Keeping every clause in the right time zone
Spanish clauses agree across the que boundary. Main-verb tense decides the subordinate tense — learn the pairs as a table.
Quiero que vengas. → Quería que vinieras.
Creo que viene. → Creía que venía.
Dice que vendrá. → Dijo que vendría.
Shift the main verb to the past and every dependent verb steps back with it: presente→imperfecto, futuro→condicional, subjuntivo presente→subjuntivo imperfecto.
Stories alternate two pasts with strict roles: imperfecto sets scenes, indefinido moves the plot.
Llovía (scene), las calles estaban vacías (scene), cuando de repente sonó el teléfono (event) y todo cambió (event).
Switching roles mid-story is the classic B2 composition error. Scene → imperfecto. Action → indefinido. Earlier past → pluscuamperfecto.
Two patterns to automate.
Interrupted action: Mientras cocinaba, llegó mi hermano. (imperfecto + indefinido)
Parallel actions: Mientras yo cocinaba, él ponía la mesa. (imperfecto + imperfecto)
Sequence: Cuando terminé, me fui. (indefinido + indefinido)
Ask: was one action a backdrop (imperfecto) or did both simply happen one after the other (indefinido)?
Time clauses about the future keep their subjunctive even when the main verb is conditional.
Te llamaré cuando llegue. (future + present subjunctive)
Dijo que me llamaría cuando llegara. (conditional + imperfect subjunctive)
The whole sentence moves back as a block: llamaré→llamaría, llegue→llegara. Consistency is the skill.
A B2 self-check routine for any composition:
1. Circle every main verb — is the anchor tense consistent?
2. Check every que-clause against the pairing table.
3. In narration, justify each imperfecto (scene?) and each indefinido (event?).
Examiners penalise tense drift more than any single wrong form — consistency earns the band.
Traps for English speakers
These are the errors English speakers make most often.