Pretérito Imperfecto for a future action
The same way as with the present, El Pretérito Imperfecto can also be used to refer to something that will happen. For example:
In both sentences above using El Pretérito Imperfecto, they are referring to future events, not past events.
Other examples for present and future events using El Pretérito Imperfecto:
Present event
- Marina, tú eras vegetariana, ¿verdad? - Sí, soy vegetariana.- Marina, you are a vegetarian, aren't you? - Yes, I am a vegetarian.
Present/future event
See also Using ir in the imperfect tense in Spanish to express was/were going to [do something]
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