lavé vs lavaba ?

Question

Yo lavaba el perro. Yo lavé el perro.

What is the difference in the above and when would you use one or the other?

Answer 1

Hi, Rachel,

As a rule, the preterite tells what happened. The imperfect, on the other hand, tells what was going on, used to happen, always happened, habitually happened, or just what the general situation was.

"Lavé el perro" tells you what happened. "I washed the dog." The action is viewed as being over and done with.

"Lavaba el perro" has more of a feeling of "I was washing the dog, used to wash the dog, always washed the dog", etc. The action is viewed as more of an ongoing situation.

I hope this has helped.

What ever happened to "past tense"? I know its now preterite, but since when? Or am I just remembering incorrectly - it has been a long time. - LateToDinner, May 21, 2010

It's still there. In the Indicative you have the Preterite Past and the Imperfect Past, and yes, there's even more :~) - Jack-OBrien, May 21, 2010

Thank you. Do we have all that in English?? - RachelC, May 22, 2010

No, we don't. - Luciente, May 22, 2010

Answer 2

Another example, Rachel

Quando vivía en Puerto Rico, hacía buen tiempo.

When I lived in Puerto Rico, the weather was nice- imperfect, I lived there for a long and indefinite period of time.

Quando visité Canadá la semana pasada, hizo frio.

When I visted Canada last week, it was cold. - Preterite, I was there at a certain time.

hacía is the verb, hacia is a preposition/adverb (frío) I would use an "a" before Canadá - 0074b507, May 22, 2010

I believe the only "a" used after "visitar" is personal "a" and not used for locations. - Luciente, May 22, 2010

Good catch on hacía Q. I think Luciente is right about the "a". - Goyo, May 22, 2010

Answer 3

And you don't need any other words for that second one like in English when we would say I USED to wash the dog? You just change the verb?

You wouldn't need to add I used to wash the dog, but you might want to add more context to make your point clear.

Example:

• Lavaba el perro todos los sábados/ I used to wash the dog every Saturday.

• Lavaba el perro cuando mi hermano llegó/ I was washing the dog when my brother arrived

Thanks. Now I think I will remember. - RachelC, May 22, 2010

Answer 4

This is tough, but it's analogous to what we have in the present tense when we say: I wash the dog (a continuous action in the present, with no definite beginning or end) or I am washing the dog. (meaning right now or in the near future)

Take this idea and put it into the past and you have Spanish.

Yo lave el perro.

I washed the dog (usually meaning one set time in the past)

Yo lavaba el perro (More than one time, or over and over I washed the dog.)

Ok, now I've got it. Like if it was my responsibility to wash the dog, I would say "I wash the dog" but in the past as you say. - RachelC, May 22, 2010

Answer 5

Hi, Rachel.

To answer your last question regarding "I was -ing":

Let's say that you wanted to say "I was washing the dog." Probably the most common way to say it is in the imperfect. "Lavaba el perro". Since the imperfect carries with it the feeling of "I was -ing", you have communicated your message. (remember that the imperfect also implies: someone used to, always, habitually did something, as well as just a backgound situation.)

If you want to emphasize that you were in the process of washing the dog, you can use "estaba + gerundio" - estaba lavando el perro" - I was washing the dog. Example: "Estaba lavando el perro cuando me llamaste; por lo que no pude contestar tu llamada." (I was washing the dog when you called me; that's why I couldn't answer your call.) You could also say "Lavaba el perro cuando me llamaste..." and it would be fine.

Answer 6

When you speak in the past tense using the equivalent of "I was...", do you always then use the gerund form of the verb?

Answer 7

Is it the same with "estuve" vs "estaba" - that one is past and the other has an ongoing quality about it, but set in the past? For example both of these translate to I was studying under google: Yo estuve estudiar. Yo estaba estudiar. What is the difference there?

Neither of those sentences make sense the way they currently are formed. "Estudiar" needs to become "estudiando".

Estaba estudiando.

That means "I was studying" but it's just saying that at that a certain point in time in the past, I was studying. Imperfect describes states in the past or habitual action (over and over).

Estuve estudiando.

That means "I was studying" but it's treated like a completed event. In other words, it lets you know specifically I was studying and then I was done studying. Preterite here implies some kind of time limit to your studying, while the imperfect sentence just described the fact that you were studying. Preterite describes completed actions in the past, or beginning/ends of actions.

Answer 8

Is it the same with "estuve" vs "estaba" - that one is past and the other has an ongoing quality about it, but set in the past? For example both of these translate to I was studying under google: Yo estuve estudiar. Yo estaba estudiar. What is the difference there?

Answer 9

Thank you. And you don't need any other words for that second one like in English when we would say I USED to wash the dog? You just change the verb?

That is correct. Lavaba el perro means I (or he/she) used to wash the dog. - Goyo, May 21, 2010