Need assistance w/Preterite vs. Imperfect

Question

What is the correct English interpretation of the following three sentences because the interpretations in the book are the same ('lived') even though they are using the preterite in two of them and the imperfect in the other:

Hace muchísimos años, vivía en Andalucía un conde que no tenía hijo varón.

Hace muchos años, vivió en Irlanda un buen rey llamado Morna.

En la ciudad de Tereul, provincia de Aragón, vivió Diego....

Thanks!!

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Answer 1

Hace muchísimos años, vivía en Andalucía un conde que no tenía hijo varón.

►Many years ago, there lived in Andalusia a count who did not have a male heir.

Here, we are being taken back in time to a particular point in time when this particular count was living in Anadalusia and had, at least at this point in the story, no male heir. The narrative effect this construction has is that it takes us back in time to so that we become privy to the events as they unfold. Our past reference point is somewhat open ended, therefore, in that it refers to some point in time when the count was alive, and before he had a male child (that is if he ever did indeed go on to have one).

Hace muchos años, vivió en Irlanda un buen rey llamado Morna.

►Many years ago, there lived in Ireland a good king named Morna.

Here, we are looking back on past events from the outside, as though these events have already concluded. In this sense, it is more closed than with the imperfect above as it does not describe the event as unfolding but takes the view that we are looking back on some event or state that has already been completed in the past. The narrative effect this has is that we are not drawn into the past as though we were reliving it, instead the informational content is presented as a remark on the fact that this once was true (i.e. this king Morna once lived in Ireland). Our past reference point, then, refers to a period of time delimited by the period in which this particular king ruled Ireland, a state which can be viewed as whole or completed.

Using a time line, we might look at the events as follows:

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• Thank you, Laura. That's sweet of you to say (although I hope that doesn't mean that you have been contemplating selling me off ;-P ) - Izanoni1 Dec 27, 2011
• I cannot believe you fired up the graphics department to answer this question. Brilliant! - Jeremias Dec 27, 2011
• The idea of verbal aspect (at least in my opinion) is one of those topics that it so much simpler to understand given an appropriate graphical representation - Izanoni1 Dec 31, 2011

Answer 2

I would translate these as follows to mirror the distinction between the Spanish preterite and imperfect:

A count with no son was living in Andalucia for many years. (Imperfect; typical usage)

A good queen named Morna lived in Ireland for many years. (Preterite; it would be more common to use the imperfect here as well, but we don't know the context)

Diego lived in the city of Tereul, jn the province of Aragon... (Preterite; again, it would be more common to use the imperfect here as well, but we don't know the context)