It was time for dinner.

Question

How would I say, "It was time for dinner"? I guess I have two questions about the same phrase. First of all, I don't know which words to use. Second of all, would it be in the imperfect or the preterite (fue or era)? It's something that happens routinely every day, but I'm only referring to one night's dinner.

Answer 1

Era la hora de cenar

you need to use era becuase it's not a main fact..

Yeah, that's possible, El chico fue adentro porque su madre le había dicho que era la hora de cenar.

Look , in a situation there needs to be a main fact and circumstances around that main fact. time, weather, the clothes you're wearing etc. that kind of things are circumstances and in such situations you need to use Imperfect... And in that sentence the main fact is el chico fue adentro.

I'm sorry to say that I don't understand. What do you mean, it's not a main fact? For example, I could use it in a sentence that said "The boy went inside because his mother said it was time for dinner." - kokolatte, Aug 10, 2010

I just changed the answer ;) - culé, Aug 10, 2010

Oh I see. Thanks! - kokolatte, Aug 10, 2010

you're welcome :) - culé, Aug 10, 2010

Answer 2

How would I say, "It was time for dinner?"

You would need to use the imperfect tense rather than the preterite (simple past) because the imperfect is used to describe dates or time in the past

Paralee Whitmire our resident Spanish teacher expresses it in this way::

"Always use the imperfect when describing the date or time in the past"

This lesson is called: The Preterite v the Imperfect lesson 2: 10 link text

I hope that this helps you