Quick Question - Preterit or Imperfect
¡Hola a la gente!
In the sentance:
"In my project I wrote about why I was interested in bullfighting"
Should I be using the Preterit or Imperfect tense for "I wrote"?
"En mi trabajo escribí sobre por qué estaba interesado en toreo"
or
"En mi trabajo escribía sobre pore qué estaba interesado en toreo"
Thanks for any help.
2 Answers
Many times either the imperfect or the preterite past can be used with a shift in meaning depending on which is employed.
Often the clue is given by whether the author used the simple past in English or employs a auxiliary verb in his English version.
In my project I wrote about...often gives the preterite meaning of the action being completed in the past.
In my project I was writing about...often gives the imperfect past meaning of ongoing or habitual in nature.
However, this is not an iron-clad rule. I'm sure that there are examples of how either past tense form could be used with "wrote".
Depending on what YOU intended to say, about the status of the writing action in the past, pick the appropriate form that conveys your intention.
My first impression would be to use the preterite past.
What did you write your essay on last year? I wrote it on...escribí. (action completed)
What do you do this summer?
I wrote about....You didn't sit down an write one article, but you spent the entire summer writing about bullfighting for your project. [ Escribía.] (action ongoing in past)
Hi, Jsummers!
I'd use the perfect tense:
"En mi trabajo escribí sobre por qué estaba interesado en el toreo"
Some suggestions for your sentence:
En mi proyecto/trabajo escribí acerca de mi interés en el toreo.
En mi trabajo expliqué las razones de mi interés en los toros.
En mi proyecto escribí acerca de por qué me interesan los toros.
En mi proyecto escribí sobre el toreo y por qué estoy interesado en él.
