"i went on a field trip"

Question

Im writing a paragraph about my childhood for spanish using the Imperfect and preterite. I want to talk about a field trip i had. how would i say "i went on a field trip"?

Answer 1

I would use the preterite for went in that sentence and say where it was, not that it was a field trip. For example: Cuando era joven fui al museo con mi clase. When I was young I went to the museum with my class. Use era (imperfect) for I was young because it is a description and has no set start or end. Use fui (preterite) for I went because it was a finite trip with a beginning and an ending.

Gracias! - bosoxman94, Feb 9, 2011

Answer 2

[field trip][1]

[1]: http://www.wordreference.com/es/translation.asp?tranword=field trip

The class went on a field trip to the zoo.

Fueron al zoo en una salida de campo.

greed, are you sure he should use "salida de campo?" It sounds a bit too literal. Maybe in this case a phrase like class excursion "excursión de clase" would be better? - happyquilter, Feb 9, 2011

Its from the site, not my coinage. Not all field trips are school related, but yours sounds good in this context. - 0074b507, Feb 9, 2011

from one of the threads linked to the dictionary They use study trip: viaje de estudio - 0074b507, Feb 9, 2011

Answer 3

A little more help - as you write your paragraph, use the preterite for things that have a set beginning or ending like "We rode the bus" and "We saw a huge fountain." But use the imperfect for things like descriptions or on-going actions or conditions, like "The guide was funny" and "We always enjoyed leaving the classroom to see interesting places."