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Estaba en

Estaba en

1
vote

Estaba en Jakarta solo un ratito. I was in Jakarta onlt for a short while. Thank you

920 views
updated Oct 26, 2011
posted by Polyglot1day

2 Answers

2
votes

I would rather say, "Estuve en Yakarta por un corto plazo, or Estuve en Yakarta por corto tiempo"

updated Oct 26, 2011
posted by farallon7
I thought so too as estaba would be a " long past' not something that has happened and finished" - pacofinkler, Oct 26, 2011
I agree...unless he's going to "interrupt" that phrase with something else (that happened). Ex. I was in Jakarta when my mom called; Estaba en Jakarta cuando me llamó mi madre. I believe that's one of the ways the imperfect functions - it sets the scene. - Goldie_Miel, Oct 26, 2011
1
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I agree with farallon7. If I specify the amount of time something happened I use the preterite instead of the imperfect - estuve.

updated Oct 26, 2011
posted by KevinB