Escritura for Spanish 3

Question

I need to write a short Escritura for Spanish 3 and am having a little trouble coming up with ideas for sentence structure.

I have to write about what my life was like before college using the imperfect. I also have to write about a memorable day in my life (i.e. high school graduation) using the preterit.

If you could just give me a few generic sentence examples using both forms and what they mean it will get me rolling and hopefully I will be able to finish.

Thanks Izanoni it is helping a lot. One more thing am I saying this correctly... Antes que viniera a - before I came to

Answer 1

Antes que viniera a

The rule with "antes (de) que" is that you use the infinitive if there is no change of subject, and the subjunctive otherwise. Compare:

• Antes de irme a la fiesta, compré un regalo. (Before coming to the party/Before I came to the party, I bought a gift).
• Antes de que él viniera a la fiesta, lo vi en la tienda mientras que compraba un regalo. (Before he came to the party, I saw him in the store while he was buying a gift).

The subjunctive is used with a change of subject because you are not declaring that the person ever came.... "antes de que" introduces an anticipated event, which can not be declared... thus, subjunctive.

Another useful thing to know:

"Después de" uses an infinitve if there is no subject. (Después de terminar la tarea, me quedé dormido --> After finishing my homework, I fell asleep).

"Después (de) que" uses the indicative when referring to the past tense, as the action is now completed and can thus be declared. It uses subjunctive when referring to future/anticipated events, because you can not declare that anything will happen.

• Se quedó dormido después de que la mamá se fue del cuarto. (He fell asleep after his mom left the room).
• Se quedará dormido después de que la mamá se vaya del cuarto. (He will fall asleep after his mom leaves the room.)

The difference between the above examples is that in #1, you can declare that the mother left the room, as the action is competed. In the second example, you can't declare that the mom will leave the room... you never know, she could stay in the room all night long! Therefore, no declaration can be made, and subjunctive is used.

Thanks Nick - Izanoni1, Sep 8, 2009

...I felt like I might have been drowning in the subjunctive. I really appreciate the lifeline. - Izanoni1, Sep 8, 2009

Haha, yeah. The subjunctive is very difficult to wrap your head around at first because, altough it exists in English, it is rarely used. - Nick-Cortina, Sep 8, 2009

This link might interest you: http://users.ipfw.edu/jehle/courses/SUBJADV.HTM - Nick-Cortina, Sep 8, 2009

Actually, I have no problem with its English usage because it is instinctively used when necessary, but in Spanish, I have to consciously remember the rules for iits use...Thanks for the link by the way. - Izanoni1, Sep 9, 2009

Answer 2

Hi tgak,

Here are a few model sentences:

He ate the burger yesterday - Comí la hamburguesa ayer. [preterit]

He used to eat burgers - Comía hamburguesas. [imperfect]

Tocó la guitarra esta mañana - She played the guitar this morning [preterit]

Tocaba la guitarra - He used to play the guitar [imperfect]

If this doesn't help then try the following links which have good explanations for these two tenses

Preterit

Imperfect

Preterite vs Imperfect

...these two tenses*. - Nick-Cortina, Sep 8, 2009

....apparently, five edits was not enough - Izanoni1, Sep 8, 2009

Hahaha. :-P - Nick-Cortina, Sep 8, 2009

Answer 3

One more thing am I saying this correctly... Antes que viniera a - before I came to

That does not look correct to me. You are using the subjunctive mood; however, from what it looks like, you should be using the indicative as you are not describing a hypothetical event, a wish, a recommendation or an impersonal expression. Instead you are describing something that has actually occurred so I believe that this would call for the indicative.