Should I use the preterite or imperfect?

Question

I would like to say, 'he felt like it was his fault', would I say:

sintió que tuvó la culpa

or

sentaba que tenía la culpa

or something different?

thanks

p.s oops yeah i meant sentía :D

Answer 1

I would probably use the second choice sentaba (sentía).... because you generally use this with descriptions of physical and emotional states in the past.

Answer 2

sintió que tuvó la culpa

or

sentaba que tenía la culpa

Well... "sentaba" is from "sentar" (to sit). You can use both "sintió" and "sentía", but they don't mean the same. You probably mean "sentía", though.

Answer 3

Yes, in this case to simply 'tell a story in the past', you will want to use imperfect here.

se sentía que tenía la culpa.

Additionally, 'tener' in preterite 'tuvo' does not have an accent over the 'o' as you have written it in your first post - and as Lazarus has already pointed out, sentaba is the imperfect form for 'sentar'/to sit.

Hope this helps.

-Charlius-

Answer 4

My opinion is "sintió que tenía la culpa"