Translating the imperfect tense

Question

I am working on Learn Spanish Lesson 2.9 - Imperfect tense. Both Paralee and the reference article make a point of translating the imperfect tense as "used to", such as "Yo jugaba" means "I used to play". But when I use the translator, "Yo jugaba" is translated as "I played." Is there a difference in English between "I played" and "I used to play"? I goggled this topic and found this:

""Used to" expresses the idea that something was an old habit that stopped in the past. It indicates that something was often repeated in the past, but it is not usually done now. "

Does it make a difference how I translate "Yo jugaba" and other imperfect tense verbs? Is "I used to play" a more accurate translation than "I played"?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Hola, Alice. Marianne's word is correct. ¿Why don't you go to this thread to have an opportunity to practice with the imperfect tense? It's very helpful.

Thanks for the link. It gave lots of examples to review. - alice_m, MAR 17, 2010

Answer 2

I believe that "Cuando era una niña, jugaba en la playa" can be translated as both:

When I was a girl I used to play on the beach.

When I was a girl I played on the beach.

Thanks!! That's what I thought but I wasn't certain. - alice_m, MAR 17, 2010

Don't think you need the "una" here? Just, cuando era nina - Sheily, JUL 9, 2010

Better without the "una", in my opinion. Simply "de niña" would also work (and be shorter). - samdie, JUL 9, 2010

Answer 3

I used to play football

1. Yo solía jugar fútbol.
2. Yo acostumbraba jugar fútbol.

Thanks! I learned two new verbs - soler and acostumbrar. - alice_m, MAR 17, 2010

Answer 4

¿Hacía mucho tiempo que manejabas antes de recibir tu primera multa (ticket)?

Answer 5

¿Cuánto tiempo hacía que estabas en la universidad cuando empezaste a tomar clases de español?