quise/no quise

Question

Is this correct?

No quise llamarte. I refused to call you.

Quise llamarte. I tried to call you.

Quería llamarte. I wanted to call you.

How would this be translated?:

Last night I wanted to call you.

Wouldn't it be "Quise llamarte"? Preterit because it's not a continuous past event? It was a wanting that had a start and end last night. So then how would you know if you are saying "I wanted to call you" or "I tried to call you."

Answer 1

With "quise", it can really mean both to try to (and fail), and also to try to and succeed. The first is most common, but it depends on the context.

With "no quise", the English equivalent is often along the lines of "refused", but it can also mean "didn't really want to, but couldn't help it, and did it anyway".

Hope this helps

Bien explicado. - Jeremias, Aug 7, 2011

Answer 2

Why do you think no quise llamarte is about refusal? It's I meant to / wanted to call you.

To me, quise is more like "I meant to" and "Quería" is more like I wanted to.

Google it. You'll see it's often a topic of discussion. - Erin, Aug 7, 2011

Answer 3

Querer - To want

I wanted to call you - Quise/Quería llamarte.

Answer 4

I would have said that to say I wanted to call you, but I didn't, would take the imperfect and not the preterite.

Quería llamarte pero no lo hice.

If I wanted to say I tried to call you, but I failed in that attempt, I would say:

Quise llamarte pero no pude.

This is based on the difference in meaning for querer in the imperfect as opposed to the preterite, as in this example:

María quiso comprar la casa.

Maria tried to buy the house. (completed action)

Juan quería comprar la casa.

Juan wanted to buy the house. (no definite beginning or end)

With regards to your specific question, you would express the desire to call using the imperfect, not the preterite.