Talking about the past

Question

I need to know if this sentence is grammatically correct. Please correct any mistakes.

Ella vive en alemania, y estuvo de visita a nosotros el ano pasado.

Answer 1

Vive en Alemania y nos visitó el año pasado.

You don't really need the subject pronoun if you know who you are talking about.

How often did she visit? if she visited more than once: visitaba...she used to visit us, or, only once, nos visitó.

Answer 2

I would say:

Ella vive en Alemania y nos visitó el año pasado.

but as you can see whether to use the preterite or the imperfect past (visitó.visitaba) is one of the trickiest things to decide, lol :) - Kiwi-Girl, Dec 27, 2010

I chose visitó as I was thinking of it as a one off visit, in the past and completed but if I were you I would probably join the two thoughts with 'pero' or something like that - she lives in Germany but she visited us (once) last year :) - Kiwi-Girl, Dec 27, 2010

Answer 3

Ella vive en Alemania y nos visitaba el año pasado.

"nos visit'o" is also OK- depends on if you think of the visit with her as a singular event, done and over, that has no ongoing qualities. Using the imperfect, you create a more narrative style to describing past events. Also, stylistically, - AngelinaG, Dec 27, 2010

do you really want to combine the idea of her living in Germany with the idea of her visit?..just a thought - AngelinaG, Dec 27, 2010