How to say "I was just about to do something"

Question

Hola chicos,

Estoy en Buenos Aires, Argentina aprendiendo español y hay algunos frases en inglés que yo haga por traducir en español.

Por ejemplo, cómo se dice en español: I was just about to do something .

En contexto; I was just about to take a shower

Answer 1

Estaba a punto de ... = I was just about to ...

Estaba a punto de ducharme. = I was just about to shower.

yep - Vicente1, Aug 11, 2011

Yeah this sounds good. - jeezzle, Aug 11, 2011

Except that duchar is not understood around here by natives (Texas) - jeezzle, Aug 11, 2011

You're right, I usually say "bañarme" myself. - gintar77, Aug 11, 2011

So 'Estoy a punto de = I'm just about to do ....or is there another way to say that? - SpanishPal, Aug 11, 2011

quizá se pudiera decir "ahorita?" como "ahorita me voy?" - unMica, Aug 11, 2011

Answer 2

Estar a punto de ...... is the construction you want to use. When something is very close to the point of happening, when something was very close to the point of happening.

Estaba a punto de ducharme ....

A native is not going to say iba a ducharme for I was just about, it just doesn't mean the same thing.

iba__(in the past) estaba a punto(when you were going to and got interrrupted) - Silvia, Aug 11, 2011

Answer 3

Iba a ducharme, or however you want to say to shower, is what you want for this construction.

Jeezle, Acababa de hacer algo means "I had just taken a shower " (when something else happened). Acabo de hacer algo means, "I just did something", but I'm sure you know that. I don't know how often the preterite of acabar is used in the acabar de + inf construction, I can't remember hearing it, although that may not mean anything.

"I was going to shower" does not have the same connotation as "I was just about to shower". - gintar77, Aug 11, 2011

Answer 4

When you want to say I was about to do something you use the imperfect past tense. "Iba a ducharme" means literally "I was going to shower" because "iba" is the imperfect tense of "ir."

Answer 5

I would say "Acababa de tomar una ducha" (even though I know "ducha" is frowned on and "bañar" is preferred around here) but I wonder why I would say acababa and not acabé, don't know so a native is needed, I can only say what I think sounds right to me.

EDIT: oh because ......I was about to do something you use the imperfect past tense, that must be written in a book somewhere that I didn't read.

Acababa de ducharme = I had just taken a shower. Acabé de ducharme = I just took a shower. - gintar77, Aug 11, 2011

So Acabé is better right, then why estaba and not estuve bro? Seriously, I gotta know this. ;) - jeezzle, Aug 11, 2011

Use imperfec when an ongoing action was interrupted by something. That's the typical use case for "I was about to [do something.] - gintar77, Aug 11, 2011

Answer 6

present tense version

Answer 7

I would say it as Jeremias:

"Iba a ducharme"

However, as Jeezzle says: I don't hear a lot of people use the word "ducharme," but instead, "bañarme" even though it's a shower.