¿Es mejor que uso el preterito o el imperfecto en la siguiente oración?

Question

Debido a eso, las políticas de los siglos XIX y XX influenciaban al idioma argentino en muchas maneras y ayudaban crear el lunfardo y la pronunciación que conocemos actualmente.

Muchas gracias por su ayuda!

Answer 1

The preterite seems better to me in both cases. This action is completed in the past, not habitual or ongoing in the past.

A simple trick suggested here that sometime helps you decide:

Substitue "was xxxxing" for the imperfect and "xxxed" for the preterite and see if one seems better than the other in that context. Hardly, a perfect rule, but sometimes helpful.

Answer 2

Muchas gracias a todos!

Answer 3

I agree with Qfreed. If your sentence had commenced with something like "Durante", which gives an ongoing perception, then the imperfect may have fitted in.