What tense should these sentences be in?
the best thing about the holiday, was the fact that there was lots to do-
is "was"- imperfect or preterite, and why?
i think the holiday was very relaxing, and i enjoyed it a lot.
is the was relaxing part imperfect, is I enjoyed imperfect? why?
i thought because the holiday is continuously relaxing, and you continually enjoyed it, it is in imperfect.
9 Answers
Preterite - complete single actions:
the best thing, single, completed - fue
Imperfect - descriptions
the holiday was relaxing, description - eran
Imperfect, emotional & mental conditions
I enjoyed them, gozaba
The best thing about the holiday was the fact that there was lots to do - I think the holiday was very relaxing, and I enjoyed it a lot.
Lo mejor de las vacaciones fue el hecho de que había mucho que hacer. Creo que las vacaciones fueron muy relajantes y las disfruté mucho.
Pret: fue: best and fact both carry the feeling of action completed over and done with.
Imp: había - there was - general time frame, through out the holiday, not specific.
Pret: fueron/disfruté - the holiday was relaxing (but now that specific time period, viewed as a whole is finished) and I enjoyed them (completed, time specific while the holiday was going on I enjoyed it.)
The #1 reason for saying something a certain way is because that's what one has heard others say on countless occasions (while growing up/learning the language). So your best bet is to familiarize yourself with lots of expressions/sentences of real Spanish and, simply, repeat what you have already heard.
Really simple variations on learned expressions are usually fairly safe. You learned "See Spot run!" you can safely say "Look at Rover/Fido run!" or "look at Spot walk/sit/beg/roll over!" But don't try to get too inventive.
When I say "If I were a rich man ..." I do not first think "Ooh condition contrary-to-fact coming up, I'll need to use the subjunctive." Nor, I believe, do Spanish speakers ever think "I started this sentence with 'ojalá' so I'll need to use the subjunctive." Nor do they think "I'm talking about something habitual, so I have to use the imperfect." (leaving aside the fact that they may, in fact, not use the imperfect simply because it was a repeated action).
In fact, for most speakers and for most utterances, grammatical "rules" play absolutely to part in deciding how someone says something. Grammar was "invented", not to teach how people should express themselves, but, rather, to explain (make sense of) how they, in fact speak. The problems arise when the spoken language changes and the written grammars do not keep up with the changes. Thus, the grammars become descriptions of how people used to speak or, more commonly how some people (still) speak but not how others (the majority?) now speak.
So you end up with two extreme positions (plus intermediate opinions): The prescriptive which say "This is the way it's always ('always' is, of course, an exaggeration) been said, and you too should say it this way." To which an obvious response could be "Yeah, and I should read by candlelight and drive a horse and buggy too, I suppose?" On the other hand, you have the descriptive grammarian who says "This is what many/most people say and you should do likewise." To which an obvious answer could be "What, I should take language lessons from teenagers and rappers? I've spoken this way all my life and I see no reason to change now,."
I think that in this sentece there is only one case of imperfect, "había" :
La mejor cosa de las vacaciones fue el hecho de que había muchas cosas para hacer. Creo que las vacaciones fueron muy relajantes y las disfruté mucho.
It´s more natural to say "Lo mejor de las vacaciones fue que habían muchas cosas que hacer." "Creo que las vacaciones eran muy relajantes, y las gozaba mucho.
Please delete.
OK I'm going to leave my first comments so that other can learn how not to things lol but want to have had another go here. Be kind peoples :p
The best thing about the holiday was the fact that there was lots to do - I think the holiday was very relaxing, and I enjoyed it a lot.
Lo mejor de las vacaciones fue el hecho de que había mucho que hacer. Creo que las vacaciones fueron muy relajantes y las disfruté mucho.
Pret: fue: best and fact both carry the feeling of action completed over and done with.
Imp: había - there was - general time frame, through out the holiday, not specific.
Pret: fueron/disfruté - the holiday was relaxing (but now it's finished) and I enjoyed them (completed, time specific while the holiday was going on I enjoyed it.)
Any better?
I'm really surprised no one has answered this one, yet, so I'll blunder in. I agree with imperfect, until someone more knowledgeable chimes in.
La mejor cosa de las vacaciones fue el hecho de que había muchas cosas para hacer.
Creo que las vacaciones eran muy relajantes, y las gozaba mucho.
If nothing else this will bump your question back up.
Edit: Wrong, but not too badly. Fue instead of era.
When I say "If I were a rich man ..." I do not first think "Ooh condition contrary-to-fact coming up, I'll need to use the subjunctive."
@ Samdie, lol I like that - yes you're quite right - unfortunately when you're way out at the bottom of the world (or the top, depending on how you look at it, lol) with little or no chance to practice Spanish in the flesh you end up concentrating far too much on the theory side of things, hoping that when you do actually get the opportunity to speak some of that will pay off.
Preterite - complete single actions:
Don't take it bad, but I don't agree here:
El año pasado hizo calor 200 días.
Fui al cine todos los días.
I wouldn't call that a single action, but repeated and habitual actions respectively.
Imperfect, emotional & mental conditions I enjoyed them, gozaba
I think that statement can be very misleading and confuse people:
¿Te gustó? Sí, lo disfruté muchísimo.
Gocé como un enano.
Me divertí muchísimo durante las vacaciones.
Dudé entre ir por la mañana o por la tarde.
Pensé en ti todo el tiempo.
Me asusté al verlo.
Aren't some of those sentences emotional and mental conditions?
