Changing from imperfect to preterit

Question

I was watching a Spanish movie the other day and one of the characters said "te apoyaba pero no más". I understand why it's in the imperfect. What I want to know is if you can change it to the preterit to make it more forceful. Wouldn't te apoyé pero no más imply a more definite end to you helping the other person than the imperfect? Gracias!

Answer 1

If I may throw my two cents...

"Te apoyaba' implies that she supported him for an indefinite length of time. It's somewhat like the "I used to support you...".

"Te apoyé" will either indicate that the support was for a very precise amount of time (which is not the case) or the support happened only once.

Hope it makes it a little easier to see...!

César

Answer 2

"Te apoyaba": picture that moment, when I said or though: I support you. Whether this comes to an end or not is not relevant right now.

"Te apoyé": picture a specific time frame during which I supported you... until it ended.

Well that just makes me more confused haha. The context was that her support for him had ended because he cheated on her. Why wouldn't she of used the preterit to tell him that? Her whole point was that she's through with him. - bafalck, Jul 23, 2011