Preterit or Imperfect verb followed by a gerund

Question

Is is alright to have a preterit or imperfect verb followed by a gerund in this language?

For example;

She was reading.

Or is it better to say

She read

It was storming.

Or...

It stormed.

I don´t want to inglés -cize the español.

Thank you.

Answer 1

It is quite common to have the preterite/imperfect followed by the gerund. It simply emphasizes the state more. Yo estaba durmiendo. Yo durmaba. Both can mean the same thing but have slightly different emphases(sp?).

Answer 2

I am just concerned that for phrases as well as sentence structure, I don´t want to use too much of what I already know from the structures of English to turn the language into something that it´s not. What I´m saying, it´s that I don´t want to wear blinders from preconceived notions from my own native language.

It seems like so far, most of the sentence structure is very similar to that of English. The pronouns have proved a bit of a challenge.

Where is it important for me to throw the rule of English out the window? (to set aside the rules entirely)

Answer 3

Yes it is alright, if the verb is estar. It's called the preterit progressive tense, or imperfect progressive tense.

Both are covered in the verb article.

Hi Greg, I suppose I´m about two lessons away from that, right? - quépasa, OCT 1, 2009

You know what, I don't even know. I'm not there yet either. - Goyo, OCT 1, 2009

Answer 4

was reading es el imperfecto - usa - estaba leyendo o leía (or whatever tense)

read es el preterito - usa - leyó (or whatever tense)

either is fine, just think about whether it is a complete action - preterite

Or a nonspecific time or length of time action in the past - imperfect